'Business has been booming': Severn Valley Railway back on track after reopening weekend with Flying Scotsman
The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) had a "booming" weekend celebrating the reopening of their full line, their 60th birthday, and a visit from the world's most famous locomotive.
Bridgnorth has been cut off from the rest of the line since the catastrophic landslip between the Shropshire town and Hampton Loade station in January.
Thanks to an ambitious effort by many volunteers and companies across the rail sector, the affected bridge was repaired and the full line reopened last Friday with a visit from the famous ‘Flying Scotsman’
While 12 miles of the track remained open during the works, the loss of the additional four miles resulted in a 30 per cent slump in passenger figures for the first part of this year.
Cafe owners and shopkeepers in Bridgnorth also noticed a quiet six months, with some telling the Shropshire Star that businesses had been "really struggling" without the additional footfall hauled in by the railway.
But over the long celebratory weekend, more than 4,300 passengers were hauled by the legendary locomotive, whilst thousands more attended the railway's Swinging Sixties event.
SVR managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster said: “We simply could not have wished for a better way in which to celebrate not only the reunification of our line after the landslip repair, but also the milestone of our 60th anniversary as a preserved railway.
“These factors in themselves are hugely important, but to mark them both with a rare visit from ‘Flying Scotsman’, well it just doesn’t get any better than that. We are indebted to the National Railway Museum, Northern Steam Operations Limited and DB Cargo for facilitating the visit.
“The crowds of visitors we’ve seen have brought in much-needed passenger revenue, and of course business has been booming in our pubs, cafes and shops throughout the past four days.
“This is a very welcome effect, following a 30 per cent slump in passenger figures for the first part of this year, due to the fact that we’ve only been able to operate along 12 miles of our usual 16-mile route.
“It’s wonderful to see the whole line reunited, and we want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to making that happen; from our volunteers and staff, to the professionals who did such a swift job of repairing our damaged bridge, to individuals who donated to the SVR Resilience Fund. All of this has got us to where we are now, and we are very, very grateful.”