Repair work halted on Bridgnorth Cliff Railway as contractors await next steps

Dr Malvern Tipping, chairman of the Cliff Railway, has today confirmed that workmen have left the site in Bridgnorth to work elsewhere while they await further instructions from the council.

Work has now been completed on the section of the wall nearest to the railway, Mr Tipping said, but the delay to future work could keep the attraction closed for several more months.

Mr Tipping warned that if this were to be the case, the costs – during the railway's peak season – could be "astronomical".

“Since December last year, we have been kept much in the dark in a process shrouded in secrecy," Mr Tipping said.

"Originally, we had been told that works would be completed in a timely way so that we could have hoped to have re-opened in Easter. In the end, the works only started three days before Easter.

“I have to say that we are pleased with the aesthetics of the works. We had been preparing to re-open once staff had been re-engaged and re-trained as well as additional pre-opening maintenance had been completed.

"However, we have now been left in limbo once again, because the contractors have left the site to work elsewhere."

The wall diverges away from the cliff railway as it continues beyond the first section, but runs along a cliff overlooking the cliff railway and other buildings.

Meanwhile, the cliff railway office has been fielding many enquiries each day about when the cliff railway might be re-opening.

"The contractors have told us that they are awaiting authorisation from the town council to enable them to proceed with the erection of more scaffolding and to start works to the next section of the wall," Mr Tipping added.

“We had expected that scaffolding for further sections of the wall could be kept away from the cliff railway thereby enabling us to resume running a passenger service.

"However, early indications are that engineers fear that the Castle Walk might not be able to support scaffolding, in which case it will probably have to be secured to the cliff railway.

"We are going to explore the configuration in Hong Kong when a shopping mall was being built above the Peak Tram funicular to replace the corrugated shed which had once been its stop station.

"However, I have been warned that if this is not possible, we could be closed for yet another five months, which will be during our high season. The costs, which are going to fall on someone, will be astronomical."

Bridgnorth Town Council has been contacted for comment.