MORE passengers will be able to enjoy lunch or an evening dinner on steam trains travelling along the Seven Valley Railway line.

Plans to increase the number of dining trains this year have been announced to help meet a growing demand for tables.

There will be 120 trains running from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth, which is half as many again as the railway was running in 2002.

Last year, the railway hosted more than 8,200 dining passengers, on its three-course Sunday roast lunch trains and special event dining trains.

Passenger levels on the SVR have risen eight times in 10 years, with the railway's Severn Valley Limited, Severn Valley Venturer and Evening Scenic Rail Cruise specials proving especially popular.

A programme of special event dining trains has been planned for this year, beginning on Saturday, February 19, when passengers will be able to enjoy displays of 1960s British cars at stations along the 16-mile route.

Special dining trains run on Mothers Day (Sunday, March 6 ) at the railway's 1940s weekends on June 25 and July 2 and for the murder mystery evenings on Saturday March 19, April 9, June 11, July 23, August 20 and October 22.

There will also be dining trains to mark St Patrick's Day on March 17, St George's Day on April 23 and Fathers Day on June 19.

l Steam trains will be running daily between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth for nine days from Saturday under the banner of "February Funtime".

The SVR's marketing manager, John Leach, said: "We wouldn't ordinarily be running daily trains in February but we've been putting on something special for the schools' half-term holidays for several years now and it really has become a landmark in the calendar."

The railway is also holding its 1960s transport day on Saturday, February 19.