Chiltern Main Line
Chiltern Main Line | |||
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standard gauge | |||
Operating speed | 100 mph (160 km/h) maximum | ||
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The Chiltern Main Line is a
It is currently one of two main line railway routes between London and Birmingham; the other is the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Birmingham New Street, which is the principal InterCity route between the two cities. A third main line, High Speed 2, is currently under construction.
The name Chiltern Line was invented as a marketing name for the line by
Since the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, the main operator has been Chiltern Railways, who have continued to develop the route and services. In the early 2010s, the line underwent a major upgrade which saw much of the line cleared for 100 mph (160 km/h) running, resulting in significant reductions in journey times from 2013. The line is not electrified, although electrification is an aspiration.[4]
The line forms part of the
History
Early history and construction
What is now the Chiltern Main Line was built in three key phases by the Great Western Railway (GWR) between 1852 and 1910:
- The first phase was the Didcot and then via Oxford, Banbury and Leamington Spa. This route was circuitous, and was 16 miles (26 km) longer between London and Birmingham than the rival London and North Western Railway's Euston-New Street route via Rugby, meaning that the GWR could not compete on journey times.[5][6]
- The second phase was completed in 1906: In order to create a more direct route, the GWR collaborated with the Great Central Railway (GCR) to create a new railway known as the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway between Northolt (in north west London) and Ashendon Junction (west of Aylesbury) via High Wycombe.[7]
- Thirdly, as a final development, the GWR opened the Bicester cut-off line in 1910: this was an 18+1⁄4 mi (29.4 km) connection between the Great Western and Great Central Joint Railway at Ashendon Junction, via Bicester North, to Aynho Junction on the Birmingham line south of Banbury. This shortened the route between London and Birmingham by 18+1⁄2 miles (29.8 km) compared to the original Oxford route, and reduced the fastest London-Birmingham journey times by 20 minutes (from 140 to 120 minutes); most of the through trains were immediately transferred to the new route, although the original route via Oxford continued in use, and is now known as the Cherwell Valley line.[7]
Heyday, decline and rationalisation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (June 2011) |
During the heyday of the route, many prestigious trains ran from Paddington to the northwest of England via the Joint Line, reaching Wolverhampton, Shrewsbury, Wrexham General, Chester and Birkenhead Woodside. Various through services from Marylebone to the GCR network also ran via the Joint Line between London and Ashendon Junction.
At nationalisation in 1948, the line passed to the Western Region of British Railways, which continued to operate Paddington – Birmingham – Wolverhampton - Birkenhead fast trains through the 1950s in competition with the London Midland Region's (LMR) from Euston via the West Coast Main Line (WCML).
The Paddington – Birmingham – Wolverhampton - Birkenhead fast service was sharply increased in frequency to up to 15 trains a day each way from the 1959–60 timetable to compensate for the withdrawal of most LMR trains during electrification of the WCML.[8] For the same reason, the Chiltern line was used by many trains between Paddington and Birkenhead from 1965.
All local trains were diverted to Marylebone in 1963 and operated by four-car Class 115 DMUs, and the main-line platforms at Greenford on the New North route between Old Oak Common and Northolt Junction were closed.
After the GCR main line was closed between Calvert and Rugby Central in September 1966, some trains from the South Coast were diverted north of Banbury via the route. These became the forerunners of today's CrossCountry services between Birmingham and Bournemouth.
On 6 March 1967,
On 24 March 1974 the line from Marylebone to Banbury transferred from the Western Region to the London Midland Region and all stations between South Ruislip and Bicester were also transferred to LMR giving LMR the responsibility of all passenger services out of Marylebone.
In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommended considering
The route was considered for partial closure between Marylebone and Northolt Junction in the early 1980s. All services would have run to Paddington via the New North route, and Marylebone station and all lines leading to it would have been closed and converted into a bus station. Services to and from Aylesbury would have been taken over by London Underground and run into Baker Street. However, these proposals proved impractical, and Marylebone was formally reprieved in 1986 and the closure proposals rescinded.[12]
Rejuvenation
With Sectorisation of
The opening of the extension of the parallel M40 motorway from Oxford to Birmingham in 1991 spawned development in towns along the northern section of the route, notably Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Warwick. This generated additional patronage for train services in the corridor.[13]
Between 1988 and 1992 British Rail used the Chiltern Line as a test bed for
New
Chiltern Railways era
Upon rail privatisation in 1996, the
In 2000 Chiltern Railways opened a new station at Warwick Parkway, to the west of the town next to the A46 and close to M40 Junction 15. This was intended to be a railhead for nearby towns without a station such as Kenilworth, and for towns south of Birmingham close to the M42 with no direct rail link to London, such as Redditch and Bromsgrove. Construction was funded by Chiltern Railways with some support from Warwickshire County Council. At first only Chiltern services called there but it is now also served by London Midland.
In 2002, after Chiltern won its 20-year
John Laing plc acquired 84% ownership of M40 Trains in 1999, buying out 3i, and was itself bought out by Henderson Investments in 2006, resulting in the sale of Laing Rail to the German national railway operator Deutsche Bahn in 2007.
The
Most of the route from Birmingham Snow Hill to Wolverhampton is now used by the
The route between Marylebone and Leamington/Bordesley was used by
Only the little-used line from Northolt Junction to Paddington has not been improved.
In September 2006, Chiltern completed its "Evergreen 2" upgrade project, carried out by
At weekends during 2008, when major engineering works were taking place on the WCML, the line was used by Virgin Trains'
Infrastructure
Tunnels and viaducts
There are several major civil engineering structures along the route of the Chiltern Main Line.[16][17]
The viaduct (Chalfonts No. 1 (Misbourne) Viaduct) crossing the M25 between Denham Golf Club and Gerrard's Cross is especially noted as a local landmark, as for many years it has borne a graffiti slogan, "give peas a chance" painted in large white letters on the south-facing parapet.[18] The graffiti was partially removed in 2018.[19]
Railway Structure | Length | ELR | Location |
---|---|---|---|
Snow Hill Tunnel
|
635 yards (581 m) | DCL | South of Snow Hill station |
Bordesley Viaduct | 38 chains (760 m) | South of Moor Street station | |
Goods Yard Approach & Corporation Yard Viaducts | 18 chains (360 m) | Bordesley station | |
River Avon Viaduct | 3 chains (60 m) | Between Warwick and Leamington Spa stations | |
Leamington Viaducts / Neilson Street Viaduct | 18 chains (360 m) | East of Leamington Spa station | |
Harbury Tunnel | 70 yards (64 m) | Between Leamington Spa and Banbury stations | |
Aynho Flyover (Down line) | NAJ3 | Between Kings Sutton and Bicester North stations | |
Souldern No. 2 Viaduct | 400 yards (366 m) | Between Aynho junction and Bicester North station
| |
Souldern No. 1 Viaduct | 580 yards (530 m) | ||
Ardley Tunnel | 1,155 yards (1,056 m) | ||
Brill Tunnel | 191 yards (175 m) | Between Bicester North and Haddenham and Thame Parkway stations | |
River Thame Viaduct | 4 chains (80 m) | NAJ2 | North of Haddenham and Thame Parkway station |
Saunderton Tunnel (Up line) | 83 yards (76 m) | South of Princes Risborough station | |
Hughenden Road Viaduct | 77 yards (70 m) | North of High Wycombe station | |
Gordon Road Viaduct | 47 yards (43 m) | Between High Wycombe and Beaconsfield stations | |
Sir Philip Rose's Viaduct | 66 yards (60 m) | ||
Whitehouse Tunnel | 352 yards (322 m) | ||
'Tesco' Covered Way (also known as Gerrards Cross Tunnel) | 350 yards (320 m) | South of Gerrards Cross station | |
Chalfonts No. 2 Viaduct | 165 yards (151 m) | Between Gerrards Cross and Denham Golf Club stations | |
Chalfonts No. 1 (Misbourne) Viaduct (also M25 under) | 114 yards (104 m) | ||
River Colne Viaduct | 121 yards (111 m) | South of Denham station | |
Grand Union Canal Viaduct | 198 yards (181 m) | ||
South Harrow Tunnel | 204 yards (187 m) | NAJ1 | West of Sudbury Hill Harrow station |
Kilburn Viaduct | 23 chains (460 m) | MCJ1 | North of Marylebone station |
Hampstead Tunnel | 694 yards (635 m) | ||
St John's Wood Tunnel | 1,606 yards (1,469 m) |
Oxford Connection
A quarter of a mile (about 0.3 km) of double track has been constructed joining the
Main Line upgrade
The second part of the project upgraded the line to 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) running on 50 miles (80 km) more of track, with junctions at Neasden, Northolt and Aynho rebuilt to permit higher speeds. The 'up' through track was restored at Princes Risborough and signalled for bidirectional use, the existing 'up' line becoming a bidirectional platform loop. A new turnback siding was provided at
Thanks to the speed increases, journey times have been reduced significantly. From Marylebone, the fastest journey time to Birmingham Moor Street is now 94 minutes instead of 117 minutes.[29] The table below outlines the originally proposed peak timetable improvements as indicated by Network Rail.[30] This compares to roughly 85 minutes for the fastest Euston-Birmingham New Street trains via the West Coast Main Line.
Chiltern Railways chairman Adrian Shooter said, "This is the biggest passenger rail project for several generations not to call on the taxpayer for support. Working closely with Network Rail, we are going to create a new main line railway for the people of Oxfordshire and the Midlands. This deal demonstrates that real improvements to rail services can be paid for without public subsidy by attracting people out of their cars and on to trains."
Network Rail said its investment will be reimbursed by a 'facility charge' over the next 30 years, by Chiltern Railways, whose franchise expires in December 2021, and then by the future franchisee. The infrastructure upgrade was carried out by main contractor
Previous | Evergreen 3 | |
---|---|---|
Gerrards Cross | 21 | 18 |
High Wycombe | 34 | 23 |
Princes Risborough | 41 | 32 |
Bicester | 56 | 44 |
Banbury | 67 | 50 |
Leamington Spa | 85 | 67 |
Solihull | 107 | 84 |
Birmingham Moor Street | 117 | 92 |
Passenger services
Chiltern Railways are the main operators of the route, however parts of the line carry services by other operators:
Weekday off-peak service pattern
At May 2011:
Service | Type | Trains per hour | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Chiltern Railways,[31] over the whole line | |||
London Marylebone - Birmingham Moor Street |
Fast | 2 | 1 extended to Birmingham Snow Hill |
London Marylebone - Kidderminster |
Fast/Semi-Fast (Birmingham Snow Hill to Kidderminster) | Peak | |
London Marylebone - Banbury |
Semi fast | 1 | Extended to Stratford upon Avon every 2 hours
|
London Marylebone - Bicester North |
Semi-fast | 1 | |
London Marylebone - Princes Risborough |
Semi-fast | 1 | |
London Marylebone - High Wycombe |
local | 1 | |
London Marylebone - Gerrards Cross |
local | 1 | |
Leamington Spa - Birmingham Moor Street | local | 1 | |
Stratford-upon-Avon - Leamington Spa | Slow to Leamington Spa then semi-fast | 1 | Most extended to London Marylebone
|
West Midlands Trains,[32][33] between Birmingham Snow Hill and Dorridge, with some services extended to Leamington Spa | |||
Dorridge - Worcester Foregate St | local (semi-fast between Birmingham Snow Hill & Stourbridge Junction) | 1 | Occasionally extended to Great Malvern |
Dorridge - Kidderminster | local (semi-fast Kidderminster to Birmingham Snow Hill (in this direction only)) | 1 | |
Dorridge - Stourbridge Junction | local (semi-fast Birmingham Snow Hill to Stourbridge Junction (in this direction only)) | 1 | |
Whitlocks End - Kidderminster | local (semi-fast Kidderminster to Birmingham Snow Hill (in this direction only)) | 1 | |
Whitlocks End - Worcester Foregate St/Shrub Hill | local (semi-fast between Birmingham Snow Hill & Stourbridge Junction) | 1 | Occasionally extended to Great Malvern |
Stratford-upon-Avon - Stourbridge Junction | local (semi-fast Birmingham Snow Hill to Stourbridge Junction (in this direction only)) | 1 | |
Cross Country, Aynho Junction
| |||
Manchester Piccadilly |
InterCity | 1 | Calls at Banbury and Leamington Spa |
Reading - Newcastle | InterCity | 1 | Calls at Banbury and Leamington Spa |
GWR,[35] between Banbury and Aynho Junction | |||
Oxford - Banbury | local | 1 every 2/3 h | Some extended to London Paddington
|
Rolling stock
Passenger trains are operated by:
Connections
Connections are available at:
- Midland Metro to West Bromwich and Wolverhampton.
- Birmingham Moor Street, to Stratford-upon-Avon
- Leamington Spa, to Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry, Birmingham International, and The North
- Banbury, to Oxford, Reading, and Southampton Central
- Princes Risborough, to Aylesbury
- West Ruislip/South Ruislip, to the LU Central line to Oxford Circus
- London Marylebone, to Aylesbury and the LU Bakerloo line to Oxford Circus
Birmingham New Street, Birmingham's main station, is a five-minute walk from Moor Street; Baker Street, where several London Underground lines call, is a five-minute walk from London Marylebone.
Future
Battery/diesel trains
In September 2021, Class 168/3 HybridFlex battery/diesel trains were introduced. These train emit lower emissions.[39] The trains operate on batteries giving zero emissions when in stations or sensitive urban areas.
Electrification
No section of the line is electrified, but in 2010 the then chairman of
Other plans
There are several proposals:
- The restoration of the quadruple track between signal box.
- Building of a new combined Thameslink line) and Chiltern Railways, with new Metropolitan line platforms possible.[40]
References
- ^ "NSE CHRONOLOGY Jan 1982 to May 1986". Network SouthEast Railway Society. Archived from the original on 4 November 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
- ^ "Birmingham Snow Hill Station - A brief overview". Warwickshire Railways. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ "The History of Network South East 1993". Network South East Railway Society. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Rail Magazine. No. 643. Peterborough. p. 16.
- ISBN 0-7110-0411-0.
- ISBN 978-0-9522248-9-1.
- ^ ISBN 9780853616535.[page needed]
- Trains Illustrated. Hampton Court: Ian Allan. December 1959. p. 584.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-7110-1892-1.
- ^ "Railways". Bicester Local History Society. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ^ a b Anonymous (Winter 1979). Railway Electrification. British Railways Board (Central Publicity Unit). pp. 0–2, 8.
- ^ a b c "Almost Terminal: Marylebone's Brush With Destruction". London Reconnections. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "100-year-old rail station steams into the future". Oxford Mail. 1 July 2010. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
- ISBN 978-0-9522248-9-1.
- ^ "Orange army upgrades railway and keeps customers moving in 2016". Retrieved 19 May 2017.
- ISBN 978-0-9549866-6-7.
- ISBN 978-0-9549866-7-4.
- ^ Winterman, Tom de Castella and Denise (25 May 2011). "Campaigning by graffiti". BBC News. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ Clifton, Katy (20 September 2018). "Motorists devastated as iconic 'Give Peas a Chance' graffiti is erased". Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 20 September 2018.
- ^ "Chiltern Mainline". Chiltern Railways. Archived from the original on 15 April 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
- ^ "Chiltern Railways names new Oxfordshire station Oxford Parkway" (Press release). Chiltern Railways. 20 September 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ^ "Oxford to London Marylebone railway line opens". BBC News. 12 December 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2016.
- ^ "Chiltern's Oxford city centre-London services pushed to December". www.railtechnologymagazine.com.
- ^ "Oxford to London line". Chiltern Railways. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Wolvercote Tunnel". Bicester to Oxford collaboration. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Chiltern Mainline FAQ". Chiltern Railways. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 13 April 2015.
- ^ "Chiltern Railways plan to make Bicester well connected". RailNews. Stevenage. 29 August 2008. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
- ^ "Project Evergreen 3". Chiltern Railways. 2010. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009.
- ^ "Chiltern Railways Mainline is Here". Chiltern Railways.
- ^ "73rd Supplemental Agreement". Network Rail.
- ^ "Chiltern Railways May 2011 timetable" (PDF). 22 May 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011. [dead link]
- ^ "London Midland Stratford-Birmingham May 2011 timetable". 22 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "London Midland Worcester-Birmingham May 2011 timetable". 22 May 2011. Archived from the original on 2 October 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "CrossCountry South Coast - Manchester/North East May 2011 timetable" (PDF). 22 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "First Great Western Banbury - Oxford May 2011 timetable" (PDF). 22 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 May 2011. Retrieved 25 June 2011.
- ^ "Angel Trains orders 'green trains' for the UK rail market" (Press release). Angel Trains. 31 January 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Passenger Board Annual Report 08/09" (PDF). Chiltern Railways. 24 June 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 29 December 2009.
- ^ "Coaching Stock Design Contract for Chiltern Railways". Railway Technology. 21 July 2009. Archived from the original on 7 June 2011. Retrieved 26 June 2011.
- ^ "Chiltern's first diesel-battery hybrid train makes passenger debut". railjournal.com. 22 July 2021.
- ^ "Planning Framework for West Hampstead Interchange Area Appendix 2". London Borough of Camden. 19 April 2005. p. 25. Archived from the original on 11 June 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2008.