Severn Valley Railway share sale raises £250k in days
More than £250,000 has been raised from the sale of shares in the Severn Valley Railway in just one week, bosses announced today.
The heritage railway is looking to generate up to £3million to fund restoration work and the redevelopment of one of its stations.
Last Monday, three million shares priced at £1 were made available to raise the money to build the centre, station gateway and spectator gallery at Bridgnorth railway station and to create a heritage engineering and building training academy.
Further ideas include restoring the Hagley Hall locomotive – which has not worked for more than 23 years – and carrying out further maintenance to the line and its infrastructure to preserve it for decades to come.
Directors of the railway will be at Kidderminster and Bridgnorth stations to answer questions from potential investors at the annual members and shareholders event this weekend.
They will officially launch the share offer document Share the Passion, which outlines its plans for the future.
Bosses said they were delighted by the repsonse since the launch of the shares scheme. General manager, Nick Ralls, said: "We've had an amazing response with more than £250,000 raised so far.
"This exciting initiative shows how much the British public love and value heritage railways and hopefully this weekend will inspire even more people to get on board," he said.
This weekend's event will include presentations at the Engine House at Highley on Saturday and at Kidderminster Railway Museum on Sunday to explain the detail behind the projects that will be funded through the share offer.
A five-train, full steam service will operate on both days and the locomotive Hagley Hall, which the Severn Valley Railway plans to restore to its former glory after a 23 year lay-off, will be on public view at the Engine House.
It comes as bosses at the railway celebrate the line's 150th anniversary this year, while 2015 will be the 50th anniversary of the launch of a campaign to bring the line back into use.
The 16-mile railway runs from Bridgnorth to Kidderminster and carries around 250,000 passengers a year.
Non members and shareholders are also welcome to attend this weekend's event.
For more details, visit www.svr.co.uk or call 01299 403816.
