Two men behind plans to reopen an historic Shropshire railway line have been killed in a road accident in Switzerland.Dieter Bühler, 57, and Kurt Brugger, 41, both Swiss, were to start work next week on reopening the Snailbeach District Railway, once used by the county’s lead mining industry.

Their car was in a head-on smash with a lorry, as they started their journey to Shropshire. The lorry is said to have been on the wrong side of the road.

It is understood Mr Bühler, the new general manager of the railway and a director of the Snailbeach District Railways Company Ltd, and Mr Brugger, the project civil engineer, died instantly in the collision on Wednesday.

Project organisers today paid tribute to the men, describing their deaths as devastating.

A note posted on the project’s website said: “We have just received the devastating news that Dieter, our new general manager, and Kurt, our railway and civil engineer, died instantly in an accident with a foreign lorry at Neuchatel about one hour after leaving Berne.

“We understand that the driver of the lorry took a bend too fast on the wrong side of the road and hit the car at speed head-on.

“Both Dieter and Kurt were travelling to England to start work on the Snailbeach railway from Monday. Dieter is survived by his sister Brigetta, brother Wilhelm, and Kurt by his wife and two young children.

“This is a devastating blow. Both Dieter and Kurt will be missed by the SDR. We extend our sincere condolences to the respective families.”

The railway first opened in August 1877 to bring lead from the mines of Snailbeach to the Pontesbury Exchange Sidings, returning with coal to work the mining equipment.

It closed in 1947 and most of the track was removed in the early 1960s.

It connected with the main railway system at Pontesbury and much of the infrastructure remains.

Snailbeach District Railways Company Ltd hopes to restore the old working line to make the track a tourist railway for the Shropshire Hills.

The group’s long-term aim is to eventually link Pontesbury and Snailbeach Mines Heritage area.

By John Kirk