Chiltern Mainline: Nice & Fast!

[whole diary]

[grahame]

Many of the trains are now packed from Warwick Parkway and there is no room to squeeze more on!

Is that services like the 07:17, 07:36, 08:18 and 09:21 which are probably the ones you travel on, or does it extend to services such as the 06:59, 08:00 and 09:02?   How about services later in the day such as the 12:15, the 13:40, the 19:46 and the 20:43.   I suspect that "Full at Warwick Parkway" applies to the first group - which run express from around Banbury to Marylebone, and doesn't apply to the second group which stop at Bicester and arrive into Marylebone just a minute ahead of the first group.  As for the third group ... are they really that full?   As an educated guess, I would be surprised if more that 15% of services southbound from Warvick Parkway with destination Marylebone are "packed and there is no room to squeeze more on", and those are likely to be the ones that don't stop further south anyway.  Sources / counts / specific data please 

[Btline]

Plenty of services are packed from Warwick Parkway (obviously not at off peak times). By packed, I mean Chiltern packed, with everyone seated but all seats taken.

Just look at the massive passenger increases at Solihull and Warwick Parkway and the fact that desperate commuters now drive all the way from Shropshire and Worcestershire, enduring the congested A46 everyday.

With few spare paths, limited platforms and platform lengths at Marylebone, I cannot see how they'll cope. Even if you extend the services which currently terminate at High Wycombe or Bicester to Oxford, these trains are already packed and many must be at full length.

[John R]

Just look at the massive passenger increases at Solihull and Warwick Parkway and the fact that desperate commuters now drive all the way from Shropshire and Worcestershire, enduring the congested A46 everyday

As it's "fact" what is your source?

[TonyK]

With few spare paths, limited platforms and platform lengths at Marylebone, I cannot see how they'll cope.

I bet they will. The modelling for what goes where and when will have been done before work commenced.

[James]

So Chiltern are the best rail company in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)...
If so is commuting a dream from Beaconsfield to London Marylebone compared with Maidenhead or Twyford into Paddington?
After reading local newpapers it seems it not all that great after all.
Less seats, Less fast trains, sounds similar to the thames valley oh and not to mention air con problems on chilterns trains also similar to fgw problems.
Forget nice, fast, and comfortable and rather thing, slow, annoying and full to bursting, or am i wrong?
At the end of the day theres NO perfect rail operator, man the railways are seriously messed up, oh well lets try the road. Opps just hit a traffic jam.. Now what? Long live travelling in first class life style cause its sure not to last, oh dear what will people say then?

[ChrisB]

Chiltern still supply a far better service than FGW^▸ (First Great Western) - as evidenced by tweeters saying so to Chiltern every so often.

The Oxford services will be extensions/diversions of current services - they will need no extra paths.

They will need further stock - I reckon 5 Clubman units to run a 30 minute service. The Silver sets were introduced originally for that reason - to release Clubmans, for refresh into silver Clubmans and then deploy to Oxford. BUT the increase in pax means the Clubmans are now in use on Mainline duty and they're now looking at sourcing further Mk3 sets. To that end, they've placed a contract for new locos (being built in Spain) - they have plenty of Mk3s for conversion in store at Kineton. I reckon 3 more silver Mk3 sets are required by 2016.

[ellendune]

At the end of the day theres NO perfect rail operator, man the railways are seriously messed up, oh well lets try the road. Opps just hit a traffic jam.. Now what? Long live travelling in first class life style cause its sure not to last, oh dear what will people say then?

Of course there is no perfect operator, there are not enough trains an not enough track capacity, particularly as you get closer to London. That leads operators into difficult decisions balancing slower stopping services and faster long distance on the same tracks.  Ideally we would separate them with an extra set of tracks for say the fast trains.

[IndustryInsider]

I reckon 3 more silver Mk3 sets are required by 2016.

I reckon you're about right there.  Those 8 LOROL^▸ (London Overground Railway Operations Ltd) Class 172s might come in handy later in the decade when Gospel Oak to Barking electrification releases them - and if London Midland don't snap them up.

To that end, they've placed a contract for new locos (being built in Spain)

Have they actually placed a contract for their own locomotives?  I know they were looking at leasing new locomotives, and that the Class 68s being built in Spain for DRS^▸ (Direct Rail Services Ltd) were a distinct possibility?

[ChrisB]

The contract is placed for construction, I have it on very good authority. Whether direct for purchase, or via third-party for lease, that I don't know.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the Witney Gazette:

Chiltern stays out in front as Oxfordshire's most punctual rail operator


A Chiltern Railways Clubman train

Chiltern Railways remains one of Britain^s most punctual train operators over the past year.

In the 12 months to August 17, 95.4 per cent of its trains, which link Bicester and Banbury with London Marylebone and Birmingham, were on time, against a national average of 90.8 per cent.

The figure is based on trains arriving within five minutes of their scheduled time for commuter services or 10 minutes for long-distance services.

Only London commuter operators c2c and London Overground had better on-time performance figures, of 97.3 and 96.7 per cent respectively. Merseyrail shared third place with Chiltern.

In the same period, First Great Western, which which links Oxford and Didcot with London Paddington, recorded 89 per cent.

CrossCountry, which links Oxford and Banbury with the South coast and the North of England recorded 87.4 per cent.

From July 21 to August 20, Chiltern was the third most punctual operator, with a figure of 93.9 per cent, the same as in the same period last year. CrossCountry and First Great Western achieved 88.9 and 88.6 respectively, compared with 88.1 and 87.4 a year ago.

Chiltern^s operations and safety director Andrew Munden said: ^Ensuring passengers have a punctual service is incredibly important and these statistics reinforce the dedication of our staff to provide a first class experience.^

[Btline]

I travelled through Chiltern land in the middle of the day today. Normally I travel in peak hours or at weekends.

I was flabbegasted at how all their car parks were full to bursting point. Can the line take much more of a strain? At least a brand new mega car park opens in Banbury soon!

[trainer]

Can the line take much more of a strain?

I most interesting point BT, in view of a comment made today on Radio 4's Any Answers phone in.  An opponent of HS2^▸ (The next High Speed line(s)) was quoting the Chiltern Line as an example of where there is plenty of spare capacity and need for line improvement.  As it was said, I told him (yes, sadly, I sometimes speak back to the radio) that he was several years out of date.  Your point proves to me that I was right.

[ChrisB]

Chiltern are only full in the peak, and even then that's only running a maximum length of 7car trains. Extension to full 12car length ought to be possible at most stations, but would eat into the platform capacity at MYB^▸ (London (Marylebone)). There is a little mount that Chiltern could still do, by lengthening platforms & lengthening trains (after obtaining an operators licence for 12car [7 at the moment] trains & increasing depot space to cater for them, and then obtaining more stock....

So hurdles, but it could be done. Wouldn't last a decade though, before it would be full to capacity again.

But BTLine, that "mega car park" is purely replacing 'temporary space' elsewhere. The actual increase in spaces is.......20.

[Btline]

Surely a new platform is possible at Marylebone by shaving a bit off Platform 1, shoving the Platform 1 track and the siding across a bit and slapping a new platform down?

Once Oxford is open, off peak services are likely to be rammed. I've been on plenty of packed off peak services.

Only 20 spaces, oh lord. Perhaps Banbury station should be moved to the fields to the South near the M40, where 4 through platforms could be built plus several car parks.

Or upgrade the Metropolitan line and extend to Aylesbury, removing those pesky via Amersham services which are such a waste of space! :p

[ChrisB]

Errr....Oxford is *already* open! Keep up at the back? :-)

You've not been to Marylebone then? The stanling line behind platform 1 is used a lot during the off-peak day time. Regularly see three trains in there nose to tail. Shaving 'a bit' of platform 1 would be nowhere mear enough to get another platform in by the wall...don't you think others would have thought of that already?