Nene Valley Railway needs your support to re-open the Fletton Branch with the East Coast Mainline at Fletton Junction. With 400 sleepers set to be laid, the heritage railway is asking people to help by sponsoring a sleeper.

The mainline connection is essential for Nene Valley Railway, as it provides access for visiting locomotives, charter trains and maintenance machines making their way to the railway.

Re-opening the connection to the mainline also enables more visitors which in turn creates significant revenue essential for keeping the well-loved railway operation making the 1.5 miles of Fletton Branch line its most valuable piece of track.

Last summer’s extreme temperatures were destructive to a good number of the Fletton Branch line’s 2,300 wooden sleepers and as a result, has had to be closed to traffic. The closure is a bitter blow to the railway’s dedicated staff and volunteers as until repairs are completed, no movements will be able to be made to or from the mainline.

With a minimum of 400 wooden sleepers in need of replacement for the Fletton Branch line, the railway is looking at the project on a longer-term basis as the more sleepers that are replaced the more resilient the line will be moving into the future.  Based on the number of sleepers being replaced and volunteers available to carry out the work it is thought that the cost could be anywhere in the region of £35,000 and £200,000.

The pandemic has also hit the Nene Valley Railway hard in terms of revenue and means that it only has limited funding available to complete the essential repair work using its hardworking volunteer team.

If you can help Nene Valley Railway get the Fletton Branch up and running, there are two ways in which you can support as follows:

• Make a donation to the Nene Valley Railway Fletton Branch Appeal. Be it a small or big amount, any support will help the heritage railway as every new sleeper costs approximately £100 – why not consider sponsoring a sleeper.
• Donate your time by volunteering to help replace the sleepers. The railway is always appreciative of volunteers and the more helping hands available the better. To find out more about how you can join the volunteer team please email [email protected]

Donations can be made as followed:

• Online by visiting: https://nvr.org.uk/product.php/374/sponsor-a-sleeper
• Using the link above, you will also find information on how to donate directly to the Nene Valley Railway bank account