Back when we wrote about the trial rail link between Bewdley and Birmingham, a couple of things were still up in the air: whether you would be able to buy a single through ticket for the whole journey, and whether the heritage shuttle between Bewdley and Kidderminster would carry passengers in both directions or just one. There are now answers to both.
According to the Stourbridge Line User Group, which put the questions to West Midlands Rail Executive, through tickets will be available. As an example, a peak return between Bewdley and Birmingham is expected to cost £16, an add-on of £3.50 on top of the fare from Kidderminster. That comes in below the return bus fare between Bewdley and Kidderminster, so it should be an attractive option. Online booking should open from the middle of August, and through tickets will be sold at ticket offices too.
The second answer is the more interesting one for anyone in Bewdley. The Severn Valley Railway has agreed to run the shuttle as a passenger service in both directions, morning and evening, rather than simply running empty one way. The times being quoted are:
Morning
- 06.40 Bewdley to Kidderminster, arriving 06.52
- 07.10 Kidderminster to Bewdley, arriving 07.22
- 07.40 Bewdley to Kidderminster, arriving 07.52
- 08.10 Kidderminster to Bewdley, arriving 08.22
Evening
- 17.15 Bewdley to Kidderminster, arriving 17.30
- 17.45 Kidderminster to Bewdley, arriving 17.57
- 18.15 Bewdley to Kidderminster, arriving 18.27
- 18.50 Kidderminster to Bewdley, arriving 19.02
Running both ways matters because it opens the trial up beyond the classic commute. The times are still built around the working day, so this is not an all-day, turn-up-and-go service, but it does mean someone could travel into Bewdley in the morning and back out in the evening, a small but real step towards the town being properly connected to the wider network.
As before, the trial runs on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays over an eight week period from 1 September, with the heritage section between Bewdley and Kidderminster connecting into West Midlands Railway services at Kidderminster. Full timetables and ticketing will be confirmed officially in due course, and we will share more as it is announced.
