Railway in record profits

Friday 12th March 2010, 9:06AM GMT.

Shropshire’s Severn Valley Railway went full steam ahead last year to achieve record profits.

Revenue for the Bridgnorth heritage line soared to £6.25 million in 2009 and the year was the second best-ever for passenger numbers which topped 250,000.

The results are a terrific confidence booster for the railway which is celebrating 40 years of steam passenger train operation since it took over a derelict British Rail line in the late 1960s.

It has grown to become one of the UK’s favourite visitor attractions.

Final passenger numbers for 2009 totalled 248,798 – a figure second only to the record-breaking 252,127 people who were carried on SVR trains in 2005.

John Leach, SVR marketing manager, said: “It’s true that many mainstream visitor attractions achieved results far better than expected last year. But we’re not in a mainstream tourist area and the SVR has to make a strong case for itself in order to win a respectable share of the tourism market.

“I think the results show we’ve done that and this sets us up nicely for the very full diary of 40th anniversary special events which have been mapped out for 2010.”

These include a Swinging 60s weekend (May 8-9) and 40th Anniversary Party (May 22-23).

The SVR expects to report a surplus to shareholders at its annual meeting in May, but profits are ploughed back into maintenance, repairs and improvements to the 16-mile line.

View more: Severn Valley Railway news.