Chiltern Railways will be making amendments to their timetable from Monday 18th May to prepare for an eventual increase in passengers travelling by train. The train operator is currently running a reduced timetable reflecting Government advice that people should stay at home unless their journey is essential.
The new timetable will see an increase in services from London Marylebone with up to four trains per hour to Aylesbury via the Metropolitan Line, two trains per hour to Oxford and Birmingham and one train per hour to Banbury, Gerrard’s Cross and West Ruislip during the peak.
During off-peak hours there will be two trains per hour to Aylesbury via the Metropolitan Line and Oxford and one train per hour to Birmingham, Aylesbury Vale Parkway, Banbury and Gerrard’s Cross.
However, passengers are reminded that they should only travel if their journey is absolutely necessary and wherever possible customers are urged to look for alternative methods of travel. If your journey is essential, customers are advised to:
- Travel during off-peak hours where possible,
- Go online or download the Chiltern app to access the latest information and book tickets,
- Use contactless payments wherever possible,
- Keep a safe distance from passengers and staff in the station and onboard trains,
- Wear face coverings when travelling on public transport as recommended by the government,
- Regularly wash your hands before and after your journey.
Mary Hewitt, Interim Managing Director at Chiltern Railways said: “At Chiltern Railways, we’re working closely with industry partners to run as many services as possible where we can safely do so – the health of our customers and staff is of paramount importance to us. We are taking lots of extra steps to keep people safe including increased cleaning using enhanced products and installing markers at stations to remind our customers of the 2-metre social distancing rule. To ensure that we can continue to run a safe railway, it is important that only essentials journeys are made, in line with government guidance”.