Chiltern strike timetables

[SargeNpton]

What appears on Chiltern's "Changes to train times" page for most dates...

RMT INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Due to planned RMT industrial action on this date, a VERY LIMITED timetable will be in operation, structured as follows:

• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Oxford Parkway (and vice-versa).
• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Banbury (and vice versa).
• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Aylesbury (via High Wycombe, and vice-versa).
• 1 bus per hour Banbury - Leamington Spa - Warwick - Warwick Parkway - Dorridge (and vice versa; NO CONNECTING TRAINS TO/FROM BIRMINGHAM).
• 1 bus every 2 hours Warwick Parkway - Hatton - Lapworth - Dorridge (and vice versa; NO CONNECTING TRAINS TO/FROM BIRMINGHAM).
• 2 buses per per hour Aylesbury Vale Parkway - stations to Amersham (in respect of planned engineering works, and vice-versa).

In particular, please note the following:

• There will be NO Chiltern Railways train service North of Banbury, nor to/from Oxford.
• Start of service will generally be between 08.00 and 09.00 (see below).
• End of service will generally be between 21.00 and 22.00 (see below).

FIRST TRAINS (SOUTHBOUND):

• 07.55 Aylesbury - Marylebone (via High Wycombe).
• 08.32 Oxford Parkway - Marylebone.
• 09.06 Banbury - Marylebone.

FIRST TRAINS (NORTHBOUND):

• 08.10 Marylebone - Banbury.
• 08.35 Marylebone - Aylesbury (via High Wycombe).
• 09.00 Marylebone - Oxford Parkway.

LAST TRAINS (SOUTHBOUND):

• 21.00 Aylesbury - Marylebone (via High Wycombe).
• 21.06 Banbury - Marylebone.
• 21.25 Oxford Parkway - Marylebone.

LAST TRAINS (NORTHBOUND):

• 20.55 Marylebone - Oxford Parkway.
• 21.00 Marylebone - Banbury.
• 22.30 Marylebone - Aylesbury (via High Wycombe).

Chiltern Railways High Wycombe-line tickets will be accepted for travel on the following London Undergound services:

• Metropolitan Line: Baker Street - stations to Hillingdon and Amersham.
• Central Line: Oxford Circus - Northolt - South Ruislip - West Ruislip.

 

[barbette165]

What appears on Chiltern's "Changes to train times" page for most dates...

RMT INDUSTRIAL ACTION

Due to planned RMT industrial action on this date, a VERY LIMITED timetable will be in operation, structured as follows:

• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Oxford Parkway (and vice-versa).
• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Banbury (and vice versa).
• 1 train per hour Marylebone - stations to Aylesbury (via High Wycombe, and vice-versa).
• 1 bus per hour Banbury - Leamington Spa - Warwick - Warwick Parkway - Dorridge (and vice versa; NO CONNECTING TRAINS TO/FROM BIRMINGHAM).
• 1 bus every 2 hours Warwick Parkway - Hatton - Lapworth - Dorridge (and vice versa; NO CONNECTING TRAINS TO/FROM BIRMINGHAM).
• 2 buses per per hour Aylesbury Vale Parkway - stations to Amersham (in respect of planned engineering works, and vice-versa).

The No Connecting Trains bit only appears on the 28th and 29th December when WMT aren't running due to a TSSA strike.

On other days, the note says for Connecting WMT services to/from Birmingham.

The timetable showing the replacement buses for this week have also been updated so that evening buses now run through to Moor Street rather than terminating at Dorridge because the WMT service is finishing around 1900

 

[Taunton]

I don't think they chose to release the 172s (or the slam-door loco-hauled set) and the hybrid unit(s) are an attempt to find a more environmentally friendly option as it is clear that electrification is not currently on the agenda.

That's for somebody else to do. They may think that by doing so themselves they can toady to those politicians who are impressed by this sort of thing, but to do so at the expense of usable sets when in short supply is just silly.

It's for the leasing companies to do this, and then offer the complete product to the market, as Mr Walmsley would presumably concur. And if they don't, because it's impractical/impossible, then diesel continues.

 

[Andyjs247]

What is preventing Chiltern from running a service to Oxford? MYB-OXF is DOO but no service is planned until 8 January. Barely 6 years ago Chiltern launched the new rail link as the first new service between London and a major British city in over 100 years.

Marketing hype maybe but it’s clear now that Chiltern see serving Oxford as an operational inconvenience. Today is not an RMT strike day, but it seems to me that Chiltern give up rather too easily at the slightest excuse. Advice is to “only travel if absolutely essential”. Same advice would appear to apply daily up to and including 7 January with things not expected to be fully back to normal until 10 January.

Even before the strikes all too often trains would turn short at Oxford Parkway or even Bicester Village with little information provided to their customers on how to continue their journey by alternative means. How times have changed.

It’s not just Oxford unserved but there’s also no service Monks Risborough and Little Kimble also. North of Banbury there is no DOO so perhaps some cancellations are a little more understandable and given that other operators provide a service. What has gone wrong with Chiltern?

 

[12LDA28C]

That's for somebody else to do. They may think that by doing so themselves they can toady to those politicians who are impressed by this sort of thing, but to do so at the expense of usable sets when in short supply is just silly.

It's for the leasing companies to do this, and then offer the complete product to the market, as Mr Walmsley would presumably concur. And if they don't, because it's impractical/impossible, then diesel continues.

It is being done by somebody else - the owner of the unit, ie the ROSCO. You do know that the TOCs don't actually own the trains they run don't you?

As other posters have mentioned, terminating at Oxford Parkway allows less of the fleet to be used than going all the way into Oxford, at a time when fleet availability is very poor.

 

[Taunton]

It is being done by somebody else - the owner of the unit, ie the ROSCO. You do know that the TOCs don't actually own the trains they run don't you?

Well then, have Chiltern put it off lease? What on earth for?

Our company cars, which are leased, certainly don't allow the leasing company to just take them for some mechanical experiment.

 

[12LDA28C]

Well then, have Chiltern put it off lease? What on earth for?

Our company cars, which are leased, certainly don't allow the leasing company to just take them for some mechanical experiment.

No it's not off lease as it still forms part of the Chiltern fleet. Chiltern have also asked for expressions of interest from Manufacturers / ROSCOs to provide any hybrid / battery trains in order to decarbonise their fleet as several stakeholders have recently been more vocal about diesel pollution affecting air quality, especially around London Marylebone. The hybrid 168329 is currently being evaluated and I'm sure you're aware that 165004 will shortly return from Loughborough as another hybrid trial unit to see how a different hybrid system performs.

 

[Taunton]

No it's not off lease as it still forms part of the Chiltern fleet. Chiltern have also asked for expressions of interest from Manufacturers / ROSCOs to provide any hybrid / battery trains in order to decarbonise their fleet as several stakeholders have recently been more vocal about diesel pollution affecting air quality, especially around London Marylebone. The hybrid 168329 is currently being evaluated and I'm sure you're aware that 165004 will shortly return from Loughborough as another hybrid trial unit to see how a different hybrid system performs.

It's a bit disappointing to see they are "fiddling while Rome burns", engineers having fun with two different sorts of prototypes while they can't even run their basic service.

The issues at Marylebone were surely caused by them parking the loco end of the onetime hauled services right underneath the adjacent flats, and letting them idle away unsilenced yadda-yadda-yadda for extended periods each day, with complaints ignored until it all came to the attention of the Mayor of London and their MP. If I had lived there I'd have joined in on this.

 

[12LDA28C]

It's a bit disappointing to see they are "fiddling while Rome burns", engineers having fun with two different sorts of prototypes while they can't even run their basic service.

The issues at Marylebone were surely caused by them parking the loco end of the onetime hauled services right underneath the adjacent flats, and letting them idle away unsilenced yadda-yadda-yadda for extended periods each day, with complaints ignored until it all came to the attention of the Mayor of London and their MP. If I had lived there I'd have joined in on this.

Chiltern are severely restricted as to how many loco-hauled departures they are allowed to run each day precisely because of noise complaints. It's quite rare to see a 68 'idling' for anything other than a few minutes these days anyway.

As I said, parts are becoming increasingly hard to source for the Class 165 fleet which is now over 30 years old.

This is not a situation which is likely to be resolved any time soon, but feel free to keep on criticising without offering any solutions. Chiltern are trying to source additional units with Class 175s looking most likely but that is some way off yet.

 

[sammyg901]

I suspect Oxford is withdrawn to avoid carrying lots of Oxford passengers who do have alternatives. Bicester Village will be driving big volumes of passengers (the traffic was chokka around there yesterday in the middle of the day!) and these trains are also providing 1/3 of the service to other stations down the route.

To be honest I don't think they have a massive stock shortage. Based on my observations the changes they've made in the new timetable (some 8 car workings, some adjustments to the loco hauled workings and stopping patterns for places like Haddenham & Thame Parkway, longer trains on late some evening services) should address most of the major complaints at the moment

 

[12LDA28C]

To be honest I don't think they have a massive stock shortage.

They do, and the current shortage of maintenance staff is exacerbating the problem.

 

[Mikey C]

I suspect Oxford is withdrawn to avoid carrying lots of Oxford passengers who do have alternatives. Bicester Village will be driving big volumes of passengers (the traffic was chokka around there yesterday in the middle of the day!) and these trains are also providing 1/3 of the service to other stations down the route.

To be honest I don't think they have a massive stock shortage. Based on my observations the changes they've made in the new timetable (some 8 car workings, some adjustments to the loco hauled workings and stopping patterns for places like Haddenham & Thame Parkway, longer trains on late some evening services) should address most of the major complaints at the moment

I was at Marylebone just before 8pm yesterday, and a large number of foreign visitors were just arriving back from a day at Bicester Village!

 

[12LDA28C]

I was at Marylebone just before 8pm yesterday, and a large number of foreign visitors were just arriving back from a day at Bicester Village!

That is very common, mostly Chinese no doubt. It was once said that over half of all Chinese visitors to the UK made a visit to Bicester Village to go shopping. It tells you something when Chiltern on-train announcements for the Bicester Village stop are made in Mandarin and Arabic as well as English.

 

[sammyg901]

They do, and the current shortage of maintenance staff is exacerbating the problem.

I mean generally outside of the current problems. I don't see huge numbers of short forms on a day to day basis and I travel on quite a range of trains and they're rarely bursting at the seams like they could be pre-COVID. However it does seem to me it wouldn't take much of an increase in demand to cause problems (particularly south of High Wycombe) and certainly in my sector there is movement to get people back into the office 3 or even 4 days a week from the current 1-2

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Dec 2022 ==

I was at Marylebone just before 8pm yesterday, and a large number of foreign visitors were just arriving back from a day at Bicester Village!

Indeed. They are at least managing to run these as 6-7 car trains it looks like

 

[Bletchleyite]

That is very common, mostly Chinese no doubt. It was once said that over half of all Chinese visitors to the UK made a visit to Bicester Village to go shopping. It tells you something when Chiltern on-train announcements for the Bicester Village stop are made in Mandarin and Arabic as well as English.

I would love to know how a random Home Counties outlet village became such an essential on the tourist circuit. Amazed there's not an equivalent actually in London.

As for stock there's only a shortage-ish because if I read right upthread they're only using what is maintained at Aylesbury?

 

[sammyg901]

I would love to know how a random Home Counties outlet village became such an essential on the tourist circuit. Amazed there's not an equivalent actually in London.

As for stock there's only a shortage-ish because if I read right upthread they're only using what is maintained at Aylesbury?

It is truly odd isn't it! I was working in Asia 2015-2020 and if I told anyone middle class etc in Singapore or China I came from near Bicester they likely knew where it was or had been there. I believe pre-COVID it achieved the highest sales per sq ft of any shopping destination in the world. Though with the changes to tax free shopping and these outlets springing up in Europe I suspect that wouldn't be the case now.

From what I've observed there have occasionally been some set swaps at Banbury during the day and various ECS moves at times. But all the stock for the start/end of the day either comes out of Aylesbury or a couple of sets overnight at Marylebone station

 

[Andyjs247]

I suspect Oxford is withdrawn to avoid carrying lots of Oxford passengers who do have alternatives. Bicester Village will be driving big volumes of passengers (the traffic was chokka around there yesterday in the middle of the day!) and these trains are also providing 1/3 of the service to other stations down the route.

To be honest I don't think they have a massive stock shortage. Based on my observations the changes they've made in the new timetable (some 8 car workings, some adjustments to the loco hauled workings and stopping patterns for places like Haddenham & Thame Parkway, longer trains on late some evening services) should address most of the major complaints at the moment

There are quite a number of people who commute from Bicester and elsewhere into Oxford who now have no rail based alternative. People who choose to use the train because it is quicker than (and previously more reliable and more convenient than) the bus. Anecdotally and also from observation commuting had been picking up quite nicely into Oxford given it is not a particularly car-friendly city. Also people that need or want to travel beyond Oxford to Didcot or for connections from there now have no practicable alternative.

There is no information provided at Oxford by Chiltern (or at least there wasn't on Sunday) for passengers that wish to travel to Bicester and beyond. I do worry that those commuters will not return to rail due to Chiltern not providing a usable service for the better part of a month. Before the rail link to Oxford was opened only 6 years ago the 500 Park & Ride bus was extended from Oxford Parkway to connect at Oxford station and rail tickets were valid. No such arrangement has been put in place now and pax are left to fend for themselves - frankly many will not bother.

 

[12LDA28C]

There are quite a number of people who commute from Bicester and elsewhere into Oxford who now have no rail based alternative. People who choose to use the train because it is quicker than (and previously more reliable and more convenient than) the bus. Anecdotally and also from observation commuting had been picking up quite nicely into Oxford given it is not a particularly car-friendly city. Also people that need or want to travel beyond Oxford to Didcot or for connections from there now have no practicable alternative.

There is no information provided at Oxford by Chiltern (or at least there wasn't on Sunday) for passengers that wish to travel to Bicester and beyond. I do worry that those commuters will not return to rail due to Chiltern not providing a usable service for the better part of a month. Before the rail link to Oxford was opened only 6 years ago the 500 Park & Ride bus was extended from Oxford Parkway to connect at Oxford station and rail tickets were valid. No such arrangement has been put in place now and pax are left to fend for themselves - frankly many will not bother.

It's my understanding that there are frequent and regular buses from Oxford Parkway station into Oxford itself - is this not the case?

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Dec 2022 ==

As for stock there's only a shortage-ish because if I read right upthread they're only using what is maintained at Aylesbury?

There is a general shortage of stock but this is being compounded by a shortage of maintenance staff at Banbury Depot as I understand it. I assume that the overtime ban isn't affecting Aylesbury depot as seriously as Banbury, I don't know about Wembley LMD

 

[Andyjs247]

It appears that Oxford Parkway (Park & Ride) is now only served by the 700 bus to/from the hospitals. Various other buses stop on the main road - numbers 2/7/S5 being the main ones.

 

[JonathanH]

I would love to know how a random Home Counties outlet village became such an essential on the tourist circuit. Amazed there's not an equivalent actually in London.

Bicester Village is precisely located away from London so as not to cannibalise takings at the full cost shops in London itself.

It has developed over time to have a more upmarket offering than other locations - eg the range of shops differs from those at outlet centres at Wembley, Portsmouth, Ashford, Braintree etc.

 

[sammyg901]

There are quite a number of people who commute from Bicester and elsewhere into Oxford who now have no rail based alternative. People who choose to use the train because it is quicker than (and previously more reliable and more convenient than) the bus. Anecdotally and also from observation commuting had been picking up quite nicely into Oxford given it is not a particularly car-friendly city. Also people that need or want to travel beyond Oxford to Didcot or for connections from there now have no practicable alternative.







There is no information provided at Oxford by Chiltern (or at least there wasn't on Sunday) for passengers that wish to travel to Bicester and beyond. I do worry that those commuters will not return to rail due to Chiltern not providing a usable service for the better part of a month. Before the rail link to Oxford was opened only 6 years ago the 500 Park & Ride bus was extended from Oxford Parkway to connect at Oxford station and rail tickets were valid. No such arrangement has been put in place now and pax are left to fend for themselves - frankly many will not bother.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 21 Dec 2022 ==

Yes an unfortunate thing as you're right, from what I've seen the trains do well, in fact frequently the majority of the passengers who board at Oxford alight at Bicester. The S5 isn't too bad as a temporary alternative though

 

[Vanmanyo]

There is a general shortage of stock but this is being compounded by a shortage of maintenance staff at Banbury Depot as I understand it. I assume that the overtime ban isn't affecting Aylesbury depot as seriously as Banbury, I don't know about Wembley LMD

This isn't helped by the fact that several 165s have now been designated 'spares and repairs' units, limiting the fleet. Chiltern do seem to have a serious maintenance issue, outside this whole Christmas period meltdown, several 168s and 165s parked at Aylesbury haven't been used in months and are gathering severe corrosion. The hybrid 165 has been dreadful, with it being out for a few years now. The only reason Chiltern are currently running longer 8, 9 carriage services is because they don't need the stock for Birmingham trains.

 

[HamworthyGoods]

Barely 6 years ago Chiltern launched the new rail link as the first new service between London and a major British city in over 100 years.

Are you sure about this?
I’d have thought HS1 and London to Canterbury also fits the bill of a new bit of railway being built to link up a City with a London Terminal which was never previously joined to that city.

 

[class68fan]

Are you sure about this?
I’d have thought HS1 and London to Canterbury also fits the bill of a new bit of railway being built to link up a City with a London Terminal which was never previously joined to that city.

That were the Chiltern marketing. Canterbury is maybe not a major city? Also the clever "can't bear Paddington" avertisments

 

[HamworthyGoods]

That were the Chiltern marketing. Canterbury is maybe not a major city? Also the clever "can't bear Paddington" avertisments

Sounds like Chiltern were pushing the boundaries a bit then with that misleading statement, I don’t think anyone would doubt Canterbury is a major city.

 

[Vanmanyo]

Sounds like Chiltern were pushing the boundaries a bit then with that misleading statement, I don’t think anyone would doubt Canterbury is a major city.

Maybe it's because this was a dedicated one city connected to another, hs1 connection to Canterbury was part of a wider scheme involving eurostar?

 

[12LDA28C]

This isn't helped by the fact that several 165s have now been designated 'spares and repairs' units, limiting the fleet.

As explained earlier, Class 165 parts are increasingly hard to obtain. The only way to get a unit back out in traffic is often to rob the part off another unit. Not sure there's too much that Chiltern can do about that.

 

[CyrusWuff]

Just to add to the misery for Chiltern passengers, as well as there being no service at all on Thursday 5th January due to the ASLEF industrial action, they've also announced that there will be no service on Friday 6th January due to a combination of the ASLEF action the previous day and the RMT action on the 6th and 7th.

 

[class68fan]

The day of Chiltern being a reliable on time railway have gone down toilet.

 

[CyrusWuff]

That's not entirely fair. In terms of punctuality of trains actually run, Chiltern's Moving Annual Average as at the end of Period 9 (10th December 2022) put them 8th out of 24 operators (which includes the Open Access Operators, concessions such as London Overground and Merseyrail, Caledonian Sleeper, ScotRail, and TfW Rail) when it comes to T-3 (no more than 3 minutes late at every scheduled station stop), T-5 (no more than 5 minutes late) and T-10 (no more than 10 minutes late).

If you just count the former DfT franchised operators, they come third on all three counts (behind c2c and Greater Anglia.) Least punctual on all three counts is Avanti, with a T-3 MAA of just 64% (compared to 93.9% for Merseyrail, the top performer on all three counts.)

In terms of cancellations, again measured against the advertised timetable, Chiltern's MAA at the end of Period 9 puts them 2nd (at 1.84%) behind c2c (at 1.77%), with Avanti right at the bottom on 8.36%.

That said, I would agree that the service provision since Covid hit has been rubbish, with extended journey times and reduced frequencies and train lengths, doubly so during this most recent bout of industrial action. It remains to be seen what happens when what passes for normality returns next month, and at the May timetable change.