The Cotswold and Malvern railway line forms a large part of the route from Herefordshire and Worcestershire to London, served by inter-city and regional trains. Since the 1960s, when duplicate rail routes in Britain were largely eradicated, the route has been secondary in nature. In the early 1970s, many sections of the route were reduced to single line with occasional passing places. The increasing recognition over recent years of the importance of the role which can be played by rail services in serving travel needs, combined with new initiatives associated with rail privatisation have served to highlight the need to improve line infrastructure in order to improve reliability and provide opportunities for the expansion of services.

Oscar Faber were commissioned in February 1999 by Gloucestershire County Council on behalf of the Cotswolds and Malverns Transport Partnership to undertake the Cotswold and Malvern Line Rail Study. Geographical limits were placed on the study, an area being defined between Oxford and Hereford inclusive.

The Client Group comprises representatives of the five Local Authorities along the route, namely Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Oxfordshire.  Railtrack Great Western, First Great Western, Thames Trains, Central Trains and the Cotswold Line Promotion Group (CLPG) are also represented on the Client Group. The Client Group have formed a Partnership for the purposes of the development of strategy for the route, and it is worth noting that this unique development has proved very effective.

The purpose of the Study was to explore the scope for enhancements in service frequency, improved level of service, and for additional stations to serve the smaller communities, which currently have no railway station in the immediate vicinity. The viability of proposed improvements to the infrastructure and level of service, have been demonstrated by assessing the costs and benefits (financial, social and environmental) of such opportunities.