Chiltern Railways Unveil New Train

Chiltern Railways unveil new train and finish station upgrade project.

Class 121 Diesel

Chiltern Railways has invested over a million pounds in a new single coach train and station upgrades at Aylesbury and Princes Risborough station.

The train is a 1960 Pressed Steel Company built class 121 single car diesel unit, No. 55034 which will operate over the single line branch line between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough. It was launched into service at Aylesbury on May 25 after a £500,000 overhaul at Tyseley Works.

Aylesbury Upgrade Project

Josh Hailey, a pupil from Oak Green School in Aylesbury, unveiled a plaque marking the completion of the Aylesbury upgrade project in the enlarged booking hall/waiting area. He was assisted by Chiltern’s General Manager (South) Chad Collins. Aylesbury station now has lifts on all platforms removing the requirement for wheelchair bound passengers and baby buggies to use the barrow crossing at the north end of the platforms.

Mr Collins said that this was a major step forward and marked the end of poor treatment of such passengers. He also thanked Oak Green School pupils for their work creating hanging baskets at localChiltern stations and are now involved ina project called ‘Helping Hands’creating artwork to be put on show at Aylesbury station.

BR greenliveried class 121

The latest addition to the Chiltern Railways fleet, the BR greenliveried class 121 (which carries a small yellow warning panel at each end) was noisily waved off by Oak Green schoolchildren at Aylesbury when it departed for Princes Risborough.

‘Bubble car’

The class 121, also known as a ‘Bubble car’ will operate about 60 miles a day on morning peak hour shuttles between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough releasing a modern class 165 or 168 train for longer distance work.

Buckinghamshire String Quartet

The arrival of the Chiltern’s newest train was celebrated by the Buckinghamshire String Quartet playing on the platform at Princes Risborough.Chiltern Passenger Board member Colin Richardson officially opened the upgraded facilities at Risborough which provide a larger waiting area with access for disabled passengers through wide sliding doors plus refurbished toilets and additional cycle parking.”

Partnership

The £630,000 stations’ investment was a partnership between Network Rail who own the stations, Bucks County Council and Chiltern Railways but mainly funded by the train company. The Aylesbury scheme now provides a step free, well signed transport interchange with the adjacent bus station.

At the event, Chad Collins for Chiltern Railways said: “We’re delighted to be unveiling these improvements for our passengers today and we’re proud of the results. Aylesbury station now has a larger and brighter waiting area with additional seating and cycle parking.

We’ve also got additional ticket gates meaning less congestion during busy periods and refurbished toilets that have installed light sensors in the toilets and energy efficient hand dryers.”

Class 121 Blue Liveried No. 55020

The other Chiltern class 121, blue liveried No. 55020 will remain at Aylesbury for a few weeks on standby while No. 55034 proves its reliability. It will then be assessed for another overhaul at Tyseley.

Useful Facts

• The Guard on the special was Neville Royce whose family can boast four generations of continuous railway service.
• There is one other Bubble Car on the main line operating the shuttle between Cardiff Bay and Queen Street stations and manages 69 trips a day for Arriva, a sister company to Chiltern owned by Deutsche Bahn.