Chiltern toasts first anniversary of Mainline with big rise in users

CHILTERN Railways has announced record growth in journeys on its Mainline service between Birmingham to London.

Today marks the first anniversary of the service, which operates between Moor Street and Marylebone and which has proved popular with businesses looking for an alternative to the West Coast Mainline service between New Street and Euston.

Since the launch of the Mainline service a year ago, Chiltern said its share of the Birmingham to London market has rocketed by 45.8%. Furthermore, it said there had been a 33.6% increase in journeys between the West Midlands and London.

Mainline was the result of a £250m investment to upgrade infrastructure, resulting in faster journey times, from just 90 minutes, between the two cities.

It was created to challenge the market dominated by Virgin Rail, which ironically now faces losing the franchise to rival FirstGroup, although it has mounted a legal challenge to the decision and is demanding the tender process be reviewed.

Chiltern also introduced a premium economy ‘business zone’ category to its trains, which was designed to challenge the value of first class.

Rob Brighouse, Managing Director at Chiltern Railways said: “It’s been an incredible first year for our Birmingham to London Mainline service.  Passengers are not only voting with their feet and switching to Mainline but they are also telling us what they like about our service.

“Free Wi-Fi, power points, comfortable seats and affordable fares are consistently mentioned. West Midlanders now have a flexible, fast and reliable travel option to London where they can work in comfort without breaking the bank.”

There has also been a rise in the number of journeys to London from stations outside Birmingham including Solihull and Dorridge.

Chiltern said a number of improvements had been carried out to the stations to make them more appealing to commuters.

Parking facilities at Solihull have been extended, while at Warwick Parkway, work is under way to increase the car parking capacity to over 900 spaces.