We rely on passenger fares and visitors to ensure our survival, the Spa Valley Railway is owned and operated by the Wealden Railway Co. Ltd, which receives income from train fares, special events and dining experiences. The income is used to pay for expenses such as electricity (£2,000 a month), fuels (£8,000 a month) and other items such as the phone bills, water bill, PPE, Marketing & PR, cleaning products/toiletries, shop/catering stock and administrative expenses. 

 

Income is also used to enable improvements to take place, namely in recent times, the refurbishment of the Shop, Washing Up Room, Ticket Office and Concourse at Tunbridge Wells West were investments made by the Wealden Railway Co. Ltd with support from our dedicated volunteers and members.

 

Fortunately, a grant from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has been received which will allow us to pay the fixed insurance costs that become due in August 2020, usually covered by the profits from the Summer Diesel Gala. 

 

Whilst we have ceased operating trains our expenditure on items such as fuels, Marketing & PR and shop/catering stock have stopped but fixed costs such as the electricity, phones and water bills remain. Whilst we have a trickle of donations to enable us to pay these fixed costs (and a huge thank you to everyone that has donated so far and raised over £8,100!) the Wealden Railway Co. Ltd, will, once we are able to re-open need to go through a period of growth once again to ensure the future of the Spa Valley Railway and will not have much in the way of excess 'cash' to invest in future projects such as planned P-Way track renewals, station improvements, locomotive or carriage overhauls and continuing to improve our railway in general. 

 

This is where we need your help, more so now than ever before (but only if you are able to do so, your health and wellbeing comes first and foremost) to support our registered Charity and Society, the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society, Charity No. 1039493. This Society was formed in 1987 to "restore and operate the railway line between Tunbridge Wells West and Eridge together with the rolling stock and infrastructure related thereto" and continues to this day to provide support to the Wealden Railway Co. Ltd and the Spa Valley Railway as a whole. 

 

Our Society will continue to improve and support the Spa Valley Railway through your generosity - any donations we receive that aren't used to support the Spa Valley Railway during the COVID-19 crisis, will be ploughed back into projects and improve our railway (which is now the biggest tourist attraction in Royal Tunbridge Wells) for generations to come. 

 

You can donate to our "Funding the Future: COVID-19 Appeal" the PayPal link below or you can support the Tunbridge Wells & Eridge Railway Preservation Society by joining our already 1,000 strong membership online too.  When we re-open you'll be more than welcome to volunteer too! Our Membership Secretary is working from home so your memberships will be dealt with as and when we receive them, just follow this link to join our Society.

 

When we re-open we will need your support, riding our trains, enjoying the Steam, Heritage Diesels, Vintage 1960's carriages, well-kept Southern Region appearance stations and High Weald Countryside more than ever before. You can buy ahead for a future Spa Valley Railway experience in one of two ways, either by purchasing a Gift Voucher for any value to use on any Spa Valley Railway product or service or you can buy a fixed price Gift Experience such as our Afternoon Tea, Gin & Steam, High Weald Belle or one of our other popular dining train experiences via our online shop.

 

Both Gift Voucher and Gift Experience purchases can be used once we re-open and neither have an expiry date so you can take them forward into 2021 if you so wish! 

 

We thank you for your generosity at this difficult time and we look forward to seeing you again soon.