Chiltern Railways: Data & Information
21st July 1996 – Present
Owned by Arriva UK Trains, Chiltern Railways has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996.
M40 Trains were awarded the Chiltern Railways franchise by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising in June 1996 for a period of seven years, with operations commencing on 21st July 1996. M40 Trains was set up as a result of a management buyout led by some former British Rail managers who held a combined 51% shareholding, backed by John Laing (26%) and 3i (23%). In a restructure in March 1999, John Laing took an 84% shareholding, with the remaining 16% owned by the former British Rail managers.
In March 2000 the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority announced that M40 Trains and Go-Ahead had been shortlisted to bid for the next Chiltern franchise. In August 2000 M40 Trains was awarded a new franchise which would run for 20 years conditional on various investments being made. The new franchise commenced on 3rd March 2002.
In August 2002 John Laing acquired the remaining 16% of shares in M40 Trains that it did not already own. In September 2006 John Laing was purchased by Henderson Equity Partners, who subsequently put Laing Rail up for sale in July 2007. Initially both Arriva and Go-Ahead expressed an interest in acquiring Laing Rail, but by December 2007 only Deutsche Bahn of Germany and NedRail of the Netherlands remained in the bidding contest. In January 2008 Laing Rail was purchased by Deutsche Bahn, and Chiltern became part of the DB Regio group. A restructure in early 2011 saw DB Regio become a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains.
The majority of Chiltern Railways services operate along the Chiltern Mainline which is one of two mainline routes operated by the company. The route links the major cities of London and Birmingham, London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill stations respectively, running along the M40 corridor passing through High Wycombe, Banbury, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick and Solihull. Chiltern Railways operates trains along the entire line, services ranging from suburban stopping trains to express trains running the full length of the line between London and Birmingham with some services extended to Kidderminster.
The London to Aylesbury Line is the second mainline route operated by the Chiltern Railways. The route links London Marylebone with Aylesbury running via Amersham. All Chiltern Railways services on this route run the full length of the line between London Marylebone and Aylesbury stations and call at all stations north of Amersham with most trains being extended one station further to Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
Both mainlines run alongside London Underground's Metropolitan line between Finchley Road, just north of London Marylebone station, and Harrow-on-the-Hill, each operator running on separate tracks. Beyond Harrow-on-the-Hill, the tracks are shared between Chiltern Railways and London Underground’s Metropolitan line services. This is the only example of National Rail services using non-Network Rail tracks using a unique unregulated track-access agreement with London Underground. Beyond Amersham, where the Metropolitan line terminates, all services are operated solely by Chiltern Railways.
The other three routes regularly served by the Chiltern Railways are all branch lines. The Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line links Princes Risborough, on the Chiltern Main Line, with Aylesbury, on the London to Aylesbury Line. Most trains on the line continue beyond Princes Risborough to London Marylebone, which gives Aylesbury an alternative route to reach central London, some services however terminate at Princes Risborough. In May 2011 Chiltern took over operating services on the Oxford to Bicester Line from First Great Western. In October 2012 the Secretary of State for Transport granted permission for work to begin on the construction of a quarter-of-a-mile double track connecting the Oxford to Bicester Line with the Chiltern Main Line, enabling a new Oxford to London Marylebone service to operate. A new station, Oxford Parkway, was constructed at Water Eaton and the service between Oxford Parkway and London commenced on 26th October 2015, with the line from Oxford Parkway to Oxford becoming operational on 12th December 2016. The Leamington to Stratford Line branches off the Chiltern Main Line at Hatton, a few miles west of Leamington Spa, and runs to Stratford-upon-Avon. Chiltern Railways took over operation of passenger services on the Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon branch line from First Great Western Link in December 2004.
Read MoreOwned by Arriva UK Trains, Chiltern Railways has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996.
M40 Trains were awarded the Chiltern Railways franchise by the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising in June 1996 for a period of seven years, with operations commencing on 21st July 1996. M40 Trains was set up as a result of a management buyout led by some former British Rail managers who held a combined 51% shareholding, backed by John Laing (26%) and 3i (23%). In a restructure in March 1999, John Laing took an 84% shareholding, with the remaining 16% owned by the former British Rail managers.
In March 2000 the Shadow Strategic Rail Authority announced that M40 Trains and Go-Ahead had been shortlisted to bid for the next Chiltern franchise. In August 2000 M40 Trains was awarded a new franchise which would run for 20 years conditional on various investments being made. The new franchise commenced on 3rd March 2002.
In August 2002 John Laing acquired the remaining 16% of shares in M40 Trains that it did not already own. In September 2006 John Laing was purchased by Henderson Equity Partners, who subsequently put Laing Rail up for sale in July 2007. Initially both Arriva and Go-Ahead expressed an interest in acquiring Laing Rail, but by December 2007 only Deutsche Bahn of Germany and NedRail of the Netherlands remained in the bidding contest. In January 2008 Laing Rail was purchased by Deutsche Bahn, and Chiltern became part of the DB Regio group. A restructure in early 2011 saw DB Regio become a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains.
The majority of Chiltern Railways services operate along the Chiltern Mainline which is one of two mainline routes operated by the company. The route links the major cities of London and Birmingham, London Marylebone and Birmingham Snow Hill stations respectively, running along the M40 corridor passing through High Wycombe, Banbury, Royal Leamington Spa, Warwick and Solihull. Chiltern Railways operates trains along the entire line, services ranging from suburban stopping trains to express trains running the full length of the line between London and Birmingham with some services extended to Kidderminster.
The London to Aylesbury Line is the second mainline route operated by the Chiltern Railways. The route links London Marylebone with Aylesbury running via Amersham. All Chiltern Railways services on this route run the full length of the line between London Marylebone and Aylesbury stations and call at all stations north of Amersham with most trains being extended one station further to Aylesbury Vale Parkway.
Both mainlines run alongside London Underground's Metropolitan line between Finchley Road, just north of London Marylebone station, and Harrow-on-the-Hill, each operator running on separate tracks. Beyond Harrow-on-the-Hill, the tracks are shared between Chiltern Railways and London Underground’s Metropolitan line services. This is the only example of National Rail services using non-Network Rail tracks using a unique unregulated track-access agreement with London Underground. Beyond Amersham, where the Metropolitan line terminates, all services are operated solely by Chiltern Railways.
The other three routes regularly served by the Chiltern Railways are all branch lines. The Princes Risborough to Aylesbury Line links Princes Risborough, on the Chiltern Main Line, with Aylesbury, on the London to Aylesbury Line. Most trains on the line continue beyond Princes Risborough to London Marylebone, which gives Aylesbury an alternative route to reach central London, some services however terminate at Princes Risborough. In May 2011 Chiltern took over operating services on the Oxford to Bicester Line from First Great Western. In October 2012 the Secretary of State for Transport granted permission for work to begin on the construction of a quarter-of-a-mile double track connecting the Oxford to Bicester Line with the Chiltern Main Line, enabling a new Oxford to London Marylebone service to operate. A new station, Oxford Parkway, was constructed at Water Eaton and the service between Oxford Parkway and London commenced on 26th October 2015, with the line from Oxford Parkway to Oxford becoming operational on 12th December 2016. The Leamington to Stratford Line branches off the Chiltern Main Line at Hatton, a few miles west of Leamington Spa, and runs to Stratford-upon-Avon. Chiltern Railways took over operation of passenger services on the Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon branch line from First Great Western Link in December 2004.
