The Severn Valley Railway has confirmed that over £650,000 has been raised for its Fight Back Fund to help the railway survive the impacts of COVID-19.
Launched on the 20th March 2020, the Fight Back Fund was set up to raise vital donations to support the railway during these difficult times, with an initial aim of £250,000.
This figure was soon surpassed and now stands at over £650,000!
The extra £400,000 will go to various projects the line is undertaking and would normally be funded from income from running passenger trains and events, which the line cannot do currently.
Credit: RailAdvent
Severn Valley Railway's General Manager Helen Smith commented saying “We have been truly humbled to see how much people care about the railway, and how determined they are to make sure we survive. Some of the messages that people have sent with their donations talk about their hopes for the future and how they're looking forward to travelling with us again as soon as possible. We are immensely grateful to everyone who has got behind us to help.”
Credit Tony Hisgett
Helen continued: “However, there's no escaping the fact that we face a huge challenge to get the railway through this crisis. It's not clear when we'll be able to reopen, or the nature of social distancing restrictions that will be needed to operate safely. We've already suffered a huge loss in income from tickets and secondary spend, and don't know how long this will continue. In the course of a normal year, we make around £4.5 million of essential investments back into the Railway, paid for out of visitor revenue. Clearly during the current year we will not be able to fund all the work that's needed, although we still want to do as much as possible. That's why we're continuing to fundraise, to secure a viable future for the SVR.”
What do you think of this incredible achievement? Let us know in the comments below.
If you would like to help one of the various heritage railways around the UK. Why not purchase a RailAdvent DVD or Blu-Ray, we are donated between £5 and £10 depending on the DVD – more information available here.
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