Bridgnorth Cliff Railway: England’s oldest funicular railway faces permanent closure

The future of Bridgnorth Cliff Railway, England’s oldest and steepest inland funicular railway, now hangs in balance as it faces possible closure due to health and safety concerns. The attraction was forced to close to the public last December after an adjacent wall collapsed.

Located in Shropshire, the Bridgnorth Cliff Railway has been carrying passengers up and down a 210ft sandstone incline in the historic town for 131 years. Following its recent closure, it was hoped that repairs to the wall would allow it to reopen in time for Easter, but this also has been plagued by delays.

The director of the railway, Dr Malvern Tipping, said that he has had doubts over the completion of the restoration work but remained optimistic due to the involvement from Bridgnorth Town Council, who is responsible for the wall.

He added that despite the fact that the business is not profitable, it must nevertheless cover operating costs, such as staffing. He said as a result, he was forced to make 14 out of the 16 employees redundant since the closure.

He said: “The big fear is that repairs to the wall won’t get done and we have to close permanently on health and safety grounds. If work is completed by Easter as the town council has said, that would be marvellous but I have had deep reservations that it will be done by then.

“I’m heartened by the fact that a few days ago engineers from Bridgnorth Town Council started to undertake excavations by the wall which is a very good sign, so we are hopeful but we will have to wait and see. The big threat is that the Cliff Railway could go bankrupt if it drags on too long

“While we don’t make a profit we do have running costs. One of our biggest costs is staffing which is why we have had to very reluctantly make staff redundant, but there are other running costs too and I don’t know how long we can last. We’re imploring the town council to do what needs to be done to the retaining wall."

Impact on local businesses

The railway opened in 1892 as an alternative to climbing the 200 steps that linked Bridgnorth’s High Town with Low Town and the River Severn and is England’s last inland funicular railway.