Buses to replace trains between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway
Buses are to replace trains between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway after a safety-critical electrical fault was uncovered during inspections by Network Rail.
The fault - which is affecting the signalling system needed to keep trains moving - means a full safety check and repairs are needed before the line can reopen to trains. The amount of time needed to safely complete this means the route has to close to give engineers access to the line, meaning buses will be needed to keep passengers moving.
The line will be closed on Wednesday 8 April with everything being done to reopen the railway on Thursday 9 April.
A shuttle service between Amersham and Aylesbury is currently replacing the normal timetable - you can find out more information on why this has been needed here.
Adam Checkley, infrastructure director for Network Rail's Central route, said:
"I am sorry for the added inconvenience this will cause but we have had no choice but to close the line while we complete a full survey to identify and fix this safety-critical issue. We will reopen the line as quickly as we can and I thank passengers for their understanding."
Michael Stewart, commercial and customer strategy director at Chiltern Railways, said:
“I understand these short-notice works will impact our customers and I would like to thank them for their patience while they are being carried out tomorrow (Wednesday 8 April).
“A rail replacement service will be in operation instead of the planned shuttle trains between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Amersham. If you are travelling in the affected area, please check your journey planners which will be updated this evening as journeys will be subject to further disruption tomorrow.”
Journeys between London Marylebone and Aylesbury Vale Parkway via Amersham will take significantly longer. Journey planners will be updated overnight tonight (7 April) to show the rail replacement journeys, and customers are advised to check their journeys in the morning.
Customers who usually use the Metropolitan Line route (via Amersham) will need to use London Underground Metropolitan Line services between Amersham and Baker Street. Rail replacement buses will connect with services to/from Baker Street at Amersham.
Customers travelling directly between Aylesbury and London should use train services via Princes Risborough.
To check any journey, please go to www.nationalrail.co.uk.
Contact Information
Notes to editors
- Chiltern Railways is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing around 35,670 people and delivering around 1.5 billion passenger journeys across 11 European countries.
- Chiltern operates commuter/regional rail passenger services from its Central London terminus at London Marylebone along the M40 corridor to destinations in Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Warwickshire, as well as long-distance services to the West Midlands along two routes. Services on the Chiltern Main Line run from London Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill, Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford, with some peak-hour services to Stourbridge Junction.
- Chiltern also runs trains on the London to Aylesbury Line to Aylesbury (with some trains terminating at Aylesbury Vale Parkway instead), between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury and between Oxford and Bicester