Worcestershire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure, Councillor Ken Pollock, said: “I am delighted to announce the opening of Worcestershire Parkway on behalf of the County Council. The station is set to transform rail travel to and from the county and not only that, it looks great as well.
“I’d like to thank all those involved in making this station, which has been talked about for over 30 years, a reality. Without the County Council’s ambition for this station to be built to better serve our residents and businesses, the station would not exist.”
Worcestershire Parkway is a key part of the County Council’s commitment to improve rail infrastructure around the county.
Better rail connectivity allows easier travel into and out of the county, supporting the business and leisure economy.
This brand new station follows improvements already made at Bromsgrove, Foregate Street in Worcester, Malvern Link and Kidderminster.
Users of the station will benefit from easy access from the B4084 and a 500 space car park with reasonable charges.
Those arriving at the station by bike will experience a much-improved cycle way from Woodbury Lane and plenty of cycle parking including a two-tier bike rack near platform 2.
The station will also help to remove traffic from the county’s main roads and motorways.
Currently, there are many commuters that drive the entire journey or drive to larger stations out of county.
They do this to access better parking facilities and faster services to major cities.
With its 500 space carpark and fast services to Cardiff and London Paddington, many of these commuters will now choose to travel from Worcestershire Parkway.
Gary Woodman, Chief Executive of Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (WLEP), said: “The opening of Worcestershire Parkway will have a positive impact on the local economy. Not only will it provide local commuters with improved access and journey times to and from Oxford and London but it will also improve the overall connectivity of Worcestershire to the national network.
“The brand-new direct services arriving at the station from Cardiff, Derby and Nottingham, will reduce congestion on the roads of commuters who travel to stations such as Birmingham International and Warwick Parkway to make these connections. This station will make Worcestershire a more attractive destination to invest as better connectivity is key to unlocking more local economic growth.”
Ian Baxter, Director of the North Cotswold Line Task Force, and SLC Rail’s Strategy Director said:
“Worcestershire Parkway marks the beginning of a wider transport transformation for the North Cotswold Line between Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and London.
“SLC Rail is developing the Task Force’s case for more frequent, faster services on the line. As well as making use of today’s services, Parkway’s new capacity will support future service expansion.”
The station will enable easy access to both the Great Western Railway (GWR) Worcester – London Paddington route and the CrossCounty Cardiff – Nottingham route; the latter being a new service to Worcester which does not stop at any other station in the county.
The station building itself is a stunning space. From the larch wooden ceiling that dominates the main station building, visually linking all three interior floors, to the fantastic views of the Worcestershire countryside that can been seen from platform 3 and the concourse, it is a landmark structure.
It’s fully accessible with a lift to support access to all three platforms.
