Tickets can now be purchased for the heritage leg of the unique charity railtour which celebrates the 60th anniversary of Modern Railway’s magazine.

Based in Worcestershire and Shropshire, the Severn Valley Railway is hosting the heritage leg of the special anniversary railtour which will take place on Tuesday the 27th of September. The celebratory event has been organised by Modern Railways magazine in conjunction with CrossCountry trains and will use one of the rail operators High-Speed Trains for the tour which will run from Leeds to Bridgnorth.

Limited tickets are available to join the HST at the heritage railway’s Kidderminster Town station for the Severn Valley Railway leg of the journey only. All of the tickets which are available to buy are located in the first-class section of the train.

SVR director Jonathan Dunster, who’s also the chairman of the railway’s diesels committee said: “The HST was introduced by British Rail in 1976, and it’s now largely been replaced on the main line. It really was a ‘quantum leap’ from previous trains in terms of both comfort and speed. It revolutionised rail travel and made Inter-City rail travel a serious competitor to the motorway network.

“The opportunity to join the railtour at Kidderminster really is a rarity. An InterCity 125 travelling along the 16 miles of our beautifully preserved line isn’t something you see every day. In fact, it’s probably 20 years or more since an HST has hauled a charter visit here, so we’re expecting a strong demand for tickets.”

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Modern Railways and 40 years of HSTs on the north-east to south-west route, the tour will also raise funds to support the charity Railway Benefit Fund.

Modern Railways‘ editor Philip Sherratt said: “We’re hugely grateful to the Severn Valley Railway for their fantastic support in making this trip possible, and we are looking forward to a great fundraising effort to support the valuable work of RBF.”

CrossCountry managing director Tom Joyner said: “We’re really excited about what promises to be a fantastic collaborative fundraising event and are grateful to our hosts at the Severn Valley Railway for supporting this initiative so enthusiastically. Heritage lines have struggled during the pandemic – they are working railways which are major tourist attractions and therefore provide valuable support for the local economies of the regions they serve. CrossCountry is keen to support our heritage rail partners where we can.”

To purchase tickets for the Severn Valley Railway leg of the HST railtour please visit: svr.co.uk

For further information about the rail tour, please visit: www.modernrailways.com/railtour