Spa Valley Railway, West Station, Royal Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 5QY
Telephone: 01892 537715
Email: enquiriesatspavalleyrailway.co.uk
(Please replace at with the '@' symbol)

Latest Eridge Extension News
BV Point Installation - Winter 2009
2008 Eridge News
2009 Eridge News
'Return to Eridge' Project Home Page
Eridge Project Requirements
Read the Steam Railway Magazine Article "Great Eridge-spectations" outlining the project

Imagine - It's later this summer. You're standing on Groombridge Station, enjoying the sun and the country station atmosphere. The birdsong and the breeze rustling the leaves are pierced by a distant whistle and the sound of a steam engine working hard. From Tunbridge Wells, the Jinty is just pulling into the platform with a train of passengers who've enjoyed their morning in the Pantiles and a good lunch and a stroll at High Rocks. More get on, having been at Groombridge Place. To the clatter of more signals being cleared, the Guard waves the train out of the station and into the loop. She is bound for Eridge - along the only steam railway in Britain running for a mile alongside an operational main line. This isn't a summer daydream - it's on the cards for this year.
We were hoping to be open to Eridge by now, but the unique nature of the project and the complexities involved have meant that it has all taken longer than anticipated. Clearly, as in everything we do, we have had to follow "due process", and all our work has been quality assured and audited to the highest standards. Thus, we have only ever been able to offer our opinion on a likely opening date, with the caveat that it is likely to change at any given time! However, as time goes by and more items on the
"critical path" are completed and signed-off, we grow more assured in our timescale projections. Hence, we remain confident of making our Return to Eridge this summer.

The Spa Valley Railway occupies a unique and enviable position in the heritage railway sector, in that we offer a truly viable transport service to visitors. The SVR will link the tourist attractions of Tunbridge Wells and Groombridge with a fast, comfortable main line railway which connects to London in under an hour.

15m overseas visitors came to London in 2006, coupled with nearly 11m UK residents making at least an overnight stay in the Capital. Tourist spending in London totalled £12.9bn last year (source: ONS). By giving non-car-using visitors to London the chance of a day out in the beautiful countryside of the High Weald and the spa town of Tunbridge Wells, the SVR is well-placed to deliver a significant boost to the local economy.

We have secured arrangements for joint-ticketing with Southern and our local tourism partners, with a view to providing a combined "Day Out in the Weald" ticket from London stations, and Southern have kindly pledged to promote the concept on posters throughout the region.

We see ourselves as the mortar between the bricks of local tourist destinations, offering an exciting and fun way of getting to them from the Capital. Air-conditioned travel on Southern's new express trains from London Bridge and a steam train ride through the beautiful Weald landscape certainly beats trying to placate the children in a traffic jam on the M25!

The current position

Since opening in December 1996, we have established ourselves as the biggest single tourist destination in Tunbridge Wells, attracting over 30,000 visitors in 2006. We have worked hard to complete the operational railway to the junction with Network Rail at Birchden, and to develop the "visitor experience". We have never thought it sufficient to expect people to just turn up and pay for a train ride - the competition locally is too strong for that to be successful in the long term. Consequently, we have established a good relationship with Groombridge Place, with joint ticketing, events and publicity. The High Rocks Inn paid for and built a new halt for us, and we suggest walking itineraries from all our stations. There are also the attractions of Tunbridge Wells town, the Pantiles and the Chalybeate spring to entertain visitors.

We run highly successful special events throughout the year, such as Santa Specials, Locomotive Galas and Thomas the Tank Engine weekends. This helps us to reinvest in our infrastructure and develop new projects, but falls short of being able to fund major new works such as the Eridge Extension. The whole enterprise is only viable through our use of volunteer labour. For example, we are fortunate to be able to draw on the skills of engineers, craftsmen and senior rail professionals, whose expertise and enthusiasm is priceless to a project such as this. 

Nearly all the infrastructure works are now complete to allow one train operation into Eridge, and we are progressing well with the project to enable two train operation (trains passing one another at Groombridge). We expect to be able to announce a cast-iron opening date and gala celebration quite soon...

How we plan to realise our potential

The nature of the Eridge Extension - a mile of running parallel to a 60mph mainline railway on a formation leased to us by Network Rail - presents us with a unique challenge.

In order to return our trains to Eridge, we have:

The above requirements were commercially costed at a total of £500,000, with the project scheduled for delivery during 2009. Network Rail have committed themselves to the project - it is now up to us to fulfil our part of the bargain. As soon as the details are finalised, we will announce the opening date on this website.

The Spa Valley Railway can tap directly into an enormous new market, and play its part in delivering a varied and interesting day out to London visitors who wish to sample rural England and its towns and villages without having to hire a car or endure a long bus journey. Of course, travellers can already access much of the country around London by rail, but the variety and quality of attractions available straight off the Spa Valley steam train is unique. Integrating them all with us and Southern to form a combined family and tourist day out presents a very powerful product to a market with a healthy appetite for new ideas.

This is not only a bold step for the Spa Valley, it's a significant "first" in both the tourism and heritage railway industries.

Why should I contribute?

This is it - after 24 years of closure, rebirth and extension, we are finally on the cusp of placing the last piece in our jigsaw. We are, after all, the Tunbridge Wells and Eridge Railway Preservation Society, and here we stand as the people able to make our line just that. Make no mistake this represents a major local and national news story, because nothing like this has ever been done before! Ask yourself, what do you want from your railway? Are you content with 30,000 visitors a year, and struggling to make ends meet to fund overhauls and improvements? Or do you want to be part of something much, much bigger, with the railway finally doing what we set out to achieve in 1985?  Please dig as deep as you can to make the dream a reality. Your Committee and the working membership are absolutely committed to this project - If you can help us financially, we'll give you a Spa Valley Railway that holds no equal in the heritage world. Whilst funds to pay for the physical work (both already completed and the small amount programmed for later this month) have been sourced and allocated, we remain some way short of being able to afford the complete signalling system and other operational enhancements needed for the railway to fulfil its maximum potential. So please give whatever you feel able to. You'll be able to say, "I helped make this happen," and believe me, saying that makes you feel quite good about yourself!

“We’ll never get half a million!”

Main line extensions alongside the National Network don't come cheap, but we are proud to say that we have paid for the extension entirely through the generosity of society members and - critically - through the support of partner companies in the rail industry. We are deeply indebted to all those who are helping make the dream a reality, and thank them sincerely. We haven't borrowed a penny, and can look to the future on a secure financial footing.

Invensys-Westinghouse have pledged to undertake the remedial work necessary at Forge Farm level crossing (right).

Network Rail have committed management time and other resources to fulfil their obligations as the infrastructure provider.

Gramm Interlink Rail have undertaken all the permanent way renewals and maintenance between Birchden Junction and Eridge.

We have received a £10,000 grant from the Railway Heritage Trust towards the now-complete refurbishment of the station buildings at Eridge.

Network Rail and Southern have between them completely overhauled the platform surface, canopy and other services at Eridge, and have provided us with a beautifully-restored station which is the jewel in the crown of the extension.

Local and national businesses are being approached with sponsorship deals, and various fundraising initiatives are being arranged.

The Spa Valley Railway has a membership of around 700. Through their generosity, an internal appeal in 2007 raised over £30,000 in short time, which has enabled us to progress as far as we have. We are now on the cusp of realising our dream. The key Network Rail found under the mat has been placed in the lock on Birchden gates. Now it's up to us to open them.

Please download and fill out the Standing Order form and return to: 

Eridge Appeal, Tunbridge Wells and Eridge RPS, West Station, Tunbridge Wells , TN2 5QY .

All photography by D. Staines unless otherwise stated.

 

Last Updated 14th July 2009. ©M. Dives