New Chiltern Railways' timetable promises faster times from May 2011

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Oxfordshire commuters will benefit from London journey times falling by nearly a third, a rail company has announced.

Chiltern Railways' fastest journey times from Banbury will be reduced to 51 minutes, or 46 from Bicester.

The ^250m upgrade on the Birmingham to London Marylebone line will enable trains to run at 100mph (161kph) for virtually the full length of the line.

Spokesman Thomas Ableman said: "The daily commute is about to get a lot easier."

The new timetable, which comes into operation in May, brings Banbury to within an hour of travel time of London for the first time.

[IndustryInsider]

Still plenty of work to be done, I predict the pace will be frenetic from now until May...

[readytostart]

Nice to have a confident sounding spokesperson, Mr Ableman, there are too many people called something along the lines of Mr Weregonnaarseitup working in PR^▸ (Public Relations)!

[paul7575]

The final draft Chiltern timetables are here:

http://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/news/timetable-consultation-proposed-may-2011-timetable

Includes at the bottom of the page the Oxford to Bicester Town service, at 11 trains per day (12 on Friday).

Does that imply they take over from May 22nd as discussed previously - because the XC^▸ (Cross Country Trains (franchise)) planner was still showing them as FGW^▸ (First Great Western) services on 23rd May when I just checked.  And if they do, does anyone know if will they provide the rolling stock and/or train crew?

Paul

[anthony215]

I did read somewhere thet chiltern have got another class 121  DMU^▸ (Diesel Multiple Unit) to  provide cover for the current 1 thus freeing up a class 165.

Maybe if chiltern  are doing so well with their class 121 maybe they can show ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) how to  fix their's

[IndustryInsider]

A few hints that they might be using their own unit rather than hiring a FGW^▸ (First Great Western) Turbo until they close the line for the full rebuild next year, as had been rumoured.

The hints being the mention of timings for a 165/0 (FGW's 165's are 165/1's), and the 17:45 departure for the evening peak time train home - previously it could leave no earlier than 17:54 as it was formed off of the 17:51 FGW arrival ex Banbury.  Can anyone confirm that?

[autotank]

Would be the perfect line for a 121 to make an occasional appearances on - they'll have 2 soon! I can hope.

[anthony215]

Would be the perfect line for a 121 to make an occasional appearances on - they'll have 2 soon! I can hope.

I think they already have the 2nd class 121. Maybe they should tell ATW^▸ (Arriva Trains Wales (former TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company))) their secrets as to how they manage to keep their class 121's in working order.

[willc]

Would be the perfect line for a 121 to make an occasional appearances on - they'll have 2 soon! I can hope.

I don't think the passengers on the 07.57 from Bicester to Oxford would find riding in a single-car 50-year-old museum piece a very appealing prospect when they fill a two-car Turbo at the moment. I hope Chiltern keep their 121s firmly where they belong, pottering up and down a rural branch to free a Turbo for the peaks - and well away from a line with 75 per cent growth in passengers in 2009-10.
 
The secret of Chiltern's success may have something to do with the fact their 121 only works for a few hours a week, plus a presumably healthy supply of spares culled from the Sandite and route learner dmus that have been parked at Aylesbury for years.

Mr Ableman isn't really a spokesman, he's Chiltern's marketing director.

[autotank]

Hence I said occasional! The vast majority of weekend/off-peak services are pretty lightly loaded from experience and a 121 would cope well on a branch that at the moment has a low linespeed.

Probably not going to happen - but would be nice as a one off before the upgrade works kick in.

[willc]

Unless you move it in secret, under cover of darkness and tell no-one about it (as if you could achieve that), it would inevitably be swamped by enthusiasts, so simply wouldn't be able to cope with the numbers, whatever time of the week you did it. The paths on the line are limited due to the low speeds and trying to run extra trains is difficult, given that the Ministry of Defence trains and waste trains to Calvert occupy several of the gaps in the passenger service. Were Chiltern able to get their hands on a few of FGW^▸ (First Great Western)'s 165s, then the 121 would be sent straight to the museum where it really ought to be now anyway.

[IndustryInsider]

Plus I don't think that the headline 'Chiltern takes over Oxford to Bicester line and uses 50-year old relic to provide the service' would give the kind of positive spin on things that they would want before the new service proper launches in 2013. 

If I was going to put a bet on it, the service will be operated by Chiltern using hired in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) drivers and a FGW Turbo for the intervening period - a matter of months probably - before the line closes to be rebuilt.

[anthony215]

Plus I don't think that the headline 'Chiltern takes over Oxford to Bicester line and uses 50-year old relic to provide the service' would give the kind of positive spin on things that they would want before the new service proper launches in 2013. 

If I was going to put a bet on it, the service will be operated by Chiltern using hired in FGW^▸ (First Great Western) drivers and a FGW Turbo for the intervening period - a matter of months probably - before the line closes to be rebuilt.

Since chiltern want to start the London Marylebone - Oxford service in 2013  i dont think it will be long before the bicester town line is closed for re-building etc

[IndustryInsider]

That's right.  As far as I understand it the public enquiry has now just finished, the SoS for Transport will announce a decision towards the latter part of the year, with work starting almost immediately around the turn of the year with a complete closure for all of next year, followed by staff training and familiarisation with the view to a full public opening in Spring 2013.

If you have the time, some of the objectors documents from the public enquiry are well worth a read (available at: http://www.chiltern-evergreen3.co.uk/index.php/objector-documents and http://www.chiltern-evergreen3.co.uk/index.php/proofs-of-evidence) especially the correspondence from a Professor Korsunsky, who just happens to live in one of the properties next to the line in North Oxford and clearly was quite a thorn in Chiltern's side throughout - although no amount of well written letters, long words, and counter arguments make him come across as anything other than an intellectual NIMBY in my opinion!

[paul7575]

I see in amongst the critics they had to deal with the infamous Paul Withrington, of 'Transport Watch' - who appears to have been pushing his well known alternate view of turning all railways into high speed coach routes.  He also seems to have accused Chiltern of building the route primarily as a freight line.

Paul