New Mainline service boosts Chiltern by 65%
CHILTERN Railways has seen its new faster Mainline service to London from Birmingham grow by 65% since its introduction four months ago.
Latest figures show passengers have found the new service, which rivals journey times offered by Virgin Trains via its West Coast Main Line route between New Street and Euston, to be very attractive.
Chiltern has also seen Mainline growth at stations in Solihull (68.6%) and Warwick Parkway (41.9%) during the four-month period when compared with 2010.
Mainline launched in September following an investment of £250m by the rail company. The upgrade enables trains to run faster between Moor Street and Marylebone, with morning and evening rush-hour services running at between 90-100 minutes.
The service has been especially popular with the business community, with commuters using the service to attend early morning meetings. The introduction of free Wi-Fi has been an added attraction, allowing people to work on their journey.
Prior to the faster trains being introduced, Chiltern conducted a corporate consultation with the business community to help define the new service. This led to the creation of the Business Zone service, which is designed to challenge the value of regular first class.
Thomas Ableman, director of Chiltern Railways, said: “2012 is forecasted to be another tough year and businesses will need to continue to make changes in order to remain competitive. We believe the combination of our pricing and journey times makes it hard to justify travelling with anyone else and our sales reflect this.
“We’re seeing such high levels of growth because we’re offering a great value option in economically vulnerable times.
“Our objective is to offer business travellers a reliable service where they can maximise travel time rather than waste it on a crowded train without tables and free Wi-Fi.”
The company have further plans to improve the Mainline including refurbished trains and new car parks at both Solihull and Warwick Parkway stations.
These have already seen Bourne Parking awarded a £1.5m contract by Chiltern to build a decked car park at Solihull railway station.
