East Kent Railway Trust needs your help to secure £50,000

The East Kent Railway Trust (EKRT), a registered charity based in Shepherdswell, is in the running for a £50,000 grant from the Big Lottery and ITV's The People's Millions.

East Kent Railway volunteers have spent over twenty years restoring the Mining Heritage Railway as a tourist attraction that runs through the Kent countryside from Shepherdswell to Eythorne.

The Trust now plans to bring back steam locomotives to the East Kent Railway to restore this hidden gem to its former glory. The £50,000 People's Millions would be used to bring the railway to a higher standard to enable it to cope with the extra volunteers and visitors that will be generated by bringing back steam.

Gary Cox, EKRT Funding & Apprentice Scheme Liaison Officer, said: "It's fantastic news that our project has been selected as a finalist for the public vote for The People's Millions. We've had great support from Dover District Council in developing our bid, so we'd now like the rest of the community to get behind us and vote on 24 November.

"Your vote will not only secure the railway's future, it will also help us to continue to run and expand our Training & Apprentice Schemes. We have given over 100 local young people bespoke training in a real railway environment and found them employment in the rail industry. This scheme has not only changed the lives of those young people but also injected nearly £2 million into the local community."

The phone number to vote for the project will be announced on Monday, 24 November 2014 when the project will also be featured on ITV Meridian News. Votes can be cast between 9am and midnight.