Drivers 'over the moon' with Bridgnorth Cliff Railway repair work finally set to start
Drivers and engineers at Bridgnorth Cliff Railway who were made redundant when the attraction was closed over health and safety fears, say they are "over the moon" repair work is about to begin.
When the railway was closed in December due to the discovery of a serious fault in a retaining wall to the funicular railway, 14 of 16 of its staff members were made redundant.
But following the news that repair work is due to start on Monday, the Cliff Railway workers are celebrating.
"We are over the moon," said Peter Bridger, 77, who was laid off in January after seven years of ferrying passengers from Low Town to High Town.
"The town council hand-delivered a message to the Cliff Railway, and all the drivers and engineers are chuffed to bits.
"I honestly thought HS2 would be finished before the Cliff Railway was, but this is great news.
"With any luck we'll be back to ferrying passengers back up the railway by the summer, but of course, we don't know yet how long it will take to repair."
Bridgnorth Town Council announced on Friday that repair work was to begin on Monday, following weeks of behind the scenes talks with the various stakeholders, including Shropshire Council and owner of the railway, Malvern Tipping.
The town council had been trying to work out ownership of the wall and who is liable to pay for its repairs.
Clare Turner, clerk of Bridgnorth Town Council said on Friday that it would "not be appropriate to go into detail at this stage" as to the ownership of the wall, but added: "Constructive dialogue with the operator has taken place and we are pleased to inform that the Castle Walk will be closed from March 27 to allow this remedial work to start."
Cliff Railway owner Malvern Tipping has been approached for comment.
