MEP's pledge on railway funding

Repairs to the Severn Valley Railway are on track but a lot needs to be done and more money is needed to meet the costs, local Euro-MP Liz Lynne said today.

She pledged to redouble her efforts to secure extra financial support for the railway, which was a casualty of the summer floods in June and July.

Track was washed away and damaged in 47 sections between Bewdley and Bridgnorth and since then has only been able to operate services between Kidderminster and Bewdley. Mrs Lynne has made a fact-finding tour to the railway to see for herself the damage caused and the massive amount of repairs that need to be carried out.

She visited an area where the trackbed at Highley station was being repaired and has held talks with the railway's general manager Nick Ralls.

Mrs Lynne said: "The new and almost complete state-of-the-art Locomotive Museum and Engine Shed at Highley is marooned by a huge hole in the track caused by the raging floodwater in June. The sheer scale of the devastation at Highley, just south of the station, is staggering. I shall now continue to see what I can do to help."

Meanwhile Mr Ralls is hoping that the Bridgnorth to Hampton Loade section might re-open by the end of the year with a full reopening in February next year.