THE SEVERN Valley Railway can now move ahead with repairs after the landslip at Mor Brook bridge in late January.
The heritage line’s insurers have decided to settle its claim in respect of the incident.
The insurers have agreed to pay for the full reinstatement of the bridge’s wing wall and stone arch as well as the embankment itself. The railway says the final costs will be significantly more than £500,000.
‘Delighted with deal’
The SVR’s managing director, Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster said he was delighted by the insurers’ decision which meant they could now get on with the repairs.
“Nevertheless, the SVR is still going to be responsible for funding a substantial excess as part of the settlement.
“We are still in negotiation with the insurers about the exact amount, but thanks to the generous donations supporters have made to the SVR Resilience Fund and the SVR Charitable Trust since the landslip, we are confident we will be able to cover this.
“What’s important here is that our insurance company’s acceptance of the claim means we will not have to launch a full-scale appeal for the landslip repairs, which would have meant further delays before we could put things right.”
Picture by Gary Essex. s
Engineers appointed
SVR has appointed civil engineering contractors CML to carry out all the works required at Mor Brook to reinstate the line. The railway’s infrastructure management and permanent way teams will work with CML to provide logistical support and carry out track work.
SVR head of infrastructure Chris Bond said CML must carry out essential and detailed civil engineering design work and in the next three to four weeks, the SVR’s permanent way team would remove track in preparation for works to commence.
“Subject to statutory approvals from the Environment Agency and National Grid, we hope to start the main contract works within six to eight weeks,” he added.
“Timescales are still subject to the production of a final programme of works, and we will provide an update on this in due course.”
‘Timescale uncertain’
Mr Bond added it was currently impossible to pin down a finish date as there were many variables.
But he said it was unlikely to be completed before the middle of the summer and could be even later.
Mr Dunster paid tribute to both Antony Bartlam, the consultant civil and structural engineer and SVR volunteer, and Mr Bond for the dedication and hard work they had already put in to get the scheme to this important stage.
And he thanked everyone who had donated, including the Bahamas Locomotive Society which was donating a day’s steaming fee when the loco 45596 comes to the Spring Steam Gala later this month.
“We are humbled at the level of support that we’ve received,” said Mr Dunster.
Visit the website at svr.co.uk for more on the SVR’s upcoming enthusiast events – the Spring Steam Gala between April 18 and 21 and the Spring Diesel Festival from May 15 to 18.
