A serious landslip has closed the Severn Valley Railway, leaving the track impassable by trains.
It is expected the railway will have a large repair bill, which means that trains will be disrupted.
The landslip has happened near Sterns on the Shropshire section of the line. Although this area has had previous landslips with remedial work, the SVR had not had any previous concerns about the area where this landslip has happened.
About 30 metres of track and track bed have been damaged. The area is in a dangerous state, and further landslips may occur.
Until the repair is completed, which is expected to take some time, the line between Hampton Loade and Bridgnorth is closed. Thankfully the rest of the line to Kidderminster is not affected.
![Embankment failure at Sterns on the Severn Valley Railway](https://www.railadvent.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Embankment-failure-at-Sterns-on-the-Severn-Valley-Railway.-LEIGH-KING-540x720.jpg)
‘We’re due to reopen on 15 February for half-term and the start of our 2025 season, but clearly services between Bridgnorth and Hampton Loade cannot run. We want to reassure passengers who’ve pre-booked tickets that we’ll be in touch soon by email, and they don’t need to phone us. We’ll get this sorted out as quickly as we possibly can.
SVR managing director Jonathan ‘Gus’ Dunster
‘We’ve suffered a significant embankment failure and damage to approximately 30 metres of the track and track bed. The area remains in a dangerous state and further slippage may occur so we are warning people to stay well away.
SVR’s head of infrastructure Chris Bond
Responses
Oh bugger …….. that’s a huge slip , just when there fighting for survival and this happens , hate to think.the cost of this
This is just terrible. The SVR doesn’t deserve this. I’m just glad this didn’t happen on a running day. How long will it take to fix the track and other then donations are there any other way to help.
It is such a shame, it will be the end of SVR.
Perhaps all their locomotives could be moved to other heritage railways so at least we can still enjoy them.
Who says it will be the end of the SVR. It will hit them hard yes, but not to the extent of closure
What a disappointingly negative comment. Why not offer to help/support instead of this doom and gloom?