From 1 September, Bewdley will have a rail connection to Birmingham, and the trains doing the work will be heritage steam and diesel.
The Severn Valley Railway has joined West Midlands Rail Executive and West Midlands Railway to run an eight week trial over the three and a half miles between Bewdley and Kidderminster. Passengers change at Kidderminster onto West Midlands Railway services for Birmingham, and the whole journey takes a little over an hour. It is believed to be one of the first arrangements of its kind in the country, with main line ticket holders spending part of their journey on a heritage railway, hauled by heritage locomotives and crewed by heritage railway staff.
The trial runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Trains leave Bewdley at 6.40am and 7.40am, reaching Birmingham Snow Hill at 7.46am and 8.46am, and return from Snow Hill at 4.46pm and 5.46pm, arriving into Bewdley at 5.57pm and 7.02pm. The Severn Valley Railway will use its diesel multiple unit for most of the services, with steam hauled return trains on Wednesdays and Thursdays where they fit around the existing timetable.
Those times are built around commuters heading into the city, so this is not yet the service to catch if you are coming the other way for the day. What matters is what it could lead to. The trial exists to prove there is demand, and if it does, services that currently terminate at Kidderminster could be extended to Bewdley permanently.
Sharon Harvey, Mayor of Bewdley, said the town council “warmly welcomes this exciting trial, which responds directly to the strong local demand for better public transport links”, adding that it has the potential to bring “more visitors into the town to support local businesses” and encouraging everyone to use the service and help make the case for a permanent connection.
Gus Dunster, chief executive of the Severn Valley Railway, said it sees the railway “fulfilling the purpose it was originally built for by carrying everyday passengers between Bewdley and Kidderminster”.
In the meantime, Bewdley is perfectly reachable by rail from Birmingham. Take a West Midlands Railway service to Kidderminster, walk across to Kidderminster Town station, and the Severn Valley Railway’s own timetable will carry you into Bewdley through the Wyre Forest. Full timetables and ticketing arrangements for the trial are still to be announced.
