Work to repair railway line gets underway

Buy photos » This picture shows the damage caused by a landslip on the Honeybourne Line last year. Picture by Ian Crowder.

WORK to repair The Honeybourne Line, severed by a landslip a year ago, is set to get underway.

The £670,000 project led by members of the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway is to repair its collapsed embankment just north of Winchcombe Station at the so-called Chicken Curve.

But while it has enough funding to get things rolling, another £170,000 is needed to complete the work and so GWR members are appealing to the public for help in its final push.

The work will involve digging out a substantial part of the collapsed bank and rebuilding it with new material.

Other parts of the embankment will be stabilised using high-tech methods such as soil nails which extend through the embankment into the ground beneath holding it in place.

The project will also include substantial drainage work.

The collapse, which happened at the beginning of January last year, severed the railway in two and came just months after a similar embankment failure at Gotherington.

GWR suffered another setback in December 2010 when heavy snow forced the cancellation of the Santa Special services and resulted in a £60,000 loss.

Malcolm Temple, GWSR Plc chairman, said: "The combination of these three serious setbacks placed considerable financial strain on the railway. 2011 was, literally, a ‘make or break’ year for our entirely volunteer-run business.

"But I am delighted that we are now able to start work on the repair. It has been a long struggle but I am overwhelmed by the generosity of local people, railway enthusiasts and the heritage railway movement as a whole.

“There is clearly a strong affection for our scenic Cotswolds railway which has enabled us to raise most of the money in our £1million emergency appeal, which was launched by our president, music and TV personality Pete Waterman."

The work is expected to take about four months to complete, after which new track will be laid to re-connect the severed sections of the line.

The embankment is close to where the B4632 Winchcombe to Broadway road passes underneath the railway.

The railway welcomes donations, which if made through the charitable GWR Trust attract Gift Aid; and investment in shares. Full information is available on www.gwsr.com and donations can be made using a button on the home page.