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BR green 'bubble car' DMU headlines £1 million upgrade by Chiltern

CHILTERN RAILWAYS CELEBRATED on May 27th after over a million pounds of improvements for rail users in Buckinghamshire were officially unveiled. 

In partnership with Network Rail and Bucks County Council, Chiltern Railways invested £630,000 to make improvements to Aylesbury station and Princes Risborough station. The company also invested £500,000 to restore a 1960s Class 121 single-unit DMU to help with providing additional capacity during busier times of the day on the Chiltern Railways line.

For the official celebration the company asked Josh Hailey from year three at Oak Green School to unveil a plaque at Aylesbury station.  The company has a strong community relationship with the school and previously the children have  created beautiful  hanging baskets at a number of stations and are currently working on a project called ‘Helping Hands’ where they will produce a piece of art for Aylesbury station.  To recognise our continued community relationship and to recognise what the children have done for us we have dedicated a plaque to the school for all their hard work.

Chad Collins, General Manager South at Chiltern Railways said:  “We’re delighted to be officially 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 gate which will mean less congestion during busy periods.  We have also refurbished the toilets and installed light sensors in the toilets and energy efficient hand dryers reducing our energy consumption.”

The celebrations at Aylesbury concluded with the children from the school waving off the new Class 121 bubble car on its journey to Princes Risborough to be greeted by Buckinghamshire String Quartet for a ribbon cutting to celebrate the improvements at this station.

Chad continued:  “At Princes Risborough, we now have a larger waiting area, with access for our disabled passengers through wide sliding doors and refurbished toilets and additional cycle parking.  We’d like to thank all our customers at both stations for their patience whilst this work took place.”

Kate Marjoribanks, Engineering Director at Chiltern Railways said: “The introduction of our new Class 121 'bubble car' is a significant benefit to all our Chiltern Railways passengers.  Having this train on our line enables us to free up more trains for our busier periods.  Many of you will have already travelled on our other single-unit DMU and this will still be in operation, but our new train enables us to spend time keeping it maintained and still free up other trains.”

Chris Rowley, area general manager for Network Rail, said: “The improvements at Aylesbury and Princes Risborough have given passengers lighter, brighter stations, better cycle parking and new toilet facilities. This investment has made travelling by a rail a more attractive and enjoyable option for local people and we’ll continue working with our colleagues at Chiltern Railways to deliver a top-class service for passengers.”

Jim Stevens, Head of Transport for Buckinghamshire added, "Chiltern Railways provides a high quality and reliable service across the county meeting the transport needs of both business and the public. We are proud to partner them in their endeavours to continually improve their service."