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Thursday 8 May 2014

Platform lengthening to help deliver extra capacity for Chiltern Railways passengers

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Work has started to extend platforms at five stations between London Marylebone and Birmingham Moor Street to provide the option for longer trains and extra seats on the Chiltern main line.

Working with Chiltern Railways, Network Rail will extend platforms at Beaconsfield, High Wycombe, Princes Risborough, Haddenham and Thame Parkway and Bicester North stations.

Longer platforms will allow nine-carriage trains to stop at the stations from summer 2015 following the opening of the Oxford to London Marylebone rail link. The new route, additional trains and longer platforms will provide more seats for passengers on the increasingly busy route, particularly south of Banbury.

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.

Lengthening platforms is part of Network Rail and Chiltern Railways’ commitment to provide capacity for an extra 1,000 passengers into London every day during the morning peak by April 2019. The increased capacity will be introduced in phases with the first longer trains regularly calling at the stations from summer 2015.

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.

“As the number of passengers travelling by train on this route continues to rise, it’s important that we work together and invest in the network to meet the increasing demand. Longer platforms will allow longer trains to call at the stations, providing passengers with more space and more seats.

“The nature of the work means there will be some disruption while it is carried out but we continue to work closely with Chiltern Railways to minimise this as much as possible.”

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. Our passenger focused investment strategy is at the heart of our business and the lengthening of platforms allows us to deliver long term, increased capacity where required.

“Passengers should expect to see longer trains from summer 2015 following the launch of our new line between Oxford and London Marylebone when we will introduce additional trains to the fleet. We have also made temporary arrangements to run lengthened trains during the closure of the West Coast main line in August 2014 to allow passengers to travel between Birmingham and London.”

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. Information is available at www.nationalrailenquiries.co.uk or www.chilternrailways.co.uk.