Severn Valley Railway Opens 65-Yard Kidderminster Extension
Severn Valley Railway has opened a 65-yard extension at kidderminster station, giving the site room for a full nine-coach train and locomotive in the run-round position. The station handles 80 per cent of the heritage attraction’s footfall, making the new platform a practical change for the railway’s busiest stop.
The project was aimed at improving safety and was unveiled at an official opening ceremony attended by volunteers and staff. Gus Dunster said the work was a “wonderful achievement” and said it opens the way for another project at Kidderminster.
Kidderminster station work
Project manager Antony Bartlam said the job became more difficult than it first appeared. “What began as a straightforward extension quickly developed into a complex engineering challenge. The existing track alignment on platform two, set on a tight radius, required careful repositioning while retaining original points to control costs.”
He added that the scheme included “carefully positioning the former Radyr bracket signal, moving the barrow crossing, and regrading the access road to the traction maintenance depot.” The extension also used reinforced block walls filled with around 142 tons of material, along with hundreds of edging blocks and coping stones.
Gus Dunster at Kidderminster
Dunster said the longer platform is a step toward completing Kidderminster Town station as it was intended to be. He said: “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.”
He said the railway will soon launch a major fundraising campaign for a GWR-style platform canopy. “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.”
Severn Valley Railway stations
Kidderminster Town station was built in the mid-1980s in an authentic Great Western Railway design and is the busiest of Severn Valley Railway’s six stations. With the platform now longer, the railway can handle a full nine-coach train at the station it uses most heavily.
The next step is the canopy fundraiser, which would extend the work beyond the platform itself and move the station closer to the finished layout Dunster described.
