Thursday 3rd September 2026
It’s an intriguing development. Commuters being encouraged to travel on a heritage railway. And that’s exactly what began in Worcestershire on Tuesday with the Severn Valley Railway (SVR) joining forces with the West Midlands Rail Executive and West Midlands Railway (WMR) for an eight week trial to test the feasibility of extending National Rail services from Birmingham and Kidderminster on to Bewdley on the Seven Valley Railway.
During the trial a heritage diesel or steam train will operate two journeys in both the morning (outbound) and afternoon (inbound) peak periods, taking commuters the three-and-a-half miles from Bewdley into Kidderminster where there’ll be connections with WMR services to and from Birmingham and return. Through tickets are available to Birmingham from Bewdley costing £16 (for an Anytime Return) representing a £3.60 add-on to the usual price from Kidderminster.
Morning departures from Bewdley for the 10 minute journey leave at 06:40 and 07:40 providing generous connections with WMR trains leaving Kidderminster at 07:08 and 08:08 arriving into Birmingham Snow Hill at 07:46 and 08:46 giving a journey time of just over an hour from Bewdley. Afternoon return journeys depart Snow Hill at 16:46 and 17:46 arriving Kidderminster at 17:25 and 18:25 where the SVR heritage train departs at 17:45 and 18:50 arriving into Bewdley at 17:57 and 19:02.
It’s said this arrangement of National Rail ticket holders making part of their journey on a heritage line using its locos and units and operated by its volunteer staff is unprecedented.
This trial aims to ‘test the market’ to see the potential for passengers making through journeys with the ultimate aim being to run West Midlands Railway trains from its station at Kidderminster to and from the Severn Valley Railway via the connecting track between the two lines just south of the station.
The idea of through trains has been kicked around for many years but intractable problems including trade union concerns at the involvement of volunteer staff (on the Severn Valley Railway) as well as compatibility of safety systems have so far proved intractable impediments.
The two evening WMR trains advertised in the trial both originate in Stratford-upon-Avon before passing through Birmingham (both Moor Street and Snow Hill) and currently terminate at Kidderminster.
The vision is those trains would continue as far as Bewdley but who knows, maybe longer term we could see Bridgnorth (the northern terminus of the SVR) back on the National Rail map.
I thought I’d try out the new service on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning to experience two ‘normal’ days in action guessing the very first inbound morning journeys on Tuesday would be untypical with important stakeholders, media and train enthusiasts adding to numbers travelling.
I’d heard you can buy through tickets to Bewdley from the National Rail system but unfortunately the ticket office in my local station, Hassocks, was unable to help but it could sell me a ticket from Kidderminster to Bewdley so I bought two singles, one for Tuesday afternoon and one for Wednesday morning at the bargain price of £1.30 each way with a Railcard.
All went well with the journey from Hassocks via London and Birmingham albeit I caught an earlier train into Kidderminster than I needed to have done but already waiting to return to Bewdley in the SVR heritage station, which is conveniently adjacent to the National Rail station, at least half an hour before departure were two or three commuters who’d travelled into Birmingham (as well as one to Worcester) in the morning.
They were all very positive about the new arrangements not minding the long connection time in Kidderminster.
The DMU Class 101 train soon rolled into the station for the 17:45 departure and all told 29 passengers travelled on it to Bewdley of whom I estimate around a third being genuine commuters, a third being SVR volunteers and a third enthusiasts.
When the train arrives into Bewdley it returns out of service to Kidderminster for the 18:50 departure which was not so well populated with only one genuine commuter and another SVR volunteer.
Wednesday morning saw me back in Bewdley to catch the first departure at 06:40 with the same DMU arriving in the platform at 06:30 ready for a prompt departure.
Nine passengers (all looking like genuine commuters/passengers rather than inquisitive people like myself) travelled, which was encouraging to see for only the second morning of a completely new service. As I understand also happened on Tuesday morning, two WMR Revenue Protection Officers were at the station as passengers arrived, and also travelled on the train, checking and selling tickets.
They told me they were able to sell through tickets to National Rail stations and their portable machines had been uniquely enabled to do so for the eight week trial.
On arrival in Kidderminster the nine passengers made their way over to the National Rail station and the train and staff returned to Bewdley for the 07:40 departure which I watched arrive at 07:50 with a very impressive 14 passengers – all genuine – alighting and heading over to the adjacent station.
It’s a lovely journey into Kidderminster with lots to see as well as enjoying the bonus of a forward or reverse view out of a DMU front or rear end driver’s cab.
The eight week trial is only operating on Tuesdays to Thursdays and, on a Wednesday afternoon, to fit in with SVR’s scheduled daytime running, the 17:45 and 18:50 journeys will be operated by a steam train making for a strange homecoming contrast for those commuters coming from Birmingham and taking advantage of these new arrangements.
I was initially sceptical on first hearing about this trial. A limited trial GWR tried in summer 2019 running trains between Taunton and Bishop Lydeard on the West Somerset Railway came to nothing and I had my doubts whether there’d be enough commuters in this trial to justify the additional cost of two Revenue Protection Officers selling tickets being tied up for a few hours as well as the costs involved in running the train, although of course for now it’s all being done by volunteers.
As I left the hotel in the centre of Bewdley at around 06:20 yesterday morning for the 10 minute walk to the SVR station it was interesting to see the 06:25 departure to Kidderminster on Diamond Bus route 125 waiting to depart. This would have got me into Kidderminster at 06:54 almost the same time as the SVR train albeit to the bus station, an inconvenient 15 minute walk from the railway station.
Route 125 runs hourly between Bridgnorth and Kidderminster on Mondays to Saturdays with an end to end journey time of 74 minutes compared to SVR’s 70 minutes on five return journeys on WThSSu at this time of year.
Having reflected on my travel experiences yesterday morning and Tuesday afternoon it’s very encouraging to see such a positive response so soon into the trial. Furthermore eight weeks will soon pass and to facilitate timely decisions for any continuation, modification or cessation, I would guess conclusions will have to be reached fairly early next month. I suspect the trial will be extended although that might prove challenging for SVR as its service is normally closed in November, much of December, as well as January and February.
For now though, well done to those involved for getting the trial ‘off the ground’ and on to the tracks after so many years of procrastination.
I’ll be interesting to see what comes next at the end of October.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
BusAndTrainUser 
The cab view on DMU’s used to be brilliant.
LikeLike
I remember a childhood journey returning from a family holiday in Weymouth to Bath on a first generation DMU. My Dad and I sat behind the driver.
Pete
LikeLike
Thanks for an interesting blog, Roger. It’s heartening in this age of onerous railway unionisation (see EastWest Rail guard concerns) that this thing can happen at all.
It’s probably sensible the connections are quite generous as one suspects the DMU will be limited to the 25mph heritage railway line speed and so probably not offering much of an opportunity to make up time in the event of late running!
Dan Tancock
LikeLike
I understand that you can ride the Kidderminster-Bewdley section both ways during morning and afternoon peaks, rather than it going one way out of service (unless they’ve changed their minds?)
Phil Tonks
LikeLike
The SVR have tried this on numerous occasions before and it always fails.
There is simply not enough footfall to sustain a service such as this.
Previously there has been Saturday Shoppers Specials with a DMU & previous weekday marketing of a commuter service
Midland Red West tried integrated bus & SVR rail tickets – again it was an utter disaster
Its very easy on the Snow Hill Lines to book thru to the SVR you just ask for a Bridgenorth Add On.
The SVR is very good as what it does running a heritage service thru Worcestershire & Shropshire
However commuter trains is not one of them & I strongly suspect yet again this is doomed to failure
LikeLike
On what dates has this been tried on ‘numerous occasion in the past’? I’ve been a member since the 1980s and an active volunteer for quite a few years, and I’ve not heard of a similar such operation on the SVR before.
The trial is not about making money With a fare of £2 single or £3.60 return, it could never do that. However if you look at the wider social benefits that such a service could provide and you may see things differently. Yes, you could only do this long term with paid staff, but the challenges are not not impossible to achieve.
After all the operation is not unlike the local rail operator providing sponsorship to a local bus or coach operator to operate a dedicated bus link from a railway station to a town without such a facility.
Another aspect is that Chiltern trains for example, doesn’t operate solely on Network Rail lines – it operates over a considerable part of London Underground’s Metropolitan Line from Harrow-on-the-Hill to Amersham, serving the same stations as the Metropolitan Line itself.
Unlike bus travel, which is dependent of local traffic conditions, having to make make multiple stops at bus stops en-route, as well as being held in traffic at traffic lights and road junctions, although the train only runs at 25mph, it does so, usually non-stop between the two locations and even at this low speed can easily cover the distance in 8 to 10 minutes. It should also be mentioned that all of road route between the two towns is subject to lower speed limits too, some as low as 20mph, for example.
I do not think that the aspirations of the SVR is to extend its operating area any further, rather this is an experiment to gauge potential passenger demand for an extension of the local train operator’s services using the operator’s modern rolling stock and extending some of its national rail services at its own financial risk.
There is after all, a fully signalled rail connection to Network Rail that is provided to passenger train carrying standard and it sees quite a bit of use.
LikeLike
Haven’t a clue on dates I am bus enthusiast
My late cousin ; who died in Covid; was heavily involved with SVR & we used to discuss things like the Bewdley Saturday Shoppers Train & various experiments with Midline & later Centro.
Unfortunately I am no longer in touch with him as he is dead so cant provide any actual dates.
The Midland Red West one was when I did my accountancy training so remember that fiasco well.
LikeLike
l believe that the Watercress line had ideas to run commuter links from Alresfird to Alton to connect with NSE early on in the line’s operation but nothing transpired.
John St. Albans
LikeLike
Yes, in the noughties a small team of us from the County Council spent an early morning shift surveying commuters at Alton hoping to catch many who had driven up from Alresford. The results may still be languishing in a box file at HCC!
LikeLike
I also have a vague recollection that a trial from Medstead and Four Marks into Alton, which was meant to use Parry People Movers was also mooted but that there was some issue with the unit which meant that it never happened. The parallel 64 bus route is far more frequent with a longer operating day than it was 10 years ago.
LikeLike
Doubt this will be sustainable long term. Surely a bus from Bewdley town centre to Kidderminster mainline station would be a better prospect.
LikeLike
The 125 used to provide this link from Bewdley to Kidderminster Railway Station
Until very recently as it extended from Kidderminster to Stourbridge however it was withdrawn due to lack of use
National Express West Midlands Service 25 now provides a partial replacement between Kidderminster & Dudley.
LikeLike
There appears to be a minor typo in the explanation of departures stating the second evening service departs Kidderminster 18:59 when it actually departs at 18:50 as correctly stated later.
LikeLike
Thanks for spotting that- now corrected.
LikeLike
Well done for getting up so early to monitor proceedings! I remember the Weardale Railway running a very different commuter service between Stanhope and Bishop Auckland for more than a year back in 2010. This was very different territory, covering 15 miles through lightly populated villages. Over this distance the 25mph limit was a definite disadvantage and the long established Weardale Motor Services continue to provide the service to this day.
The three mile Bewdley to Kidderminster interurban journey is a very different prospect and, as a SVR member I wish them well. However, I’m not sure how many volunteers would relish getting up so early when volunteering effectively becomes a job. As ever, time will tell.
Paul from Leicester
LikeLike
While this seems like a good idea, I think the 8 weeks trial is nothing but a Look at what I am trying story.
You may not get the numbers they want to use it as potential passengers may not think it worthwhile changing their commute for something that may not last and passengers would need to change their routine again having already changed it to use the service.
It would be better to try and do this sort of innovation on a long term bases, minimum of 1 year hopefully longer, we as a society seem to expect instant success nowadays, sometimes success take time to build.
LikeLike
How does it fit in with “normal” SVR operating schedules?
Rather than a heritage full mainline railway unit, a Coventry-style VLR single car might work, if allowed to run on line of sight rules and at higher speeds.
LikeLike
Many thanks for trying this out. I’m intrigued that the 125 (and 291) buses from Bewdley don’t serve Kidderminster station. Is this just the ‘bus passengers don’t use trains and train passengers don’t use buses’ myth which (some) rail and bus managers have used to avoid trying out integration? Or is there some strange conflict in the Kidderminster road system?
Rick Townend
LikeLike
There is simply no demand for a direct link to Kidderminster Railway Station from Bewdley
Various routes have been tried over the years with the erstwhile 2 from Bark Hill extended to the Railway Station- That failed.
The 125 from Bridgnorth via Highley & Bewdley was extended to Stourbridge via the Railway Station- That failed
There is simply no demand for a direct bus from Bewdley to Kidderminster Railway Station if there was Diamond Bus would provide a link.
LikeLike
One of the big problems with bus-train connections is settling on a reasonable connection time between modes.
The morning connections seem to be decent, with time for purchasing a ticket AND the obligatory coffee!!
The afternoon connections seem to be rather excessive . . . commuters heading home are very demanding of waiting around, and 20-25 minute connectiosn are simply too long . . . I suspect that AM numbers will be decent, whereas PM numbers will be low, with “kiss and ride” connections predominating!!
Worth a try, and I do hope it survives, but somehow I doubt it . . .
LikeLike
Very good article.
LikeLike
It is good to see people working together to get this off the ground but I don’t see it having a long term future as it needs a longer trial to get habits changed.
There is also another issue – disabled access. Given the needs these days to provide such access I am really surprised this has been given even a short trial. No idea about access to Bewdley station but definitely an issue with a heritage DMU.
Perhaps a better solution would be WMR extending journeys from Kidderminster to Bewdley? Modern accessible trains without the need for connections. I guess the issue would be the state of the track but SVR could charge for track access like Network Rail does.
Richard Warwick
LikeLike
West Midlands Railways cant even run its existing timetable between Snow Hill & Kidderminster let alone extending to Bewdley with constant cancelled services and short formed trains in the peaks. Its a truly appalling service so any extension to Bewdley or beyond would be sheer madness.
By comparison Chiltern Railways run an excellent service between Stourbridge Junction & London Marylebone
The comparison between the two is breathtaking quite simply Beauty & The Beast
West Midlands Railways rubbish service is a tale as old wine, as true as it can be….
LikeLike
The reason for using ‘heritage’ trains on this line is not so much the state of the track, which is well maintained by SVR, but just so that passenger demand can be assessed. For modern trains to use the SVR line, my understanding is that things like signals would need to be upgraded, and then you have all the other necessities like real-time displays that would need to be installed at the station, plus WMR drivers would have to undergo route-learning and training.
If the trial proves to be a success, then it is worth undertaking all this work, and the long-term aim is to have direct trains between Bewdley and Birmingham.
Stu
WMBU
LikeLike
To be honest Stu I was waiting at Jewellery Quarter this evening & two trains were cancelled
I honestly think they need to fix and operate an acceptable service between Snow Hill & Kidderminster first before any expansion is planned.
LikeLike
The Swanage Railway also tried a service aimed at “regular” passengers on its Wareham extension connecting with SWR services and this was abandoned. As far as I can tell, the extension rebuilt at considerable cost is now only used for a few excursions a year and loco movements for gala days.
LikeLike
I remember travelling on that in 2023. The return fare was £25.
At the time, the bus fare cap was £2, making Wareham to Swanage by bus just £4 there and back.
Malc M
LikeLike
Most interesting and encouraging, even if ultimately not continued long term.
Through ticketing is definitely not unprecedented. I distinctly remember reading in Rail some years ago about through ticketing onto the Ecclesbourne Valley Railway, involving changing from a Matlock-bound train at Duffield onto a Wirksworth-bound train. I don’t know for how long that lasted.
Brian Musgrave.
LikeLike
So many doom-mongers! Even if it’s not a success I think everyone involved deserves credit for trying, it’s not easy to get these things set up. And who knows, maybe it will work well and you’ll all have to eat humble pie!
There have been occasional discussions to use the Wallingford shuttle in a similar way, connecting at Cholsey with select commuter runs. They have major issues running any trains at all at the moment, but again it’s a nice idea that might potentially work. I understand GWR have offered to provide through season tickets if it does get off the ground.
LikeLike
Its not doom mongering if you live in the area as I do you know this venture is simply doomed to failure.
There isn’t is a sustainable demand for a commuter rail service from Bewdley to Kidderminster – quite simply.
LikeLike
What on earth is the point of the extended connection times? Who wants to spend 16 minutes at Kidderminster on the way into work—why not make it 5 or 6 minutes? After all, if there is a delay on the SVR, there’s another train into Birmingham 10 or 15 minutes later.
And on the return trip, the connection time is still more ludicrous: why not make it 4 minutes? There is nothing stopping the SVR waiting for a late-running train from Birmingham.
The connections are so generous that commuters on the 07:40 might fancy their chances of catching the 07:52 from Kidderminster, while those returning and aiming for the 17:45 might make it catching the 17:01 from Snow Hill, and the 18:50 the 18:01 (the latter offering an 11-minute connection). Why suggest that commuters instead should catch the 17:46 and spend 21 minutes kicking their heels at Kidderminster?
LikeLike
And thereby hangs the dichotomy of connectional times!! Keep it tight and hope that the next journey will wait, or keep it loose and have passengers waiting around.
Remember that a GBR train must keep to time plus three, or a delay is recorded. A registered bus journey may run up to 5 minutes after time . . . any more will result in the Traffic Commissioner declaring a non-operated journey.
As I’ve said before . . . if anyone can come up with the correct answer, I’d love to know!!
LikeLike
I assume the connections are guaranteed ones for Delay Repay rather than the tighter timed possibilities. One way of maintaining the service would be – rather appropriately “plus bus” add on avalible Bewdley Kidderminster giving options of using either bus or heritage rail.
If as suggested other add on heritage fares from national rail to SVR can also apply on appropriate dates that could allow some full SVR line commuting.
Could the DMU serve Stourbridge Town at all from Bewdley , conversly if WMR is struggling for trains would a Parry vehicle be able to do the full line Stourbridge Town Bewdley as a replacement , alternatively WMR could hire the GWR battery train for Bewdley Stourbridge shuttles I assume it would need three to provide an hourly plus peak extra service ?
Time to have some innovation and it seems that 30 passengers over the two trains isnt too bad with some of them travelling (at peak fares) beyond Birmingham.
Should real time information be provided at heritage stations and inside all passenger vehicles ? Easlily programmable voice and visual modules or monitor screens are now available at low cost and could be easy fitments (more difficult to non corridor stock so maybe that should be exempt) and really for even heritage passengers real time is easier to read than sometimes complex timetables or even the next train clock hands display in a booking office window. Actually that is one aspect of the National Rail / GBR clock , have we all forgotten how to read dial clocks these days easily ?
If Brunel had had access to GPS and real time clocks at Temple Meads and Paddington I am sure he would have made use of it
JBC Prestatyn
LikeLike
As Captain Mainwaring was wont to say “I think you’re entering the realms of fantasy now, Jones”.
LikeLike
The People Mover is totally useless & no way could be used between Stourbridge Town & Bewdley
Using the link regularly it constantly breaks down & has to be replaced by Rail Replacement Buses.
In addition any use of a heritage DMU on a mainline service would be totally unacceptable due to access under The Equalites Act for disabled access
Anyone who actually knows the North Worcestershire area knows the SVR commuter service is doomed for failure
As for as Stourbridge is concerned the long term aim is to extend the West Midlands Metro from Dudley to Stourbridge
LikeLike
Not sure if the present set of BBC2 Portillos railway tours is a repeat but yesterday I think he was travelling the Bluebell Railway mentioning it was the first standard gauge passenger railway to be heritage operated by Volunteers , indeed a very true statement with Tallylyn being narrow gauge and Middleton Railway in Leeds being a Goods/Freight railway where indeed the volunteer aspect with early mornings and late nights could be a job shunting trucks off the BR exchange siding to the relevant two main customers and getting the return loads or empties efficiently ready for evening pick up, while some people were carried that was later either in the tramway vehicles acquired (alas vandalised when not in use) or the brake van/goods truck standing only method in the early days of volunteer operation.
JBC Prestatyn
LikeLike