09.05.14
Platform extensions to boost capacity on Chiltern line
Platforms at five stations between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street are to be extended to provide the option for longer trains and extra seats on Chiltern Main Line services from summer 2015.
Network Rail, working alongside Chiltern Railways, is to extend the platforms at Beaconsfield, High Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Haddenham and Thame Parkway and Bicester North, which will allow nine-carriage trains to stop at the stations following the opening of the Oxford to London Marylebone rail link.
The first phases of the work will be completed by the end of July 2014 and will allow Chiltern Railways to run longer trains between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone during Network Rail’s West Coast main line upgrade work being carried out in August.
Liam Sumpter, area director for Network Rail, said: “Extending platform lengths at these five stations is the first stage of our work with Chiltern Railways to boost capacity between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street.”
He added that the nature of the work means there will be some disruption while it is carried out, but it will work closely with Chiltern Railways to minimise this as much as possible. Work to lengthen the platforms will take place until Thursday 31 July either overnight or during weekend possessions, which will mean amended services for passengers at certain times.
Rob Brighouse, managing director for Chiltern Railways, said: “Chiltern Railways is one of the fastest growing train companies in the UK with more people choosing to travel with us between Birmingham and London than ever before.”
He added that the TOC’s passenger-focused investment strategy, which aims to provide capacity for an extra 1,000 passengers into London every day during the morning peak by April 2019, is at the “heart of our business and the lengthening of platforms allows us to deliver long term, increased capacity where required”.
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