'Full steam ahead for Bridgnorth!' Delight and relief for traders as Severn Valley Railway re-opens at last
Bridgnorth's traders say the town is set for a huge tourism boost ahead of the long-awaited re-opening of the Severn Valley Railway this weekend.
No trains have visited Bridgnorth since late January, when a serious landslip cut the town off from the Severn Valley Railway - leaving the heritage line with a huge repair bill, and the town's retail businesses without their main source of visitor footfall.
But with the work now completed, the line is set to re-open this Friday (July 25), and after a heroic effort from the railway's team to fix around 30 metres of track affected by the slide between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade stations, the tourists are once again set to return in their numbers.
Cafe owners and shopkeepers in the town now say they're excited and relieved at the return of the railway, after a quiet six months on the high street.
"With the railway being down we've not had as many people coming in," said Emma Butler, who runs the Witch on the Water cafe, which sits almost directly under the span of the viaduct which carries the railway into town.
"The drop in footfall has been noticeable, we've got friends who have coffee shops in the town and they're really struggling at the moment.
"We've been less impacted by it here, because we have a local base of customers that support the business. But we haven't had many of the trainspotters and enthusiasts this year, so that's hurt us.
"It's a huge tourist town. So many people come for the railway, and if they're not coming here then they're stopping off and spending their money elsewhere on the line."
