Farewell tour for 50-year-old trains raises £20,000 for charity
A farewell tour for trains built in the 1970s raised £20,000 for charity.
Chiltern Railways and Branch Line Society arranged the tour to celebrate the iconic Mark III fleet, which has carried customers for fifty years and is set to leave Chiltern by the end of March.
The special trip - which took place on Sunday 22 February along the line between London Marylebone and the West Midlands - sold out in 24 hours, with 250 rail enthusiasts on board the journey.
Enthusiasts flocked to stations along the route to see the Mark III, and some were even given the opportunity to enter the driver's cab before the train set off from Banbury in the morning.
Money raised went to the Railway Children charity, which supports thousands of vulnerable children alone and at risk on the streets and on the rail network in the UK, Tanzania and India.
The Mark III coaches, which have served Chiltern Railways' customers since 2010, are being replaced by the operator's newest Mark 5A trains – recently named the ‘Chiltern Explorer’ fleet.
Richard Allan, Managing Director of Chiltern Railways, said:
“I am delighted that £20,000 was raised for Railway Children, which is a charity close to my heart. It is the perfect way to celebrate these iconic coaches which have served our customers well for many years.
“I am looking forward to the future, as we are replacing these coaches with the modern, Chiltern Explorer trains, which will significantly improve journeys for our customers.”
Jack Miller, Group Director of Fundraising and Marketing, at Railway Children, said:
“We are overwhelmed once again by the generosity of the railway family.
“Chiltern Railways are such dedicated supporters of our cause and these funds, from such a special occasion, will ensure some of the world's most vulnerable children will wake up to brighter futures.”
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Notes to editors
- Chiltern Railways is part of the Arriva group, one of the leading providers of passenger transport in Europe, employing around 36,200 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), on the Princes Risborough to Aylesbury and Oxford to Bicester branch lines.