Chiltern Railways
Chiltern Railways is a
train operating company in
England. It was formed by the privatisation of
British Rail in 1996 and it operates train mainline services from
Marylebone station in
London, to
Aylesbury and
Birmingham Snow Hill. Initially the line was franchised to a company formed by the
British Rail managers of the route, but since 2003 has been a wholly owned subsidiary of
Laing Rail, who owned a much smaller shareholding at
privatisation. In 2002 a new 20 year franchise began which promises significant investment in the route.
Going by the "peak time" punctuality statistics published by the
Strategic Rail Authority, they are the 5th most punctual train operating company.
Chiltern operate services on four routes.
*
Chiltern Main Line*
London to Aylesbury Line*
Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line*
Leamington to Stratford LineThe London to Birmingham route used by Chiltern Railways goes via
High Wycombe,
Bicester,
Banbury,
Leamington Spa,
Warwick and
Solihull. The line to Aylesbury via Amersham shares tracks with
London Underground's
Metropolitan Line between
Harrow-on-the-Hill and
Amersham.
Some trains continue beyond
Birmingham Snow Hill station to
Stourbridge or
Kidderminster, where the preserved steam
Severn Valley Railway starts at the adjacent
Kidderminster station. On certain Bank Holiday Mondays services are extended from Aylesbury to the
Buckinghamshire Railway Heritage Centre facilities at
Quainton Road, a short way south of
Verney Junction. These services are often run by Chiltern's Class 121 diesel multiple unit, referred to as a "bubble car".
A shuttle service operates on the branch line from
Aylesbury to
Princes Risborough on the line to
Birmingham via
High Wycombe. Certain services from Marylebone via High Wycombe also provide a limited through service to Aylesbury.
Chiltern Railways also recently took over operations on the
Leamington Spa to
Stratford-upon-Avon branch line.
The "core" off-peak Chiltern Railways timetable currently comprises the following services:
* Half-hourly
London Marylebone -
Aylesbury via
Amersham stopping service
* Hourly
London Marylebone -
High Wycombe stopping service
* Hourly
London Marylebone -
Princes Risborough stopping service
* Half-hourly
London Marylebone -
Birmingham Snow Hill via
High Wycombe semi-fast service
* Hourly
London Marylebone -
Bicester North via
High Wycombe semi-fast service (extended to
Stratford-upon-Avon in even hours)
In addition, Chiltern Railways runs a handful of trains a day to and from
London Paddington to keep traincrew route knowledge up-to-date, as the route is regularly used for diversions during periods of Engineering Work, and one train a day from
Birmingham Snow Hill to
Oxford.It should be noted that the core timetable will be subject to alteration when the two new platforms at London Marylebone and additional signalling throughout the route, being installed as part of Chiltern's "Evergreen 2" project, are fully commissioned in December 2006.
Chiltern Railways operates services using a modern fleet of
Class 165 "Turbo" and
168 "Clubman" units. The "Turbo" units have undergone refurbishment work at
Bombardier's Ilford Works, and the
Class 168s have recently been lengthened. Chiltern also operates a single
Class 121 "Bubble Car" on its Aylesbury to Princes Risborough shuttle. This unit was extensively refurbished, and provides cover for "Turbo" units away undergoing refurbishment.
Since mid-April 2006, the "Bubble Car" has been diagrammed to operate all of the shuttle services between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough, rather than just those at peak times.
As well as the passenger rolling stock, Chiltern have a number of additional former
Class 121 units, in a range of liveries, which are used for things such as route learning,
Sandite duties, towing failed trains and test trains. In addition, they have a
Class 960, formerly
Class 117 unit 117 308, which has been converted for use as a water-cannon unit, and is used in conjunction with the
Sandite units.
A tunnel being constructed near the
Gerrards Cross railway station to enable the construction of a new
Tesco store collapsed at 19:30 on
30 June 2005. Nobody was injured but the line was closed for over six weeks. It eventually reopened on
20 August 2005. Compensation by Tesco to Chiltern is believed to have cost at least £8.5m and the retailer has pledged to fund a media campaign to win back passengers lost by the closure of its route.
There are several plans [
1] [
2] and for this route;
*All services to and from Birmingham Snow Hill station could be operated by Chiltern Railways from 2007. Chiltern services would continue past Kidderminster to Malvern.
*The restoration of the quadruple track between
South Ruislip (
Northolt Junction) and
West Ruislip, allowing trains to call at both stations without blocking the line. Triple track currently exists at
West Ruislip, with the up platform loop still in situ, and at
South Ruislip, with the Down Main through line also in situ. This would involve the reconstruction of the down platform at West Ruislip, the reconstruction of the up platform at South Ruislip, and the demolition of West Ruislip signalbox.
*Restoration of fast through lines at Beaconsfield. This project has been shelved; the existing lines have been realigned and can now be traversed by locomotive-hauled trains at 50 miles an hour, and by the Chiltern DMUs at 75 miles an hour.
*Double track the line from Princes Risbourgh to Aylesbury.
*Remodelling Banbury Station and tracks.
*Building of the
West Hampstead Interchange to allow easy interchange with the
Silverlink Metro,
Jubilee Line,
Metropolitan Line and
First Capital Connect service. This would also give Chiltern Railways an interchange with the future
Orbirail line.
*New Chiltern Metro Service that would operate 4+tph for Wembley Stadium, Sudbury & Harrow Road, Sudbury Hill Harrow, Northolt Park, South Ruislip and West Ruislip. This would require a reversing facility at West Ruislip, passing loops at Sudbury Hill Harrow and a passing loop at Wembley Stadium (part of the old down fast line is in use as a central reversing siding, for stock movements and additionally for 8-car football shuttles to convey passengers to the stadium for events). See [
3]
*Re-opening the line between
Oxford and
Princes Risborough, which would provide an alternative to the Oxford Paddington route. The Oxford to Banbury spur would then be handed over to the
Chiltern Main Line to create a diversionary loop from Princes Risborough to Banbury via Oxford. This option requires an expensive crossing of the M40 motorway.
*Re-opening the passenger line between
Aylesbury and
Bedford via
Milton Keynes.
*A new station is proposed at Aylesbury Vale to serve a planned residential development in the area. This station will also improve access from those parts of Buckinghamshire not at present directly served by the rail network.
*Opening a rail line from
Aylesbury to a
M6-
M1 Parkway Station near
Rugby.
*Re-opening the
Oxford to
Bedford line. This would form part of a future
East-West Railway.
*Re open
Gerrards Cross to
Uxbridge line continuing the route to
Heathrow Airport. This would give
Birmingham a direct rail link with the largest airport in the United Kingdom.
*
Varsity Line*
Chiltern Railways official home page*
Railnews, Report on Gerrard Cross closure*
Information on the Gerrards Cross Tunnel 
