THE iconic Bally Hooley Steam Railway could soon be running services seven days a week to coincide with the opening of the much-hyped Hemingway’s Brewery.

The Port Douglas tourist favourite is planning to offer up to five return services a day from St Crispin’s Station to the Reef Marina, stopping at the popular QT Resort and the redeveloped Sheraton Mirage.

A feasibility study is currently underway on running the diesel commuter train Mowbray every day in a huge coup not just for Hemingway’s, but surrounding businesses in general.

The multi-million dollar Hemingway’s Brewery, the first microbrewery in Port Douglas, is expected to open in June. With limited parking available in town during peak season, Bally Hooley owner John Morris said daily services would help both locals and tourists.

“We think running the train seven days will achieve a whole bunch of things,” Morris said.

“It will continue to attract tourists, but it will also help people living in Port Douglas to get transport to and from the Marina.

“We all know the Marina and the town is packed during the peak season, so parking is really difficult.

“Once Hemingway’s open it will probably get even worse and a lot of people will be looking for transport options. So knowing you can come in, have a couple of drinks and not have to worry about driving back to your resort will be extremely beneficial.”

Morris said the diesel train could pull up to 150 passengers, opening opportunities for weddings and large groups being able to get direct access to the Marina together.

“Trying to cart people into town on buses when they need to be somewhere on time can be a long process,” he said.

“In this sense, if everyone needed to be at the Marina at 5pm then we can cart them in together.”

A feasibility study into reinstating a Bally Hooley service from Port Douglas to Mossman is also being looked at. The popular steam train currently runs every Sunday from the same stops.