Kidderminster railway station is the main station serving the large town of Kidderminster, Worcestershire, England and the wider Wyre Forest district. The station is operated by West Midlands Trains, and is on the Birmingham to Worcester via Kidderminster Line. Regular commuter services run to Birmingham and Worcester, with several direct daily services to/from London Marylebone. It shares its station approach with the adjacent Severn Valley Railway station. Facilities There is a large car park for 400 cars, administered by West Midlands Trains, in part of the old goods yard between the two railway stations. The Severn Valley Railway has its own car park on the town centre side of their station. The station has a booking office, a newsagents/snack bar, a BT Phone Box, a cash point and a ticket machine. In 2009 a footbridge (with lifts) was opened, transforming access between the platforms. Before this work, it was via the road overbridge. Prior to its demolition, the signal box (a short distance to the south of the station) was known as Kidderminster Junction. This controlled the junction to the Severn Valley Line until its closure in the 1970s. Severn Valley Railway terminus The Severn Valley Railway's southern terminus shares the same station approach road and is known as Kidderminster Town to distinguish it from the National Rail station. This also reflects the GWR tradition of suffixing the station name with "Town" if it was closer to the main body of the town served than that of its competitor(s), which Kidderminster Town achieves to the tune of around 60 yards. History Kidderminster station opened with the extension of the Oxford, Worcester and Wolverhampton railway from Worcester to Stourbridge on 1 May 1852. It became an important intermediate station on the line which became part of the West Midland Railway (WMR) in 1860. In turn, the WMR amalgamated with the Great Western Railway (GWR) and the South Wales Railway on 1 August 1863. The opening of the Severn Valley Railway in 1862 had no direct effect on Kidderminster because the line initially had only a south facing connection to , passengers wishing to use the line had to change there. The situation changed in 1878, when a north-facing connection was opened between and Kidderminster, linking Kidderminster directly with the Severn Valley Line. From about 1900, there was a brisk passenger trade of tourists and day trippers from the West Midlands conurbation.