Banbury Station
Disruption

Chiltern Railways warn of longer journeys due to engineering work and industrial action next week

Chiltern Railways is warning customers that trains will be significantly busier than usual and journeys will take longer across the network next week, due to a combination of engineering works in Oxfordshire and Warwickshire and industrial action by the RMT and ASLEF trade unions. 

On Saturday 29 July, Chiltern Railways will be running a limited service between 08:00 and 22:00 due to strike action by the RMT trade union. Large parts of the network will be closed and customers are being encouraged to check train times before they travel.  

Separately, industrial action by the ASLEF trade union from Monday 31 July to Saturday 5 August means that Chiltern Railways will have fewer drivers available than usual next week. As a result, Chiltern Railways will be operating a reduced service on all routes. 

Planned many months before industrial action was announced, major engineering works will take place in the Oxford, Bicester, and Banbury areas next week. The closures will allow Network Rail to upgrade critical parts of railway infrastructure, reducing future disruption and ensuring journeys are more reliable for Chiltern customers in the future. This will mean some customer journey times will be extended due to the operation of rail replacement services. 

  • Limited service – Saturday 29 July 
  • Reduced service – Monday 31 July to Saturday 5 August 
  • Rail replacement between Oxford Parkway and Oxford – Saturday 29 July to Sunday 6 August  
  • Rail replacement between Bicester and Banbury/Leamington Spa – Saturday 29 July to Friday 4 August 

Saturday 29 July: 

Due to planned RMT industrial action and major engineering works in the Oxford and Banbury areas on this date, a very limited service will be in operation between approximately 08.00 and 22.00. 

  • The railway is closed between Bicester North and Leamington Spa, and between Oxford Parkway and Oxford all day. Rail replacement buses will operate. 
  • The railway is closed between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway all weekend due to planned engineering works. Rail replacement buses will operate. 
  • 1 train per hour will operate between London Marylebone and Bicester North, Oxford Parkway and Aylesbury (Via High Wycombe). 
  • No service: Banbury - stations to Birmingham and Stourbridge Junction. 
  • No service: Hatton - stations to Stratford Upon Avon. 

For more details on service levels, customers can visit www.chilternrailways.co.uk/strike.

Monday 31 July – Saturday 5 August: 

Due to planned ASLEF industrial action and the impact of engineering works between Oxford, Banbury and Bicester, Chiltern Railways will be operating a reduced timetable on all routes. 

  • The railway is closed between Bicester Village, Banbury and Leamington Spa until Friday 4 August and between Oxford Parkway and Oxford until Sunday 6 August. Rail replacement buses will operate. 
  • Significantly fewer services will operate between Oxford Parkway, Haddenham & Thame Parkway, High Wycombe, and London Marylebone. Please check train times before you travel. 
  • A near normal timetable is expected to operate between Aylesbury Vale Parkway and London Marylebone. 
  • A reduced service will operate between Leamington Spa and Birmingham Moor Street. 

Customers should check before they travel on the Chiltern Railways website and app. 

Contact Information

Matt Turner

matt.turner@chilternrailways.co.uk

Notes to editors

About Chiltern

  • Chiltern Railways is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe,  employing around 38,000 people and delivering around 1.5 billion passenger journeys across 10 European countries. Arriva are part of Deutsche Bahn (DB), one of the world’s leading passenger and logistics companies, responsible for DB's passenger transport services outside Germany.
  • 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), on the Princes Risborough to Aylesbury and Oxford to Bicester branch lines.