Last year we launched our Right Route 2030 vision, setting out how we intend to modernise and decarbonise our operations to deliver easier, greener, and better train travel for our communities.
We recognise the feedback we have had from customers across the route: current seating capacity is being outgrown by rising levels of demand, and there is a clear need to modernise and improve this railway for future generations.
We will always be honest and transparent with our customers, so we want to provide you with an update on progress, set out some of the challenges we’re facing, the solutions we’ve identified and the action we are taking to implement changes.
Our progress so far
In response to customer concerns about overcrowding during peak hours, we are taking steps to introduce new services. In 2023 we re-designed our timetables, which included introducing a new 15-minute commuter timetable in the West Midlands, increasing capacity from Leamington, Solihull and Dorridge into Birmingham. From June 2024, additional peak services are available in Buckinghamshire from a Tuesday to Thursday. This will increase seating capacity into London from major commuter stations including Beaconsfield, High Wycombe, Princes Risborough, and Haddenham & Thame Parkway.
We also have secured a £12 million investment to refurbish our 23-year-old diesel trains which operate from Birmingham to London. Over the coming year the trains will be upgraded to include new carpets, reupholstered seats, 5G Wi-Fi, and USB charging points, along with a fresh repaint.
Finally, to complement this work we have begun a significant programme of customer-focused improvements, including deep cleaning and painting our stations throughout 2024 and early 2025.
Upgrading our trains
As part of the 2030 vision, we committed to investing in our trains to improve punctuality, seating capacity and on board facilities for customers.
Our current trains have an average age of 30 years, older than any other UK train operator. When they require repairs, carriages have to be taken away for maintenance, limiting our ability to deliver sufficient capacity at peak times.
Improving reliability and increasing the number of seats available on our trains is a crucial part of our 2030 Vision. We are doing everything possible to get more trains onto our network and replace our oldest trains with newer, more reliable models.
To do this we are working urgently to rent trains that are elsewhere on the UK network. We can’t do this on our own though. We need Government approval to bring these additional carriages into service.
Over the past year we have been in discussions with the Department for Transport to bring younger trains into operation as soon as possible. If Government approval is forthcoming in late 2024, we would be able to get additional trains running in 2025. We would also like to build on our track record of operating trains using Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil, to deliver lower carbon emissions and greener journeys for our customers.
As these discussions progress, we will keep you updated on developments and our work to make journeys easier, greener and better for our customers.
Right Route vision 2030 report
Page updated: 4 July 2024