Date: 07 Mar 2005
Chiltern Railways has seen a 20% growth in passengers on its London - Birmingham service since timetable changes in December. Extra trains were introduced to give passengers two trains an hour between the two cities all day, every day.The increase in passenger numbers is just one of a number of successes for Chiltern Railways so far this year, including:
an increasing number of passengers travelling on the new direct London to Stratford service
the launch of the new £5 'E-day' ticket between London and Birmingham - where passengers only pay £5 for their ticket purchased online
being the only National Rail franchised train operating company to be short-listed for 'train operator of the year' at the annual HSBC Business Rail Awards in February.
Neil Micklethwaite, Commercial Manager, said: "It's been a great start of the year for us and I am confident that the range of promotions we offer and the extension to our services will continue to encourage increasing numbers of passengers to travel by Chiltern Railways.
"The dramatic increase in passenger numbers on the London Birmingham line in such a short space of time demonstrates that we are in tune with public demand. The extra flexibility provided by these new services can only continue to bring huge benefits to travellers."
Timetable information is available from all Chiltern Railways' stations, by visiting www.chilternrailways.co.uk or telephoning 08456 005 165.
Notes to Editors
1. Chiltern Railways, voted Britain's Best Rail Route for three consecutive years, runs between London Marylebone and Kidderminster via Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham Snow Hill. A new service between London and Stratford-upon-Avon has recently been added. It also runs trains between London and Aylesbury via Amersham.
2. Passengers can book e-day tickets for certain departures between Birmingham and London at www.chilternrailways.co.uk. The e-day ticket offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotion. Passengers should read the full terms and conditions before booking their tickets. Tickets may not be available on certain days, such as when there are planned track improvements works.
3. Chiltern Railways is owned by M40 Trains. All shares in M40 Trains are owned by Laing Investments Ltd through Laing Rail Ltd.
