BOSSES at a steam railway are chuffed with record passenger figures.

The 16-mile Severn Valley Railway, which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth, has set all time records for revenue and passenger numbers.

Some 236,665 passengers rode the rails topping last year's figure by 6,229.

It was the third time in four seasons the charity railway has reported a new passenger record.

Meanwhile, revenue, principally from fares, catering and souvenir sales, hit a whopping £3,700,000.

Bosses knew early last month a new passenger record was on the cards when a deluge of advance bookings for the Santa steam specials rolled in.

SVR marketing manager John Leach said: "December gave us a fantastic finish to an outstanding year.

"We carried about 1,000 extra passengers during the final month and that's created a real mood of buoyancy for 2003.

"There's no doubt that 'word of mouth' publicity and the £27 family ticket have been among our biggest assets.

"Where else can you take a family for a whole day's entertainment at that price?"

He added: "We've made big efforts to smarten up the railway over the past few years, improved our educational facilities and become more proficient in our marketing and publicity, so in many respects, we're seeing the fruits of our labours delivered."