Train operator renationalised after 30 years
It joins Great British Railways as part of government plans to save money and improve services.
Train operator renationalised after 30 years
Chiltern Railways, privatised in 1996, has joined Great British Railways
Chiltern Railways has been taken into public ownership after 30 years as a private company.
It is now the 10th rail company under Great British Railways (GBR), the government’s public ownership programme, which it says will cut costs and improve services.
Chiltern Railways, which was privatised in 1996, runs services from London Marylebone to Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, as well as destinations in the West Midlands.
The government said the move into public ownership would help ease overcrowding by adding 25 extra daily services from December.
On the first day of public ownership, there was some disruption, with Chiltern warning that the line between Birmingham and Marylebone, external was "expected to be much busier" because of the late notice of the West Coast Main Line closure affecting services at London Euston.
The operator said it would run more trains than usual between the stations, with significantly increased capacity.
The Department for Transport (DfT) said the extra weekday services under GBR would create 10,000 additional seats.
These would include half-hourly weekday services on the Chiltern Main Line between London and Birmingham, along with more weekend services.
Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy met staff at Marylebone Station on Thursday, alongside the first Chiltern train in GBR livery.
"The most difficult thing on Chiltern is that it's shorter capacity and those extra trains and those extra seats will make a real difference to people travelling on this line up here from Marylebone every day," he said.
Rail minister Lord Peter Hendy said the government hoped to "build a railway the country can trust and rely on"
The introduction of the new trains would also improve accessibility and offer better on-board Wi-Fi, the rail operator said.
From Sunday, passengers whose train has been cancelled can use another operator's service within two hours either side of their train to reach their destination at no extra cost, it added.
Chiltern's interim managing director Tony Baxter said: "Sunday is a significant milestone for Chiltern Railways and we look forward to working together with the wider rail industry to deliver a better railway for everyone in Great Britain."
The goal is for GBR to run all passenger services by the end of 2027.
Great Western Railway's services will be the next to be brought into public ownership, on 13 December.
Lord Henry said: "Every transfer into public ownership gives us the chance to tackle the bread-and-butter issues people care about – more frequent, comfortable trains that turn up on time.
"As we set up Great British Railways (GBR), we're putting passengers first.
"It will not happen overnight, but we will build a railway the country can trust and rely on and that will create growth, jobs and homes."