Heritage railway to progress restructure plans

Severn Valley Railway first announced its restructuring plans in December

The Severn Valley Railway (SVR) has confirmed it will push ahead with plans to restructure in the face of an "uncertain economic environment".

The heritage railway announced the proposal in December following years of financial strain caused by increased costs, the Covid pandemic and the war in Ukraine, which affected the supply of coal and price of materials.

SVR is made up of three legally separate entities and, under the plans, two of them would be combined to form a charitable community benefit society.

Following consultation with shareholders and members, SVR said on Thursday it would progress with the restructure.

Gus Dunster, the railway's managing director, said the feedback was "overwhelmingly positive".

"People understand why we need to change our structure – in fact, for many people, it can't come soon enough," he said.

'Significant cost savings'

The restructure would involve the amalgamation of Severn Valley Railway (Holdings) Plc, which operates the trains, and Severn Valley Railway Company Ltd, which looks after members and volunteers.

The third entity involved in the railway, the SVR Charitable Trust, was "supportive" of the plans but was not involved in the process, though it could be in the future, SVR said.

There would be no changes for customers, Mr Dunster said previously.

Charlie Wright, a director of SVR Company Limited, said the restructure would allow the railway to access new funding streams and "make significant cost savings".

"It's important that we move these plans forward at the earliest opportunity to strengthen the railway's financial position, in what continues to be a very uncertain economic environment," he said.

SVR, which operates steam and diesel-hauled passenger trains along a 16-mile route between Kidderminster, Worcestershire, and Bridgnorth, Shropshire, said it hoped to complete the restructure by the end of the year.