Droitwich Spa railway station

Droitwich Spa railway station was opened in 1852 (then called simply 'Droitwich') as part of the Oxford-Worcester-Wolverhampton Line by the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton Railway, which was soon to come under the auspices of the Great Western Railway. It was in 1899,[1] when the station was rebuilt by John Corbett, that the 'Spa' suffix was added. The station was linked into the Midland Railway's main line between Birmingham New Street and Gloucester by means of a short branch line to Stoke Works Junction, south of Bromsgrove. This also allowed trains from the Worcester direction to run to New Street (by means of running powers over MR metals) as well as the GWR station at Snow Hill. Originally built as a double line, it was singled in 1969 when Gloucester Power Signal Box took over control of the main line south of Barnt Green.

The service pattern from the station has varied somewhat over the years, particularly after most services via Kidderminster were diverted to New St in 1967 as part of the plans to close Snow Hill (the service via Bromsgrove subsequently becoming peak-hours only). Today though, travellers from the station once again have a choice of stations in Birmingham following the reopening of Snow Hill in 1995 and there are regular services on both routes into the city.

Currently there is an hourly service (Mon - Sat) between New St and Hereford via Bromsgrove that calls here, along with two trains per hour between Snow Hill and Worcester (both stations). The latter continue beyond Snow Hill eastbound to either Whitlocks End or Dorridge, whilst some trains run through to/from Great Malvern. There are also limited extensions to Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa. The frequency on this line drops to hourly in the evenings.
On Sundays, the Worcester - Snow Hill service runs every hour, continuing eastbound to Shirley and Stratford-upon-Avon, whilst there is only a limited service (five trains each way) between New St and Worcester/Hereford. However, following the December timetable change on 9 December 2012, London Midland will increase the frequency of services to Birmingham New Street to hourly in the afternoon, and bi-hourly in the mornings.[2][3]

As of January 2016 the typical weekday off-peak service from the station is:

• 2tph (trains per hour) to Worcester (some services go via or terminate at Worcester Shrub Hill)
• 2tph to Whitlocks End or Dorridge via Birmingham Snow Hill
• 1tph to Hereford (additional services to Great Malvern and Worcester Shrub Hill at peak times)
• 1tph to Birmingham New Street (additional services at peak times)

Services on the Snow Hill Line are generally served by Class 172 DMUs and services on the Hereford Line are normally served by Class 170s but one diagram is run by a Class 150 DMU.

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2007). Worcester to Birmingham. Middleton Press. figs. 16-21. ISBN 9781904474975. OCLC 263292710.

Railway lines in Worcestershire
Kidderminster line to Birmingham Snow Hill Cross-City Line to Birmingham New Street Hagley Birmingham–Stratford line to Birmingham Moor Street Wythall Blakedown Birmingham–Stratford line to Stratford-upon-Avon Barnt Green Kidderminster Town Kidderminster Blackwell Alvechurch Foley Park Halt Lickey Incline Bewdley Tunnel Redditch Rifle Range Halt Stourport-on-Severn Gloucester loop line via Alcester Hartlebury Bromsgrove Bewdley Cutnall Green Halt Stoke Works Northwood Halt Droitwich Spa Junction Wyre Forest Droitwich Spa Arley Newnham Bridge Fernhill Heath Severn Valley Railway to Bridgnorth Blackpole Halt Easton Court Astwood Halt Tenbury and Bewdley Railway to Woofferton Droitwich Road Worcester Tunnel Junction Dunhampstead Worcester TMD Oddingley Spetchley Vinegar works Worcester Shrub Hill Worcester Foregate Street Norton Worcestershire Parkway Stoulton Former freight branch Gloucester loop line via Alcester River Severn Abbot's Wood Junction Pershore Henwick Wadborough Boughton Halt Wyre Halt Rushwick Halt Defford Leigh Court Fladbury Knightwick Harvington Bransford Road Eckington Suckley Bredon Newland Halt Bengeworth Worcester, Bromyard & Leominster Rly to Leominster Evesham Malvern Link Hinton Great Malvern Ashton-under-Hill Malvern Hanley Road Beckford Malvern Wells Upton-on-Severn Ripple Littleton and Badsey Honeybourne Line to Stratford-upon-Avon Cotswold Line to Hereford Honeybourne Ashchurch for Tewkesbury Cross Country Route to Cheltenham Spa Cotswold Line to Oxford Broadway Gloucestershire Warwickshire Rly to Cheltenham Racecourse

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Droitwich Spa railway station.

• Train times and station information for Droitwich Spa railway station from National Rail
• Rail Around Birmingham and the West Midlands: Droitwich Spa station
• MIAC: Droitwich Spa
• West Midlands Railway: Station Information

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Hartlebury or Kidderminster		West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line		Worcester Foregate Street
		West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line		Worcester Shrub Hill
Bromsgrove or University		West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line		Worcester Foregate Street
		West Midlands Railway Birmingham to Worcester via Bromsgrove Line		Worcester Shrub Hill