Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP met with representatives from Chiltern Railways, along with neighbouring Member of Parliament for Meriden and Solihull East, Saqib Bhatti MP.
At the meeting, Chiltern Railways were able to update the Neil and Saqib on their operations, which included positive reports such as being the 3rd best mainline operator in terms of punctuality, despite having the highest average age of their trains at 29.9 years old.
Customer journeys are growing and are expected to rise from 20.6 million in 2023 to 22.5 million in 2024. This increase has resulted in instances of overcrowding on Chiltern’s trains.
Dr Neil Shastri-Hurst MP said:
A lot of my constituents rely on trains for their daily commute. Reliability of services is essential. Solihull station is a busy station with fantastic commuter links. However, I am concerned about the levels of overcrowding, and the average age of the trains being the oldest in the country by quite a margin.
Chiltern Railways updated me on their plan for additional carriages to improve that capacity issue. This includes replacing 13% of their fleet, which are 47 years old, in the next two to three years, and increasing seating capacity on the Birmingham to London route by 20%. However, rail users and Chiltern need extra support from the Government. The Department for Transport and the Treasury need to urgently approve these plans, so Chiltern can make progress with meeting the demands of our constituents.
