SVR General Discussion

Dead Sheep · Oct 24, 2026 at 5:54 PM

A great and rather upbeat assessment of the commuting pilot.

MellishR · Oct 25, 2026 at 8:12 AM

2857Harry said: ↑

There seems to be a lot of negativity after some initial figures were released but I think there’s a lot to consider here….

1) If you’re asking people to change their daily life’s an 8 week trial is probably not enough. People, and particularly commuters, are habitual, they like routine. I see it all the time at work with regulars, getting on the same door, finding the same seat, standing on the same place on platforms. Perhaps 8 weeks is just not long enough to convince the very habitual ones to change that.

2) The whole purpose of the trial was to prove demand. Demand there is, even if currently small. Bewdley is growing. More houses are going up and it is a nightmare to drive round at key times of the day. If I’ve got a book on between 0800-0930 I actively avoid going in for book on and go in early to avoid the traffic. But linking back to the above how many will change for just 8 weeks?

3) Not all national network services make money, at least for part of the journey. But they do provide a service, and usually that’s welcomed and used by even the small band of locals. Maybe if this did become permanent it would need to be one of those.

So that all begs the question of how does the SVR approach this on a more prolonged basis? And to me that answer can only be to be paid a set as a contractor to run the trains, with no financial risk. Perhaps not with volunteers, but surely the cost of using paid staff would be factored in to any new contract? I can see a future for this service, but it’s going to take a while to iron the creases.
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It is to be hoped that the decision about future operation will take due account of those considerations, which all imply that long-term viability should be significantly better than indicated by the passenger numbers during the trial.

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SVR General Discussion

Dead Sheep Member

MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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SVR General Discussion

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MellishR Resident of Nat Pres Friend

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