Chiltern Trains Will Get Back To Normal

10 October 2011, 05:00

We're told trains from Banbury and Bicester to London and Birmingham will get to back to normal, after a dip in punctuality.

The £250 million pounds upgrade came in a month ago and was intended to provide a faster service from London to Birmingham calling at places like Banbury and Bicester on the way.

But after the new service was introduced, punctuality dipped to 87%, compared to 93.2% in previous weeks.

Thomas Ableman, Chiltern Railways Head of Marketing tells Heart it's to be expected with new equipment:

"It can't be tested other than in situ and when it's put in situ its on a piece of operational railway with trains running over it so while we can do everything we can to prevent it, it does happen with an awful lot of upgrades but it will pass."

He added they're working quickly to improve things:

"Some of the new equipment hasn't been working reliably since day one so we're working very hard with our contractors who installed this equipment for us to get it thoroughly tested so that it starts working reliably."

The latest figures available show punctuality was back up to just under 90% in the third week of September.