Swindon-Birmingham (via Cheltenham) proposal

[Snow1964]

Seems there was a meeting in Swindon involving MPs, local politicians, and transport executives regarding a Swindon-Birmingham service. It was axed over 20 years ago. Looks like it is proposed as expansion (or linking services) using Midland Rail Hub funds.

The proposed service, which last ran in the early 2000s, could be reinstated through the Midlands Rail Hub project - a £1.75 billion investment aimed at improving rail connections across the Midlands, South West, and South Wales.

The proposed route would run via Stroud and Stonehouse, creating more than two million additional seats per year between Swindon and Birmingham.

The last direct service between the two towns ended more than 20 years ago, forcing passengers to change trains in Cheltenham, Gloucester, or Reading.

Swindon North MP Will Stone met with Midlands Connect and rail leaders at Swindon railway station to discuss the scheme’s potential to deliver up to 130 extra trains per week between Swindon and Birmingham.

He was joined by Councillor Chris Watts, Cabinet Member for Transport; Councillor Fay Howard, Mayor of Swindon; Tom Lydon, Head of Public Affairs at Great Western Railway and Adam King, Head of Policy and Partnerships from England's Economic Heartland.

Mr Stone said: "It’s fantastic that Swindon could be benefiting from the Midlands Rail hub expansion.

"We’re a town built on connection via the railways, and so it’s great to see Swindon getting an hourly service between a fellow industrial town like Birmingham."

Mr Stone said: "This connection will improve access for residents across the country, with two million extra seats available for passengers passing along the railway between Swindon and Birmingham each year, forging stronger links between businesses and communities.

"Innovative projects like the Midlands Rail hub prove that investments in our railways, fully funded by the Chancellor, are transformative for communities, bringing new jobs and skills to areas across the country."

The first phase of the Midlands Rail Hub is expected to create more than 12,750 jobs and deliver broad benefits for travellers in the West Midlands, South Wales, and the South West.

The first phase of the scheme has secured funding following Chancellor Rachel Reeves' commitment in the spending review, and it was also featured in the government’s recent 10-year infrastructure strategy.

At the end of August, it was announced that the project had taken a major step forward to delivery, with the identification of the preferred alliance partners, including VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis, Siemens Mobility, and Network Rail.

Direct train route set to return to Swindon for first time in 20 years

A long-lost direct rail route between Swindon and Birmingham not seen for twenty years could soon be on track for a return.

www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk

 

[cle]

Interesting. Is this a change to the plans for Cardiff and Bristol services as part of the connect (plus others) ?

I also think the Bristol-Oxford, if it ever went hourly, could be extended to Moor St (becoming the Oxford-Moor St once rumoured) which would also cover Swindon-Birmingham, but also connecting Leamington, Banbury to Swindon, Bath etc. for the first time in living memory! Obv not useful for Bristol-Birmingham end to end, but a lot of handy pairs threaded together. And gets another service out of terminating in Oxford...

 

[The exile]

Seem to remember it was pretty short-lived last time.

 

[Snow1964]

Seems interesting that GWR public affairs attended the meeting, but no one apparently from West Midlands trains.

Does this suggest it will be a GWR service extended northwards (if it happens), rather than a service from Birmingham extended southwards.

My guess is public affairs involvement, suggests it is more a PR stunt than a serious proposal utilising spare GWR stock (that it doesn't actually have)

 

[The exile]

My guess is public affairs involvement, suggests it is more a PR stunt than a serious proposal utilising spare GWR stock (that it doesn't actually have)

Although this is presumably a time when future GWR (or successor body) stock requirements can be determined and catered for in Project Churchward.

 

[MarkyT]

Seem to remember it was pretty short-lived last time.

It was intended to be Virgin route VT0 under Operation Princess in 2002, to be operated by short refurbished 'Challenger' HST formations eventually but initially with class 158s. The route was withdrawn quickly in the major revisions of the entire cross country timetable that occurred shortly afterwards following terrible performance network-wide.

Edit: Incorrectly referred to the Swindon - Birmingham route as VT6 due to a very poor resolution map. It was VT0. Also established that the service started with 158s.

 

[Pigeon]

Hope it runs via Worcester/Droitwich.

 

[MarkyT]

Hope it runs via Worcester/Droitwich.

More likely to call at Worcestershire Parkway.

 

[43074]

Seems interesting that GWR public affairs attended the meeting, but no one apparently from West Midlands trains.

Does this suggest it will be a GWR service extended northwards (if it happens), rather than a service from Birmingham extended southwards.

I wouldn't read anything into that, the "franchise" map will probably look very different by the time Midlands Rail Hub happens anyway.

 

[Harpo]

The hourly connection at Cheltenham with no platform change is one of the better ones. I’d have thought sorting out the awful Swindon to Cheltenham journey time was the real need? 60 minutes by rail versus 4x minutes by road which gets even faster when the Birdlip scheme completes.

 

[Pigeon]

More likely to call at Worcestershire Parkway.

That's what I was getting at.

 

[JonathanH]

I’d have thought sorting out the awful Swindon to Cheltenham journey time was the real need? 60 minutes by rail versus 4x minutes by road which gets even faster when the Birdlip scheme completes.

Very difficult to justify cutting out Gloucester on the London to Cheltenham services, and also difficult to justify 2tph on the Golden Valley.

 

[Snow1964]

It was intended to be Virgin route VT0 under Operation Princess in 2002, to be operated by short refurbished 'Challenger' HST formations eventually but initially with class 158s. The route was withdrawn quickly in the major revisions of the entire cross country timetable that occurred shortly afterwards following terrible performance network-wide.

Edit: Incorrectly referred to the Swindon - Birmingham route as VT6 due to a very poor resolution map. It was VT0. Also established that the service started with 158s.

You have jogged a memory, and now looked it up.

The plan was to operate with shortened HST sets alternate hours to the GWR Paddington-Swindon-Cheltenham service, as an XC Paddington-Swindon-Cheltenham-Birmingham.

But it started off with just 158s, didn't last long, and XC subsequently pulled out of serving Paddington.

Actually XC pulled out of serving lots of places, as it appears the 2002 timetable has XC trains terminating but no longer serving (alphabetically) Blackpool North, Dundee, Gatwick Airport, London Paddington, Poole, Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea, Redhill, Swansea

 

[Harpo]

Very difficult to justify cutting out Gloucester on the London to Cheltenham services, and also difficult to justify 2tph on the Golden Valley.

And apparently very hard to break the GWR (/Dft?) all-shacks philosophy thats made the Western slower than early HST days.

 

[MarkyT]

Very difficult to justify cutting out Gloucester on the London to Cheltenham services, and also difficult to justify 2tph on the Golden Valley.

Though double track throughout today makes it feasible.

 

[popeter45]

Actually XC pulled out of serving lots of places, as it appears the 2002 timetable has XC trains terminating but no longer serving (alphabetically) Blackpool North, Dundee, Gatwick Airport, London Paddington, Poole, Portsmouth Harbour, Portsmouth & Southsea, Redhill, Swansea

XC never really recoved from 2002, wonder what XC would look like now if its network wasnt cut in the way it was

 

[cle]

Though double track throughout today makes it feasible.

One to Gloucester and one to Cheltenham makes sense. The latter doesn’t deserve the reversal penalty, being the larger rail market. Many drive to Swindon and may not if sub 2 hours.

 

[deltic08]

Could Swindon-Bromsgrove be electrified by the time XC needs new bimode stock? If started at Swindon, Paddington-Cheltenham trains could be electric throughout, South Wales-Paddington diverted trains would only be on diesel between Severn Tunnel Junction and Gloucester and Nottingham-Cardiffs could become BEMUs. Swindon-Birminghams could be EMUs eventually or is this just my fantasy with unaffordable electrification?

 

[Harpo]

Could Swindon-Bromsgrove be electrified by the time XC needs new bimode stock?

Bromsgrove to Kings Norton would need more wires too. Only 2/4 roads wired currently.

 

[The Planner]

Bromsgrove to Kings Norton would need more wires too. Only 2/4 roads wired currently.

Midlands Rail Hub does that anyway.

 

[Harpo]

Midlands Rail Hub does that anyway.

That’s excellent news.

 

[Pete_uk]

The hourly connection at Cheltenham with no platform change is one of the better ones. I’d have thought sorting out the awful Swindon to Cheltenham journey time was the real need? 60 minutes by rail versus 4x minutes by road which gets even faster when the Birdlip scheme completes.

One of the problems is that the line follows the contours of the valley between Sapperton Tunnel and Stroud. There are very few bits of straight track!

 

[peterprice]

Very difficult to justify cutting out Gloucester on the London to Cheltenham services, and also difficult to justify 2tph on the Golden Valley.

I think you could certainly justify a second local service with the numbers of people using Stroud and Kemble (580k and 400k), just not all the way to London. Wouldn't be more than a 10-15min connection at worst in Swindon, and if said local service went straight to Stonehouse from Cheltenham, then Cheltenham-London is probably comparable to the time taken going into Gloucester. For the distance, Stroud-Cheltenham (14 miles) takes longer than you'd want it to by both bus and train and makes the shift from car to public transport more appealing if you cut off the Gloucester reversal time, whereas Stroud-Gloucester is reasonably well served by buses too.

 

[Brubulus]

You'd have to run Cheltenham-London via Gloucester. But 2tph on the Golden valley is justifiable in my opinion and Swindon-Birmingham is a better use of capacity in my opinion that a third Bristol service that's slower than the other 2. So long as the current 2tph remain evenly spaced and aren't still voyagers by the time this comes to fruition.

 

[Pete_uk]

As an aside, Gloucestershire County Council is going to fund a rapid bus network which will include 10 minute departures between Glos City and Cheltenham with some going down to Stonehouse, Stroud and a few other places.

Road competition...

 

[cle]

You'd have to run Cheltenham-London via Gloucester. But 2tph on the Golden valley is justifiable in my opinion and Swindon-Birmingham is a better use of capacity in my opinion that a third Bristol service that's slower than the other 2. So long as the current 2tph remain evenly spaced and aren't still voyagers by the time this comes to fruition.

I assume this would skip Gloucester, which already has a Birmingham service, on the Cardiff.

So it might provide a similar journey time for Cheltenham with a Swindon connection, to the direct with the Gloucester reversal.

 

[andystonehouse]

Sounds great! Is there any indication on when this could start?

 

[Bevan Price]

If/when the government finances improve greatly ??

 

[Pete_uk]

Don't anyone go holding your breath!

There are a few small issues to sort out first, such as funding, stock and paths.

 

[Annetts key]

Here's an article from Business Biscuit with a bit more information.

Tuesday November 4 2025

Plans to reconnect Swindon to Birmingham by rail unveiled

Plans to reconnect Swindon with Birmingham by rail have been unveiled.

It has been 20 years since direct trains ran between Swindon with Birmingham. Since the early 2000s rail passengers to the Midlands have had to change at Gloucester or Cheltenham.

But a direct, hourly service could soon be reinstated through the £1.75 billion Midlands Rail Hub project.

Swindon North MP Will Stone this week met with stakeholders to hear how the initiative could deliver up to 130 extra trains per week from Swindon to Birmingham.

He was joined by joined by Chris Watts, Swindon Council’s cabinet member for transport, Cllr Fay Howard, Mayor of Swindon, Tom Lydon, head of public affairs at Great Western Railway, and Adam King, head of policy and partnerships from England’s Economic Heartland.

The project will also deliver a jobs boost – more than 12,750 roles are expected to result from the Midlands Rail Hub’s first phase, which will be primarily benefit travellers in the West Midlands, South Wales and the Southwest has been funded. Midlands Rail Hub is a £1.75 billion blueprint for faster, better and more frequent connections across the region.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced she is funding the first phase of the rail upgrade in the spending review, which sets government budgets for the coming years. The scheme was also mentioned in the recent government 10-year infrastructure strategy.

At the end of August it was announced that the project had taken a major step forward to delivery, with identification of the preferred alliance partners including VolkerRail, Laing O’Rourke, AtkinsRéalis, Siemens Mobility, and Network Rail.

Will Stone, Member of Parliament for Swindon North, said: “It’s fantastic that Swindon could be benefiting from the Midlands Rail hub expansion. We’re a town built on connection via the railways, and so it’s great to see Swindon getting an hourly service between a fellow industrial town like Birmingham.

“This connection will improve access for residents across the country, with two million extra seats available for passengers passing along the railway between Swindon and Birmingham each year, forging stronger links between businesses and communities.

“Innovative projects like the Midlands Rail hub prove that investments in our railways, fully funded by the Chancellor, are transformative for communities, bringing new jobs and skills to areas across the country.”

Source