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'''The Ironbridge Railway Trust ''' was formed in November 2005 and is a Company limited by Guarantee incorporated in 2007. It was registered as charity no. 1129939 on 2 June 2009 and is governed by a small number of trustees. Its income and expenditure are small, with a maximum raised of £2,151 in the years from May 2013-18.
==Objectives==
Its charitable objectives include to develop, construct, preserve, operate the railway between [[Buildwas]] and [[Bridgnorth]] via [[Ironbridge]], connecting to the existing Severn Valley Railway.<ref>[http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Showcharity/RegisterOfCharities/CharityFramework.aspx?RegisteredCharityNumber=1129939&SubsidiaryNumber=0 Charity Commission] (retrieved 4 January 2017)</ref>
In 2018 the Trust launched a website with a proposal for a park and ride shuttle rail service rail link one mile in length from Buildwas to [[Ironbridge]] operated by a mixture of modern trains and historic steam trains on peak days.<ref>[http://www.ironbridge-railway-trust.org.uk/index.html Ironbridge Trust website]</ref>In October 2020 the trust proposed the reinstated rail link would include [[Jackfield Halt|Jackfield]] and [[Coalport]], and bid in round 3 of the government’s Restoring Your Railways fund which, if successful, would finance a full feasibility study.<ref>[https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/ironbridge/2020/10/10/trust-moves-to-re-instate-historic-railway-link-in-ironbridge/ Smith, R., 'Trust moves to re-instate historic railway link in Ironbridge', Shropshire Star, 10 October 2020] (Retrieved 11 October 2020)</ref> {{As of|2021|7}} round 3 bids remain under assessment<ref>[https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-your-railway-fund-bids-received 'Restoring Your Railway Fund: bids received', gov.uk website] (Retrieved 11 July 2021)</ref>.
==Activities==
*presentation of the case for and feasibility of the Ironbridge railway;
*liaison with the national railway industry.
Studies were financed by Advantage West Midlands, the Regional Development Authority, and carried out by Atkins.
In subsequent years The Trust has consulted with stakeholders such as e-on/Uniper (previous owners of the [[Ironbridge power station]] site), local Councillors and MPs, the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership and Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin Councils to elicit support in principle for their proposals.
In June 2018 the Harworth Group announced that it had bought the Ironbridge power station site for an undisclosed sum. Following public consultation in May 2019, Harworth Group submitted an outline planning application for redevelopment of the site on 19th December 2019.<ref>[https://pa.shropshire.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=Q2YLFWTD06Z00 Shropshire Council: Planning Application Documents]</ref> The Ironbridge Railway Trust objected to the outline planning application on 21 February 2020, essentially because it appears to make no provision for any form of rail connection to Ironbridge. A postscript to the objection noted that "...''we advised Harworth Group of our comments and concerns in May 2019 following their public presentations. Regrettably, we have not received any acknowledgement of our communication despite their willingness to engage in constructive comment following their respective public consultations, or our various meetings to advise them of our position and philosophy.''"<ref>[https://pa.shropshire.gov.uk/online-applications/files/5DD3AE716BE826DBB831F7D4E9A26A6D/pdf/19_05560_OUT-IRONBRIDGE_RAILWAY_TRUST-3846129.pdf Shropshire Council: Planning Application Documents (IRT objection)]</ref>.
===2021 'Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund' application===
The Trust applied for £43,000 from the Department for Transport's 'Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund' which, if successful, would be used to further develop the case for its plan to reopen the 10 miles line between the former Ironbridge Power Station and Bridgnorth. The project would be completed in three stages and would cost around £46.29m according to the bid.<ref>[https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/local-hubs/telford/ironbridge/2021/03/17/trust-bids-for-funding-to-plan-opening-disused-rail-line/ Shropshire Star, 17 March 2021] (Retrieved 17 March 2021)</ref> The Trust's application was not included in the list of successful bids anounced in October 2021<ref>[https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1028949/restoring-your-railway-successful-bids.csv/preview gov.uk "Restoring your railway: successful bids"] (Retrieved 27 October 2021)</ref>.
==Relationship with the SVR==
The Trust is independent from the SVR.
The SVR's stance on reopening this section is not straightforward. Its website states: "the railway land north of Bridgnorth has been long since sold, and there is now no possibility of Severn Valley trains reaching Ironbridge and Shrewsbury ever again."<ref>[http://www.svr.co.uk/Consolidation.aspx SVR Website] (retrieved 5 April 2018)</ref> However its official Souvenir Guide, after listing some of the obstacles needing to be addressed, ends "So, never say never...".<ref>[[Bibliography#SVR Publications|Souvenir Guide Ninth Edition, 2012, p. 30.]]</ref> In 2002 SVR News reported that at a recent [[SVR(H)]] Board meeting [[Paul Fathers]] had agreed explained to monitor developments the Board how "...''(third party) enquiries into the possibility of EU funding of projects in the north Severn Valley being used to restore rail communication between Bridgnorth and keep the Ironbridge World Heritage site had transmuted into press reports that the SVR wanted to extend to Ironbridge; the Board informedagreed that its current position was that it would welcome seeing the results of any feasibility study''."<ref>SVR News 142 ppp. 8, 67.</ref> The railway Railway has at on other occasions similarly given its position as a 'watching brief', it will not on its own to seek to reopen the line, but possibly is open to providing technical support to any plans to reopen.
===Former SVR directors serving the trust===
*[[David Owen]] was appointed Secretary on 23 September 2017
*Paul Fathers was a Director between 2007-2008 and 2009-2020
==Relationship with the Telford Steam Railway==
The Trust is independent from the Telford Steam Railway ('TSR').
In late 2018 the TSR launched a website "[https://steamingtoironbridge.co.uk/ Steaming to Ironbridge]" with its own proposals for a connection to Ironbridge. The TSR proposals would use a narrow gauge tramway (rather than a standard gauge railway) between Ironbridge and a planned central station on the former power station site at Buildwas. The reasons given for this choice include the ability to share the trackbed with the existing footpath, the need for minimal station space in Ironbridge leaving the main car park intact, and the reduced cost of renewing/maintaining the 10-arch viaduct on the route.<ref>[https://steamingtoironbridge.co.uk/phase-4-tramway/ Steaming to Ironbridge website] (retrieved 10 October 2018)</ref>.
==See also==
*[[Charities associated with the SVR]]
*[[The Severn Valley Railway in preservation#Chairmen|Chairmen of the SVR)]]
==References==
