Chiltern Railways adjust timetable after reopening of Oxfordshire viaduct

Train operator Chiltern Railways has asked customers to double-check their journey due to train times changing in response to the reopening of the railway between Oxford and Didcot on Saturday. 

The operator's full May 2023 timetable is now in effect, with temporary enhancements along the London Marylebone - Oxford route being removed in response to the reopening.  

The railway between Oxford and Didcot was closed on Monday 3 April. This closure resulted in Chiltern Railways being the only operator offering direct services between London and Oxford, and 4000 extra seats were temporarily added to this route every weekday to accommodate the significantly increased customer demand.  

It is estimated that an additional 3500 passengers travelled along this route every weekday while other direct routes into London have been unavailable. During this time, some services have been significantly busier than usual, but without this proactive intervention, many more services would have been overcrowded along this route. 

These short-term enhancements continued after the introduction of the May 2023 timetable. 

As the line between Oxford and Didcot has now been restored, and will result in a decrease in customer footfall, Chiltern Railways is reverting back to its full May 2023 timetable. 

This means the removal of temporary enhancements to the London Marylebone - Oxford route so that capacity can be restored to other parts of the network, where carefully considered reductions were made to support the increased footfall to/from Oxford since the closure. 

Customers should be mindful of these changes and check their chosen service before they travel, as some services will be altered or removed. This will also impact other stations along the route, including Beaconsfield and Princes Risborough. 

As part of the May 2023 timetable, Oxfordshire customers will see much more consistent departure times to and from London throughout the day, with an additional service running in the evening, as well as more direct trains throughout the day to and from other stations along the route. 

Chiltern Railways will continue to monitor customer demand and the impact of the May 2023 timetable. The operator is committed to making further data-driven interventions where possible to boost capacity on busier services and further improve customer experience.  

Customers can find out more information about the May 2023 timetable by visiting https://www.chilternrailways.co.uk/may23timetable, and can check their journey ahead of travel on the Chiltern Railways website or app.