Passengers travelling across the West Midlands should prepare for significant rail disruptions on Monday due to damage to a railway embankment between Worcester Foregate Street and Droitwich Spa.
West Midlands Railway has confirmed a heavily revised timetable, including the complete cancellation of services running between Worcester stations and Birmingham New Street via Bromsgrove.
Trains operating between Hereford and Birmingham New Street will only run between Hereford and Worcester Foregate Street. Meanwhile, services on the Snow Hill line may terminate early at Worcester Shrub Hill instead of Worcester Foregate Street and could experience delays and route changes.
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To mitigate disruption, road transport replacements will operate between Worcester stations, Droitwich Spa, and Bromsgrove to connect passengers onward.
West Midlands Railway issued the following update: “Due to railway embankment damage between Droitwich Spa and Worcester Foregate Street, services on this section are suspended. The line between Worcester Shrub Hill and Worcester Foregate Street/Droitwich Spa remains open but will see a severely reduced timetable throughout Monday.”
Passengers are urged to verify travel plans in advance using the National Rail Enquiries journey planner, which will be updated overnight.
Additional guidance includes the operation of a shuttle service between Worcester Foregate Street and Hereford, calling at all stations. For those travelling from Birmingham city centre to Droitwich or Worcester, services from Birmingham Snow Hill towards Worcester Shrub Hill are recommended.
Passengers travelling between University and Droitwich/Worcester should use trains between University and Birmingham New Street and then either walk to Birmingham Snow Hill for onward travel or connect via Smethwick Galton Bridge.
Worcester-Kidderminster-Birmingham Snow Hill services will continue to operate; however, some trains heading towards Worcester Foregate Street will divert and terminate at Worcester Shrub Hill. Delays and alterations may occur on other services.
West Midlands Railway apologises for the inconvenience and reminds passengers they may be eligible for compensation if delayed over 15 minutes. Travelers are advised to keep their tickets and submit claims after completing their journey.