SPENCER, N.C. — The N.C. Transportation Museum released a statement on social media Friday, saying the Polar Express Train Ride has been canceled for 2020.
The full statement is provided below:
“The N.C. Transportation Museum and the N.C. Transportation Museum Foundation, in accordance with our event partners and the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources, have made the decision to cancel THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride in 2020.
This was a difficult decision.
The N.C. Transportation Museum is currently open with capacity limitations for exhibit buildings, while train and turntable rides are suspended. Uncertainty remains regarding limits to museum operations over the next three months, including our ability to offer an on-site train
ride.
We have remained in close contact with our event partners, sought advice from industry leaders, and discussed ways to hold a scaled down event. While numerous adjustments and alternate offerings were considered, the two factors that guided our decision were the safety of our visitors, staff, and volunteers, and maintaining the integrity of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride that the public has come to expect.
THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride is the museum’s largest fundraising event, with more than 60,000 attendees over 22 event days. Any support you are able to provide to the N.C. Transportation Museum Foundation will be greatly appreciated.
In the meantime, all of us at the N.C. Transportation Museum and the N.C. Transportation Museum Foundation will continue to look forward to creating magical holiday experiences once again with the 2021 edition of THE POLAR EXPRESS™ Train Ride.”