In 2011 the following passenger service patterns apply:
Services on this route are operated by Cross Country Trains. All trains go via Spetchley and none are routed via Worcester Shrub Hill.
Trains to and from Bristol and the West Country do not stop anywhere in Worcestershire and are operated mostly using four-car class 220 'Voyager' diesel multiple units or five-car class 221 'Voyager' diesel multiple units. The following services normally operate with an HST 125 set with a class 43 diesel power car at each end:
Monday to Saturday unless noted
1V44 06:00 Leeds to Plymouth;
1S51 12:23 Plymouth to Glasgow
1V54 06:32 Dundee to Plymouth (from Glasgow at 07:00 on Saturdays)
1E73 17:23 Plymouth to Leeds
1V46 06:32 York to Plymouth (Monday to Friday)
1S55 13:23 Plymouth to Edinburgh (Monday to Friday)
1V50 06:06 Edinburgh to Plymouth (Monday to Friday)
1E:63 15:23 Plymouth to Leeds (Monday to Friday)
1V58 09:00 Glasgow to Penzance (Saturdays only)
The basic service pattern is half-hourly. Trains to the South-west leave Birmingham New Street at xx:12 and xx:42 and to the North-east leave Cheltenham Spa at xx:10 and xx:40 The trains take about forty minutes to travel between these two stations. If running on time the trains would pass each other near Spetchley.
Trains between Cardiff and Nottingham are operated using two-car class 170/1 diesel multiple units, two-car class 170/5 diesel multiple units or three-car class 170/6 diesel multiple units. Two Nottingham bound trains stop at Bromsgrove in the morning and two Cardiff bound trains call there in the afternoon, presumably to cater for commuter traffic to and from Birmingham New Street. Apart from these four trains the rest do not stop in the county. Trains to Cardiff leave Birmingham New Street at xx:30 and those to Nottingham leave Cheltenham at xx:57. If running on time the trains would pass each other near Spetchley.
Services on this route are operated by London Midland Trains using class 170/5 two-car diesel multiple units or class 170/6 three-car diesel multiple units. The basic travel pattern is hourly with services leaving Birmingham New Street at xx:49 and Hereford at xx:40 (there are some minor variations). The time taken for the full journey is just over 90 minutes and four diesel multiple units are required to operate the service. Trains pass each other near Worcester.
There is also a 'ghost' London Midland service which leaves Birmingham New Street 23.00 on Fridays only for Worcester Shrub Hill and Gloucester. The section of line between Worcester Shrub Hill and Gloucester sees no other scheduled London Midland services. The train is not in the printed Cross County Trains Nottingham & Derby to Bristol and Cardiff timetable which shows the last service between Birmingham New Street and Gloucester as departing at 22.12, nor does it appear in London Midland's timetable No.14 (Birmingham New Street/Moor Street to Worcester Shrub Hill and Hereford. However, it is shown in First Great Western's timetable No.22 (Bristol to Worcester and Great Malvern) and in Table 57 on the Network Rail web site. There is no return service.
Services on this route are operated by First Great Western using either class 43 'HST 125' diesel multiple units or three-car class 166 diesel multiple units. There are fourteen weekday trains from London Paddington with others starting from Oxford. Trains terminate at Worcester, Malvern or Hereford to no particular pattern. A similar situation occurs in the 'up' direction with all arrivals from London returning with the next scheduled departure.
First Great Western operate seven trains (one every two hours) from various South coast destinations to Great Malvern. Because these are slow trains and it is often possible to catch later trains and change to these train en-route the printed timetable (No.21) does not tend to show the full service. These services are actually:
07:15 Gloucester to Great Malvern and 08:26 Great Malvern to Westbury (runs only to Worcester Shrub Hill on Saturdays).
07:23 Warminster to Great Malvern and 10:51 Great Malvern to Brighton. During Monday to Friday (until 9th December 2011) this train was operated by a South West Trains class 158 two-car diesel multiple unit.
08:23 Southampton Central to Great Malvern and 12:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth (during much of 2011 this service was sometimes operated by an Arriva Trains Wales class 150/2 diesel multiple unit). It runs only to Worcester Foregate Street on Saturdays.
09:00 Brighton to Great Malvern and 14:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth
12:27 Southampton Central to Great Malvern and 16:49 Great Malvern to Southampton Central (This service is normally operated by a class 153 single car railcar). On Saturdays this train is operated using a South West Trains class 158 two-car diesel multiple unit.
15:28 Warminster to Great Malvern and 18:51 Great Malvern to Weymouth
17:28 Warminster to Great Malvern and 21:15 Great Malvern to Gloucester
During the winter 2011 timetable these services produced a variety of types of diesel multiple units. Most services were operated by either two-car or three-car hybrid class 158 diesel multiple units. The 12:22 from Southampton Central was often operated using a single car class 153 railcar. The 09:00 service was operated by a hired Arriva Trains Wales class 150/2 diesel multiple unit. First Great Western class 150/0 diesel multiple units also operate to a random pattern.
Trains on this route are operated by London Midland Trains using two-car or three-car class 172 diesel multiple units (class 150 diesel multiple units until the autumn of 2011). An intensive service of commuter trains operates to Stourbridge Junction with many trains continuing to Kidderminster, Worcester Shrub Hill or Great Malvern. Trains formations often run as two units coupled together to make four or five car trains. Some trains also include a single car class 153 railcar in their consist, but this is rare following the transfer of many of the class to other operators. Many services run to or from Dorridge and other locations on the lines to Leamington and Stratford on Avon.
Frequent services on the branch from Stourbridge Junction are operated by London Midland Trains using one of two class 139 single-car diesel railcars (the other can be found in the shed at Stourbridge Junction).
Six trains per hour run on this route with two per hour being extended to Redditch. All services are operated by London Midland Trains using three-car class 323 electric multiple units.
A full list of freight services can be found in the Freightmaster Quarterly publication. Most of the only regular freight trains are on the former Birmingham & Gloucester with a few going through Worcester Shrub Hill to Round Oak, Brierley Hill or Handsworth. Most trains are conditional and the ones listed here are some of the daytime services that can usually be relied upon to operate from Mondays to Fridays:
6M60 04:00 Exeter to Bescot load china clay wagons (Saturdays only). Operated by EWS using a class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Bromsgrove at about 10:15 if running on time. This train is banked up the Lickey Incline.
6M96 05:50 Margam to Corby loaded steel coil wagons. Operated by EWS using a class 66 diesel locomotive. This conditional train arrives at Bromsgrove around 10:00 if running. This train is banked up the Lickey Incline.
6B36 07:32 Didcot to Ashchurch MoD stores train. Runs as required via the Stroud Valley line to Worcester (passing Ashchurch en-route) where the locomotive changes from one end of the train to the other. It then goes from Worcester to Ashchurch where it reverses into the depot. If running it can be seen in Worcester about 10.00. This path is also used for trains to Long Marston.
6V05 09:23 Round Oak to Margam empty covered vans. Operated by a class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Worcester at about 10:20 if running.
6V67 03:53 Redcar to Margam loaded coal wagons (wagons loaded with coke). Operated by a class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Bromsgrove at about 12:00 if running on time.
6E41 11:41 Westerleigh to Lindsey empty oil tankers. Operated by EWS using class 60 diesel locomotives. The regular locomotive during the first three months of 2011 was No.60015 'Bow Fell'. The train passes Bromsgrove about 13:50 if running on its scheduled path. The balancing working 6V98 loaded tanks goes through Worcestershire during the night. 6E41. This train operates irregularly, usually Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The Saturday train passes Bromsgrove about 12:30, and the weekdays train often runs early.
4E66 08:55 Margam to Redcar empty coal wagons. Operated by EWS using a class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Bromsgrove at about 15:00 if running on time. From June 2011 this train was routed via Worcester and if running on time follows the 13:17 stooping train from Worcester Shrub Hill to Droitwich Spa
6V92 10:18 Corby to Margam empty steel wagons. Operated by a class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Bromsgrove just after 14:00 if running on time.
4V47 11:15 Rugeley to Stoke Gifford empty coal wagons. Operated by Freightliner. This train runs infrequently but if on time passes Bromsgrove at about 14:00.
6Z97 13:43 Beeston to Cardiff Tidal loaded scrap wagons. Operated by a DRS class 66 diesel locomotive. This train is scheduled to run on Mondays and Wednesday (also sometimes runs on a Friday) and passes Bromsgrove at about 16:30 if running on time.
6M41 11:51 Margam to Round Oak empty covered vans. Operated by a class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Worcester at about 16:50 running on time. An irregular working and seems never to run on a Wednesday.
6Z30 15:10 Handsworth to Cardiff Tidal loaded scrap boxes. Operated by a DRS class 66 diesel locomotive. This train runs conditionally on Wednesdays and Fridays only and passes Worcester at about 18:00 if running on time.
4V57 15:25 Rugeley to Stoke Gifford empty coal wagons. Operated by Freightliner. This train runs infrequently but if on time passes Bromsgrove at about 18:20. Often runs very late.
6V07 17.04 Round Oak to Margam loaded covered wagons. Operated by an EWS class 66 diesel locomotive. This train passes Worcester at about 18.10 if running on time. A Saturday only working that left Round Oak at 14:26 had ceased to run by the end of June 2011.
6Z90 09:20 Stockton to Cardiff Tidal loaded scrap boxes. Operated by a DRS class 66 diesel locomotive. This train runs on Fridays only and passes Bromsgrove at about 18:30 if running.
Other trains seen from time to time include nuclear flask trains (operated by DRS), loaded steels coil, from Margam to Hartlepool or Corby (operated by EWS) and the New Measurement Train. There are no daytime freight trains on a Sunday.