A GROUP of rail users have welcomed the announcement by West Midlands Railway that Hartlebury is to receive a regular all-day Sunday service from May 15. 

Following a campaign by the group the Stourbridge Line User Group, the station previously received off-peak Monday to Saturday services in 2013. 

The group has recently been campaigning for this to be extended to include Sundays. 

The first stage saw two services stop at Hartlebury from December 2021.

The group immediately contacted West Midlands Railway with suggestions on improvements to the service.

West Midlands Railway has now announced a two-hourly service on Sundays throughout the day. 

The group's chairman William Whiting said: "We are very pleased to see that West Midlands Railway has listened to our suggestions.” 

"This is the first regular Sunday service at Hartlebury since 1964 and will benefit everybody in the area including residents of Stourport-on-Severn. 

“Leisure will play a key part in post-Covid travel recovery. Tourism is a vital revenue stream and the group wants to identify similar opportunities to the Hartlebury example. 

"This stakeholder would like to see through services to Great Malvern reinstated on Sundays. 

"We will certainly raise this issue with WMR at our public meeting on Tuesday 10th May at 7.30pm. 

"The meeting will take place at Kidderminster Town Railway Station. 

"Everyone is welcome to attend and use the question-and-answer session to pass on their ideas for developing both leisure and commuter travel.

Catherine Mulvey, of Inn Lane, Hartlebury, said: "This is great news - the village is cut off from train services on Sundays which means we have to use our cars if we want to go to Birmingham or into Worcester.

"Lots of times we have thought of going to Birmingham on a Sunday but have had to face paying clean air charges because we're forced to use our cars.

"I also have to drive to pick my son up from Droitwich and Worcester on Sundays even though he holds a train ticket because of the lack of services.

"The train station is small but it is well used by people in the village and surrounding villages.

"I think lots of people will be grateful to be able to use the trains on Sundays".