Editing Severn Valley Railway (section)

===Northwards===
Extending the preserved railway north from Bridgnorth was mooted by groups within the SVR as early as the mid-1970s, but the first plan was dismissed as impossible by the then Board of the SVR. For many years the SVR official website confirmed that '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>{{cite web |url=http://www.svr.co.uk/History.aspx |title=History of the Severn Valley Railway |at=Consolidation |access-date=20 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130314153156/http://www.svr.co.uk/History.aspx |archive-date=14 March 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2002 the Board reported that third party enquiries into the possibility of EU funding to restore rail communication between Bridgnorth and Ironbridge had resulted in press reports that the SVR wished to extend to Ironbridge; the Board agreed that it would monitor developments and would welcome seeing the results of any feasibility study.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Mellor |first=David |title=Boadroom Notes |journal=Severn Valley Railway News |issue=142 |date=Winter 2002–03 |pages=8, 67}}</ref>

In January 2019, [[Campaign for Better Transport (United Kingdom)|Campaign for Better Transport]] released a report identifying the line between Shrewsbury and Ironbridge which was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments).<ref>{{cite report |url=https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/case-for-expanding-rail-network.pdf |page=42 |title=The case for expanding the rail network |publisher=Campaign for Better Transport |archive-date=22 April 2019 |access-date=23 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190422130045/https://bettertransport.org.uk/sites/default/files/research-files/case-for-expanding-rail-network.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2021 an independent group, the Ironbridge Railway Trust (IRT), announced that they had made a bid to the government's 'Restoring Your Railway Ideas Fund' (RYR) to examine re-opening the line between Buildwas and Bridgnorth as a public railway, following the original route of the original Severn Valley branch wherever possible. The IRT application named both the Severn Valley Railway and Telford Steam Railway among the stakeholders, noting that the SVR had expressed an interest in understanding the outputs of the proposed RYR study although no discussions on operational engagement had been held, while the TSR had expressed caution about IRT's concept and proposed a Power Station-Ironbridge tram scheme, but was willing to work together going forward.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ironbridge-railway-trust.org.uk/IRT-News/IRT-news.html |title=News from the Ironbridge Railway Trust |date=16 March 2021 |website=Ironbridge Railway Trust |access-date=20 March 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517155346/http://ironbridge-railway-trust.org.uk/IRT-News/IRT-news.html |url-status=live }}</ref> The bid was considered in the third Ideas Fund round<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-your-railway-fund-bids-received |title=Restoring Your Railway Fund: bids received |date=27 October 2021 |website=GOV.UK |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=28 October 2021 |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027153547/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-your-railway-fund-bids-received |url-status=live }}</ref> but was not one of the successful bids.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-your-railway-fund-successful-bids |title=Restoring Your Railway Fund: successful bids |date=27 October 2021 |website=GOV.UK |publisher=Department for Transport |access-date=28 October 2021 |archive-date=27 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027152038/https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/restoring-your-railway-fund-successful-bids |url-status=live }}</ref>