Stourbridge Town branch line
The Stourbridge Town branch line is a 0.8-mile (1.3 km) railway branch line, in Stourbridge, West Midlands, England. It is the shortest line in Britain, and could be defined as the shortest line in Europe to host a daily service (The 1km long "Vatican Branch Line", in Rome, is shorter and it's also the world shortest international railway, but it doesn't host regular daily service).
| Stourbridge Town branch line | |||
|---|---|---|---|
A Parry People Mover approaching Stourbridge Town station. | |||
| Overview | |||
| Owner | Network Rail | ||
| Locale | West Midlands | ||
| Termini | |||
| Service | |||
| Type | Branch line | ||
| Operator(s) | West Midlands Railway | ||
| Rolling stock | Class 139 | ||
| Technical | |||
| Line length | 0.8 miles (1.3 km) | ||
| Number of tracks | Single track throughout | ||
| Track gauge | 1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge | ||
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Now used solely for passenger traffic, it was originally constructed to allow transshipment with the Stourbridge Town Arm of the Stourbridge Canal.
The passenger service along the branch is operated by Pre Metro Operations on behalf of West Midlands Trains. It is currently branded as part of the West Midlands Railway sub-brand. Under the previous franchise, which ended on 10 December 2017, the service was branded as the London Midland Stourbridge Shuttle. Service is provided using two Class 139 Parry People Movers.