The number of passengers using Worcestershire Parkway station is soaring, with more than 500,000 passengers using it between April 2022 and the end of March this year.
A total of 544,270 journeys were counted, far outstripping forecasts when the station was being planned, with this volume of traffic not expected to be achieved until the early 2030s. In 2021-22, the number of passenger journeys recorded at the station was 314,894.
The achievement was marked by a special event at the station, on the south-east outskirts of Worcester, on Friday, September 8, attended by Beatrice Grant, the Lord-Lieutenant of Worcestershire, who unveiled a plaque.
Marc Bayliss, Worcestershire County Council’s cabinet member for economy, infrastructure and skills, said: “It’s fantastic that Parkway has exceeded all the initial expectations and significantly more people are using it than we had hoped for, only three years after opening. The station forms part of our wider £50m-plus rail investment programme and is a key part of our Worcestershire Rail Investment Strategy.”
The station is managed by Great Western Railway. GWR’s business development director Tom Pierpoint said: “We’re delighted that Worcestershire Parkway customer numbers are so far ahead of expectations. To be hitting travel figures now that were originally anticipated to be reached in 2031 is remarkable, and a testament to everyone involved in the planning, design and building of the station.
“It shows how much appetite there is for modal shift to rail and how important the railway is for economic development and sustainability. There is the potential for even greater growth, and we look forward to continuing our work with Worcestershire County Council and the Department for Transport to truly realise the potential for this very important station.”
Worcestershire Parkway is served by GWR trains on the Cotswold Line between Hereford, Worcester, Oxford and London Paddington and CrossCountry trains on the company’s route between Cardiff, Gloucester, Birmingham, Derby and Nottingham and has a 500-space car park. It opened on 20th February 2020, just before the first Covid pandemic lockdown began.