Chiltern Railways’ Leaf Fall timetable will run from Monday 7th October until 14th December and will impact customers travelling to London Marylebone from stations including Kidderminster, Birmingham, Stratford-upon-Avon, Oxford, Bicester Village and Aylesbury via Princes Risborough.
During this period, customers are advised that trains running on these lines may arrive at their final destination up to three minutes later than scheduled.
Throughout Autumn wet leaves fall on the rails and when trains pass over them, it creates a slippery layer on the track. This in turn can make it harder for trains to accelerate and brake effectively and in order to run a safe service, drivers need to pull out of stations more slowly and brake much earlier for signals and stations which can lead to slightly longer journey times.
Eleni Jordan, Commercial Director of Chiltern Railways said, “We’ve been working closely with Network Rail to ensure that our trains continue to be punctual through the autumn. Behind the scenes our team have worked hard to accommodate treatment trains, which help clean the rails and lay traction gel to improve grip, alongside our passenger services to ensure we run as normal a service as possible. We recommend customers travelling to or from Aylesbury check train times before travelling with us during the Leaf Fall period.”