Transport & Works order required before Telford SR can open extension to Lawley

摘要

The Telford Steam Railway's extension to Lawley will require a Transport & Works Act Order before it can be opened. The railway says advice originally received from the Office of Rail Regulation was that an order would not be required, hence it started work on the extension from its running line, through Heath Hill tunnel to Lawley Common. However, an accident that resulted in Telford Steam Railway chairman Paul Hughes being injured in July 2011 -while working on the Lawley extension site - and the subsequent prosecution of the railway for breaches of health & safety law in July 2012 appear to have altered the view of the line's legal requirements in terms of the extension. Following the injury to Mr Hughes, the ORR issued a notice not to operate, and no public trains ran for the remainder of 2011. Having undertaken a complete overhaul of its safety management systems and documentation, the railway reopened in 2012 over its line linking Spring Village platform and Horsehay & Dawley station.