The Severn Valley Railway officially opened the extended platform at Kidderminster Town station on 7 May 2026, delivering a long-planned upgrade at its busiest station.

The project has lengthened the platform by around 60 metres, which now enables a full nine-coach train and locomotive to stand in the run-round position.

Construction work included reinforced block walls filled with approximately 400 cubic metres of material, together with the installation of hundreds of edging blocks and coping stones, many reclaimed from elsewhere on the railway.

Kidderminster Town was designed and constructed in the mid-1980s to resemble a station from the Great Western Railway era. The station handles around 80% of visitors to the Severn Valley Railway’s six stations.

The extension is expected to improve operational flexibility, enhance visitor access to railway operations, and support modern safety requirements.

Volunteers and staff involved in the scheme attended the official opening ceremony.

“What began as a straightforward extension quickly developed into a complex engineering challenge. The existing track alignment on platform 2, set on a tight radius, required careful repositioning while retaining original points to control costs. Additional works included carefully positioning the former Radyr bracket signal, moving the barrow crossing, and regrading the access road to the TMD.”

Antony Bartlam, Project manager.

“Our sincere thanks go to everyone involved for their hard work and support. This wonderful achievement now opens the way for another ambitious project at Kidderminster. With a longer platform in place, the time has come to complete Kidderminster Town station, as it was always intended to be.

“Very soon, we’ll be launching a major fundraising campaign to pay for the construction of a stunning GWR-style platform canopy. This will protect our visitors and give them a welcome worthy of the SVR’s gateway station, using a combination of reclaimed steelwork and newly manufactured components.”

Gus Dunster, SVR managing director.