Great Western Coffee Shop

GWR trains from London are terminating at Worcester Shrub Hill,  and now I note that West Midlands Trains are not running from Worcester to Malvern and Hereford - there's a replacement bus service taking 115 minutes.   Local MP up in arms with West Midlands Trains. - see Kidderminster Shuttle (https://www.kidderminstershuttle.co.uk/news/regional/18358914.mp-slams-decision-stop-trains-hereford-malvern-worcester/) and (attachment) bus timetable from WMT

Question - is the signalling from Worcester Shrub Hill to Hereford still manual?  If it is, is the real problem with West Midland Train staff, or with a lack of signal staff? 

Manual signalling.  Five signal boxes control that route.  See my pinned thread on this board for details.  Though I’m not sure if that’s behind WMR’s timetable, manual signal boxes are harder to staff than large signalling centres - though much easier to maintain social distancing in!

RTFM  ;D ;D ;D - love it. Thank you.

The pattern of GWR (Paddington (%) ), West Midlands, and GWR (Bristol) services all stopping short in Worcester would seem to be an enormous co-incidence unless there was some underlying cause.   Five manual boxes, say 4 staff needed for each for shifts across the week - and you have 20 staff; some off sick, some redeployed, perhaps?

% - Real Time Trains shows 2 arrivals at Great Malvern from London at 18:30 and 19:24, and returning at 19:04 and 19:36 ... for next Tuesday.  I would suggest this may be a data error - odd service to run and to staff the line for!

Stuff has certainly been going down the hill to Foregate Street over the weekend - audible and visible from my house.

But if things are that tricky, presumably you could switch out all of the boxes except at each end, and run a shuttle from Shrub Hill to Hereford with a WM five-car unit.

But if things are that tricky, presumably you could switch out all of the boxes except at each end, and run a shuttle from Shrub Hill to Hereford with a WM five-car unit.
[/quote]

None of the signal boxes between Worcester and Hereford can be switched out.  Hewwick and Newlands control level crossings.  Malvern Wells and Ledbury operate points.

Looks like hourly services from Stratford-upon-Avon and to Dorridge to Foregate Street today, all except the very last arrival being on platform 1 (to / from / via) Shrub Hill.   Thee GW trips - don't believe the two said to be extended to Great Malvern.  GWR services from and beyond Bristol get no nearer than Gloucester; guess any Cheltenham Spa to Worcester train journeys now require a change at Worcestershire Parkway.  Ashchurch for Tewkesbury reduced to just Cross Country - morning and afternoon peak services and just a couple of others.

OFF TOPIC - Bletchley to Bedford also suspended / no scheduled replacement bus in that case. 

They might be running to Great Malvern to get them out of the way of other trains at Foregate Street if there's no convenient train back to London they can form for a while?  The new turnback siding at Henwick can also be used for that, but might already be occupied?  The relevant diagrams all indicate they both are - though with the number of short notice alterations, that doesn't necessarily mean they definitely will be.