The Birmingham–Worcester via Kidderminster line is a railway route in the West Midlands of England, linking Birmingham Snow Hill with Worcester through Stourbridge and Kidderminster. It forms part of the Snow Hill Lines network and is served by both West Midlands Trains and Chiltern Railways. Looking ahead, Network Rail has identified the electrification of the route—alongside the Chiltern Main Line to London Marylebone—as a long-term aspiration to improve capacity, efficiency, and sustainability across the corridor. ROLLING STOCK: BR CLASS 172 DMU (WMR) The British Rail Class 172 is a diesel multiple-unit passenger train built by Bombardier Transportation at its Derby Litchurch Lane Works. Part of the well-established Turbostar family, these trains were designed primarily for regional and suburban services. Today, the entire fleet is operated by West Midlands Trains, where it is a familiar sight on routes across the West Midlands and surrounding areas. BR CLASS 139 a running joke in the community could finally become a reality with this one. The British Rail Class 139 is a lightweight railcar built by Parry People Movers for use on the National Rail network. Introduced specifically for the short Stourbridge Town branch line, the class was developed following the successful trial of a prototype vehicle, which was temporarily designated Class 999. The first production Class 139 was unveiled at the Tyseley Locomotive Works open day on 28 June 2008, and by June 2009 both units in the fleet had entered passenger service. Since then, the Class 139 has become a distinctive feature of the branch line, providing a simple and efficient shuttle service between Stourbridge Town and Stourbridge Junction. STATIONS: BIRMINGHAM SNOW HILL JEWELLERY QUARTER THE HAWTHORNS SMETHWICK GALTON BRIDGE LANGLEY GREEN ROWLEY REGIS OLD HILL CRADLEY HEATH LYE STOURBRIDGE JUNCTION STOURBRIDGE TOWN HAGLEY BLAKEDOWN KIDDERMINSTER HARTLEBURY DROITWICH SPA WORCESTER FORGATE STREET WORCESTER SHRUB HILL In Conclusion, this route would bring the much loved class 139 into TSW, along with the Stourbridge Shuttle, this would also include Birmingham Snow Hill, a new terminus, that could lead to other routes being made from there, such as Chiltern Railways routes. The addition of the class 172, brings more of the turbostar family to TSW. Thank you all for viewing.
Good suggestion and my local route. Ideally you extend it one stop to Birmingham Moor Street...... as why not. You include the SVR at Kiddy, so you have some steam and classic diesel at the side as Ai. Could add in some gala transfers from the mainline. Galton Bridge crosses over the Bham to Crew route, so a chance to route hop here. If you really wanted to push the boat out, you can add the spur that takes Droitwich to Bromsgrove which is about 8 miles additional. That would route hop you to the cross city route and give a good chance to run a loop through Birmingham.
Having previously lived in Birmingham, Stourbridge and Worcester, I would love to see this line as I travelled on it a lot. My memory of the Stourbridge Shuttle is when it was run with a Class 153 so I would be equally happy to have it set back in a time when they were used. The 139 would also be good though.
