Since 1996, Chiltern Railways has invested well over £400 million to improve the railway and we now carry more than twice the number of passengers on our trains than we did ten years ago, with a fleet that's also doubled in size.
Since being awarded the franchise in 1996 we've:
- Increased the number of train services by more than one third
- More than doubled the number of carriages in our train fleet
- Restored 28 miles of double track, singled in the 1960's, enabling us to run more services
- Constructed 2 new platforms at London Marylebone enabling more trains to use the terminus
- Opened a brand new light maintenance depot at Wembley
- Become the first UK train operator to build and own a new station - Warwick Parkway
- Become the first UK train operator to offer mobile ticketing. This is where a ticket that is bought online is received in the form of a barcode sent directly to a mobile phone by SMS text message
- Delievered longer platforms, improved stations and bigger car parks
- Restored the historic Moor Street station in Birmingham as a high quality passenger environment for today's railway
- Improved reliability by creating the first cross-industry integrated Control Centre
- Won numerous awards for customer service, performance and project delivery
- Been awarded a unique 20 year franchise by the Strategic Rail Authority, with a commitment to major long-term investment of £370 million in further improvements to services for passengers
- Won "Passenger Operator of the Year" award at the National Rail Awards in 2007.
Chiltern Railways has won many awards for its achievements and developments made to improve the experience offered to passengers. Some of the many awards are listed below:
- The Innovative Transport Project of the Year for Text Ticketing awarded at the London Transport Awards 2008
- Passenger Operator of the Year awarded at the National Rail Awards 2007
- Public Transport Operator of the Year awarded at the London Transport Awards 2007
- The Travel Information and Marketing award was awarded to Chiltern Railways at the National Transport Awards 2007
- Haddenham and Thame Parkway as Station of the Year awarded at the National Cycle-Rail Awards 2007
- Outstanding Teamwork awarded to Chiltern Railways, Network Rail and London Underground Ltd at the National Rail Awards 2005
- Best Rail Route awarded at the National Rail Awards 2002
- Best Rail Route awarded at the National Rail Awards 2001
- Train Operator of the Year awarded at the Rail Business Awards 2002
Amongst the specific improvements we've introduced are:
New Trains
Chiltern Railways was the first of the UK's privatised railway companies to order new trains and bring them into service. Our first order was for 20 carriages for service in the summer of 1998 at a cost of £18.7 million. Since then we've ordered more and more carriages as our business has grown. Our most recent order for new carriages was in 2006 when 6 were delivered, making 67 brand new Clubman carriages in total, an investment of over £70 million.
The new Clubman trains were designed with the business traveller in mind and offer a new standard of travelling comfort combined with excellent value for money. Equipped with one 'Club' class of seating throughout, features include a choice of seat styles, tables and power sockets at most seats, a designated mobile-free 'Quiet Zone' on every train and double glazed windows in order to give a more comfortable travelling environment.
Improvements to the Existing Class 165 'Turbo' Trains
Our entire fleet of Class 165 'Turbo' Trains have been fully refurbished at a cost of £17.5 million.
The major changes include improved single class seating, designated wheelchair areas, improved facilities for standing passengers, air cooling, cup holders, grab handles, CCTV to enhance security and offer passengers better peace of mind and front facing cameras fitted to all driving cabs to film track conditions and detect railway crime.
The first Train Company to offer Mobile Phone Tickets
As a first for the UK rail industry, “Txt 2 Mobile” offers an innovative way for the future of ticketing. A ticket bought from the Chiltern Railways website is sent to a mobile phone in the form of a SMS text message which is displayed on the phone as a barcode. This is then scanned by special barcode scanners on the train or at the ticket barriers at Marylebone. More information about this and to buy such a ticket can be found here.
Improved Service Information by offering 'Nomad'
'Nomad' is a product which allows you to access Chiltern Railways' timetable and train running information through your Java-enabled mobile phone.
'Nomad' aims to put regular train users back in control of your journey, warning you of any disruption before you leave home or the office.
All you need to do is download the free NOMAD software onto your phone to get started. The software includes a host of other features, including information and real time updates.
For more details download the brochure. Alternatively, click here for the Nomad website.
New Website launched on New Year's Eve 2007
In addition to a better layout, with easier navigation, there are many new and improved features, including:
• An improved online booking system
• Local news and weather reports for each station
• A new car sharing scheme
• A feature which allows you to build a custom built timetable tailored for your specific journeys
• JourneyCheck alerts, which gives you live travel updates via text and email, so you know if your train will be delayed before you even leave home or the office
• An improved days out section.
• Separate sections for Leisure, Business and Commuter travel
• And much much more!
Track Doubling from Banbury to Princes Risborough - £66 million - Project Evergreen
In 1998 we completed a project with Railtrack to double the 18 mile single-track section from Bicester North to Princes Risborough, including provision of a brand new second platform and footbridge at Haddenham & Thame Parway station.
In 2001 the second stage of track doubling, covering further 10 miles from Aynho Junction, south of Banbury, to Bicester North was undertaken.
This project, together with the introduction of our new Clubman trains, has enabled an enhanced frequency of service. As a result many stations in the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire now have nearly twice the number of peak services to London and far more off peak services every day of the week.
Line upgrade between Bicester North and London Marylebone - £70 million - Project Evergreen II
The addition of extra signals on the stretch of line between Bicester and London, the increase of line speed at Beaconsfield and the opening of 2 extra platforms at London Marylebone has allowed us to run a more robust and reliable service and has also meant that it is now possible for us to run more trains as passenger demand continues to grow.
Chiltern Railways' Project Evergreen 2 was the first of its kind in the UK rail industry and also won ‘Best Operational Central Government Award’ at the annual Public Private Finance Awards. The award recognised Chiltern Railways' achievement to upgrade the southern section of the Chiltern line.
Project Evergreen ll involved the expansion of Marylebone station with two new platforms, which were the first new platforms to be installed at a London terminus since privatisation.
The project was delivered on time and 10 per cent under budget.
The project was procured by Chiltern Railways using the DBFT (design, build, finance and transfer) model. This was the first time the model has been used for a capital works project in the rail industry.
John Laing’s Project Manager for Evergreen ll, Rob Whight said: “Project Evergreen II successfully delivered Chiltern Railways' commitment to improve reliability, capacity and line speed. We are particularly proud that this was the first project where Network Rail allowed a third party to manage major signalling works on the rail network.”
New depot opened at Wembley
Our brand new light maintenance depot at Wembley was opened in Summer 2005. The new facility has been developed to cater for the increased size of our train fleet. It is used to stable trains overnight, empty toilet tanks, refuel trains, perform light maintenance duties and has also allowed for a better cleaning regime.
New sidings at Stourbridge Junction and Banbury
We've invested in new sidings and train crew depots at both Stourbridge Junction and Banbury, to give us a better geographical spread of depots. This gives us more operational flexibility, particularly at times of disruption.
More parking at stations
We’ve created over 1,500 additional car parks spaces across our network and at Beaconsfield we’ve invested £1 million to build a second deck on the car park. This opened in Summer of 2003 and provides 150 extra spaces at this very busy station. A third deck will be added in 2008.
We’ve also added 500 bicycle parking spaces at stations across our network and introduced security guards at most stations until 2300hrs on Mondays to Saturdays (24hrs, 7 days a week at some stations). Designated disabled parking bays have also been added at many stations.
Improved stations
We've made big improvements at many of ours stations.
Both London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street have been fully rebuilt and refurbished to their original glory, to act as convenient, civilised gateways the major cities at either end of our route.
We've built a brand new station at Warwick Parkway. Construction work commenced here in February 2000 and train services from the £4.2 million station commenced on 8 October 2000. The station is located just a few minutes drive from M40 Junction 15, giving new park and ride opportunities into London and Birmingham offering a real alternative to driving.
Along our route, almost all our larger stations have had significant investment in new and improved facilities. Improved CCTV, Help Points and Public Address systems have greatly enhanced safety and security. Many stations are now fitted with lifts or ramps to enable easy access for all. Automatic ticket barriers have been installed at London Marylebone, High Wycombe and Aylesbury. We are currently installing automatic ticket gates at Leaminton Spa, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross.
New, easy to operate self-service ticket machines have been introduced at our managed stations, providing cash and credit card sales for all of our most popular tickets and for most destionations on the UK rail network.
Haddenham and Thame Parkway received new passenger toilets and improved waiting accommodation in 2005.
In 2007, many of our Buckinghamshire stations received enhancements in a £309,000 investment. Aylesbury has been re-painted and the waiting room has been refurbished to include to new seating areas. In addition, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross stations have had their waiting rooms and booking halls refurbished with new paint work, new flooring and new seating areas. Gerrards Cross also benefited from a beautiful landscaped garden at the station for all passengers to enjoy. These station enhancements also included making the stations easier to use by our disabled passengers. At Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Stoke Mandeville and Great Missenden we spent over £100,000 to make toilets and booking halls easier to access. We have automated the booking hall and waiting room doors to open via a sensor and have made all our toilet facilities at these stations open via an automatic door which is controlled by the press of a push button. In addition, we also refurbished the waiting shelters at Saunderton, Wendover, Great Missenden and Stoke Mandeville stations.
In 2007, the reconstruction of High Wycombe station was completed, which was severely damaged by fire a few years earlier.
We are constantly improving the experience we offer our passengers and are committed to ongoing station improvements. In 2008, Leamington Spa station's booking hall wil be rebuilt to provide a bigger circulation area for passengers and will include new ticket gates to further improve safety and security on the station and discourage the small minority who try to avoid buying a ticket.
More frequent train services
The project to double the track between Aynho (near Banbury) and Princes Risborough, together with the introduction of our new Clubman trains, has enabled an enhanced frequency of service. As a result many stations in the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Oxfordshire now have nearly twice the number of services to London, with 2 trains an hour between Birmingham and London, 7 days a week.
In May 2001 we introduced through weekday services between Stourbridge Junction and London Marylebone. In September 2002 we extended these services to Kidderminster. These services provide the best journey time ever between Kidderminster, Stourbridge and London and are timed to meet the travel needs of business, commuter and leisure passengers. Other towns to benefit are Cradley Heath, Rowley Regis and Smethwick, which receive their first ever regular through service to London Marylebone.
In December 2004 we took over all train services between Stratford-upon-Avon and London, and we're now running services over this route every 2 hours, 7 days a week.
From the Summer 2001 timetable we introduced the first direct regular Sunday train service between Aylesbury, Stoke Mandeville, Wendover, Great Missenden and London Marylebone, saving passengers around 15 minutes on the previous journey times via the London Underground Metropolitan line connections.
We are constantly reviewing our timetables and taking on board all customer feedback to help further improve services. If you would like to comment, please click here.
Integrated transport
We strongly support the government's integrated transport policy and are actively seeking to develop initiatives with local bus companies and local authorities. Successful projects have included:
• A Taxibus service linking the main residential estates in Bicester with Bicester North station.
• The construction of a bus interchange at Haddenham & Thame Parkway station.
• Working in partnership with Arriva to provide free bus services to rail season ticket holders in the Aylesbury and High Wycombe areas.
• A bus link between Chinnor and Princes Risborough in partnership with Arriva.
• Working in partnership with the Midland Metro to provide free Metro travel for day return travellers between the West Midlands and London.
