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Work begins to find cause of railway landslip

Ellen Knight
BBC Radio Shropshire
BBC A man, Chris Bond, is standing in front of a damaged bridge. He is wearing a white hard hat with "Severn Valley Railway" written on it, and an orange high-visibility jacket with his name written on one side, with "Severn Valley Railway" on the other. The bridge behind him is covered in three huge white sheets. There are trees and shrubbery either side.BBC
Chris Bond at Severn Valley Railway said the track had been left "hanging in the air".

Engineering works have begun to determine the cause of a landslip that left four miles of heritage railway closed.

On 30 January, part of a bridge on the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) in Shropshire collapsed, leaving hundreds of tonnes of rubble.

Workers are now digging boreholes into the surrounding land to understand why it happened.

Chris Bond, the railway company's head of infrastructure, said the track had been left "hanging in the air".

The heritage railway runs for 16 miles (28km) from Kidderminster, Worcestershire, to Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

The landslip led to the collapse of one of the wing walls that holds up the bridge over the Mor Brook, a tributary of the River Severn.

Mr Bond said there had been a "failure of the wing wall of the bridge", which caused hundreds of tonnes of rubble and earth to tumble down.

"It's left the track hanging in the air and therefore unpassable for any trains," he said.

Boreholes are being dug to analyse the state of the land nearby.

"They're basically hammering a hollow tube into the ground and pulling up cores," Mr Bond said.

"It's important information that our structural engineers will use to determine the type of engineering solution."

Two workmen wearing hard hats and orange high-visibility jackets with a huge percussive borehole - a metal structure at least 20ft high, with wheels at the base. There's smoke coming out of the exhaust - it's almost like an old fashioned traction engine. Behind the borehole you can see some of the white sheets covering the damaged bridge. It's on the edge of a field, with bare trees surrounding it. The sky is grey and overcast.
Cores unearthed by the boreholes will allow engineers to decide on a plan of action

Gus Dunster, SVR managing director, described the public response to the landslip as "amazing."

He said the company had not launched a fundraising campaign, but donations had poured in to repair the damage.

"We've received over £50,000 already, which is just staggering. It reminds us just how well thought of this railway is by so many people."

SVR told the BBC that it had now raised more than £65,000.

A man, Gus Dunster, is pictured in front of the percussive borehole - a huge, triangular metal structure. Beyond that, is a damaged bridge covered in white sheeting. He is wearing a white hard hat with a label that reads "Severn Valley Railway", and an orange high-visibility jacket. He is standing in a green field with trees and shrubbery on the edges. Behind him on the right is a truck.
Gus Dunster described the public response to the landslip as "amazing"

The landslip happened just outside the village of Eardington, on a popular part of the rail line that carries tourists to and from Bridgnorth.

Lesley Carr, head of communications at SVR, said it had "sent a shockwave" through the local community.

Ms Carr said she had heard from business owners in Bridgnorth who were worried that trade could be impacted by a lack of passengers.

"This is something awful that's occurred - and they want the full railway back up and running; that's what we all want," she said.

Lesley pictured in front of the borehole with the covered-up bridge in the background. She's wearing a white hard hat with "Severn Valley Railway" written on it and an orange high-visibility jacket over a black jumper and black scarf. She is standing in a green field with some trees at the edge. The sky is grey and overcast.
Lesley Carr said some Bridgnorth businesses are worried the bridge closure may affect trade

Ms Carr added that the railway was "welcoming donations, however big or small", and emphasised that the remaining 12 miles of the line was still open for visitors.

"Come and see us; that's another way of supporting us," she said.

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