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106-543: Chiltern Railways (legal name The Chiltern Railway Company Limited ) is a British train operating company that has operated the Chiltern Railways franchise since July 1996. Since 2009, it has been a subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains . Chiltern Railways was founded as M40 Trains by a group of ex- British Rail managers backed by John Laing and 3i ; in June 1996, it was announced that M40 Trains had been awarded

212-474: A premium economy "Business Zone" carriage on their Class 68 loco-hauled services between Birmingham or Oxford and London. Passengers would pay an upgrade fee to sit in a larger first-class-style seat; and formerly, this upgrade came with complimentary refreshments but, since May 2017, refreshment services have been cut on all Chiltern Railways services, meaning the "Business Zone" no longer comes with complimentary refreshments. From January 2022, Business Zone

318-712: A 100% FirstGroup subsidiary when the 24.5% shareholder bought out its partners. The TOCs were renamed First Great Western and First North Western . Go-Ahead Group bought the remaining 35% share in Thames Trains . Virgin Group sold a 49% share in Virgin Rail Group that operated the CrossCountry and West Coast franchises to Stagecoach . The completion of the rail link to Heathrow Airport led to Heathrow Express , an open-access operator outside

424-469: A 13 acres (5.3 ha) site at Mill Hill in north-west London . During World War II , the company was one of the contractors involved in building the Mulberry harbour units. Its activities during the conflict, as well in the immediate years of reconstruction following it, greatly bolstered the company's reputation. During 1950, William Kirby Laing and John Maurice Laing , the fifth generation of

530-571: A company wholly owned by the Strategic Rail Authority , which would operate the franchise until it could be tendered again. New franchise holders Arriva Trains Wales and Merseyrail began operating. FirstGroup purchased GB Railways which owned the Anglia Railways and Hull Trains businesses. A policy where the majority of services (both long-distance and commuter) from each London terminal would all be operated by

636-469: A dispute over pay and working conditions. On 21 October 2024 Chiltern Railways, along with Great Western Railway began testing trains on the full route of stage 1 of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes Central , ahead of its 2025 opening. Chiltern Railways operates regular services on five routes. The Chiltern Main Line is the core route for the majority of Chiltern Railways services and

742-547: A five-minute window for performance while others have a ten-minute window. Performance figures published by Network Rail rate Chiltern Railways sixth in train operating companies in the UK at 89.4% (PPM – period 9) and 94.3% (MAA) for the year to 12 December 2015. A new timetable introduced in September 2011, combined with significant disruption caused by engineering work, caused a negative reaction from customers. A petition to have

848-602: A fleet of long-distance trains for the Intercity Express Programme . The bid was successful, leading to a £4.5bn contract for new trains for both Greater Western and InterCity East Coast franchises being finalised in mid 2012. The company established the John Laing Infrastructure Fund in 2010 in a £270 million public launch; this entity focuses on the day-to-day operations of completed infrastructure. During October 2013,

954-426: A further five Class 165s were transferred from First Great Western Link . Between 2003 and 2005, all 39 Class 165s were overhauled by Bombardier at Ilford EMU Depot ; during this work, air conditioning units were installed throughout the fleet, while the hopper opening windows were removed; a first-class seating area was also implemented. As the fleet had been designed for suburban use, rather than InterCity travel,

1060-459: A government-owned operator of last resort , due either to failing expectations or to events on the rail system as a whole. The term is also sometimes used to describe companies operating passenger or freight rail services over tracks owned by another company or a national network owner. Franchises were initially let by the Office of Passenger Rail Franchising (OPRAF). This was in turn replaced by

1166-571: A licence by the railway regulator. However, the team recognised that they lacked the resources to successfully pursue a bid, thus they secured the backing of the infrastructure investment group John Laing and the venture capital specialist 3i . In October 1995, M40 Trains was established; the various railway managers held a combined 51% shareholding in the business, while the John Laing Group and 3i held 26% and 23% stakes respectively. The company reportedly spent £38 million in its bid for

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1272-502: A limited company in 1920 and established its headquarters at Mill Hill , London two years later. Its activities during and after World War II , particularly in the reconstruction efforts, increased the company's prominence. In January 1953, John Laing & Sons was listed on the London Stock Exchange, at which point the business had roughly 10,000 employees. William Kirby Laing and John Maurice Laing , who had joined

1378-633: A new, straighter 'down' through track built from Northolt Junction (where the original layout favoured the now little-used Paddington route) to Ruislip Gardens. The existing 'down' track continues to serve South Ruislip station. The former speed restrictions through Bicester North have been removed to permit 100   mph running. Two additional terminating platforms at Birmingham Moor Street were reopened in December 2010. Accelerated services were initially planned to start in May 2011, but there were delays and it

1484-518: A quality supervisor. John William Laing retired in 1957. During 1964, the company acquired the rival civil engineering business Holloway Brothers . Under William Kirby Laing and John Maurice Laing, the company continued to expand, winning contracts for power stations and diversifying into road construction while continuing to build houses. In 1985, Martin Laing , of the sixth generation of the founding family, became chairman. Martin Laing determined that

1590-411: A second ex-Wrexham & Shropshire set from May 2011. For the introduction of Chiltern's new timetable in September 2011, these sets had a Mainline logo and blue stripes added to their silver livery. Motive power continued to be provided by several Class 67s, including 67010, 67012-015 and 67018, all of which had been modified to operate with Driving Van Trailers . Train operating company In

1696-571: A simplified description of the routes served off-peak Monday to Friday are as follows: Chiltern Railways operates two parliamentary train services: On certain Bank Holiday Mondays, services are extended from Aylesbury to the Buckinghamshire Railway Heritage Centre facilities at Quainton Road , a short way north of Aylesbury Vale Parkway . However, this did not happen in 2019 and their future

1802-695: A single Class 121 Bubble Car for use on the Aylesbury to Princes Risborough shuttles. In May 2011, a second Class 121 followed after being overhauled at Tyseley TMD . During March 2013, a third Class 121 (121032) was acquired from Arriva Trains Wales for use as a spare parts donor. On 19 May 2017, the Chiltern Bubble cars ran for the last time, as their age made spare parts increasingly difficult to obtain. In January 2008, Chiltern ordered four two-coach Class 172 Turbostars ; these entered service during June 2011. Because they cannot be fitted with

1908-425: A specified duration, while a small number of open-access operators hold licences to provide supplementary services on chosen routes. These operators can run services for the duration of the licence validity. The franchised operators have changed considerably since privatisation: previous franchises have been divided, merged, re-let to new operators, or renamed. Some privately-operated franchises have been taken over by

2014-467: A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains as a result of restructuring during early 2011. Around this time, Chiltern was considered one of the best railway operators in Britain, with Public performance measure (PPM) regularly over 90%. However, the introduction of new timetables during the 2010s was repeatedly received negatively by the travelling public. Severe disruption to Chiltern's services occurred following

2120-490: A subsidiary of Arriva UK Trains . During May 2011, Chiltern took over operating services on the Oxford–Bicester line from First Great Western . On 26 October 2015, the company opened two new stations, Oxford Parkway and Bicester Village , providing services between north Oxford and London Marylebone. In December 2016, Chiltern Railways started running train services from Oxford to London Marylebone. In 2021, following

2226-585: A £250 million upgrade package was agreed for Evergreen phase 3, remodelling the line and permitting 100 mph operations, thus greatly reducing journey times. In August 2002, the John Laing Group became the sole owner of Chiltern Railways after buying out all other shareholders; shortly after John Laing's purchase by Henderson Equity Partners , the company was sold to the German publicly owned railway company Deutsche Bahn in January 2008. Chiltern Railways became

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2332-592: Is mostly served by express services to and from Marylebone. Until December 2016, the line terminated a few miles northeast of Oxford, at the nearby Oxford Parkway station; the line was then extended to the main Oxford station. The Leamington–Stratford line branches off the Chiltern Main Line at Hatton (a few miles west of Leamington Spa) and runs to Stratford-upon-Avon . The branch line is also operated by regular West Midlands Trains services. As of May 2023,

2438-403: Is no longer offered, and the former Business Zone carriage can be used by any customers holding a valid ticket to travel at no extra cost. Chiltern Railways' early operations were subject to considerable criticism. During 1998, its poor performance figures in criteria such as reliability, punctuality, and customer approval has led to financial penalties being incurred by the company, some of which

2544-446: Is one of two "mainline routes" operated by the company. The route links the major cities of London and Birmingham (Marylebone and Snow Hill stations respectively), passing through the towns of High Wycombe , Banbury , Royal Leamington Spa , Warwick and Solihull . Chiltern Railways operates trains along the entire line, services ranging from stopping suburban trains (e.g. London Marylebone – Gerrards Cross) to express trains running

2650-475: Is the biggest passenger rail project for several generations not to call on the taxpayer for support. Working closely with Network Rail, we are going to create a new main-line railway for the people of Oxfordshire and the Midlands. This deal demonstrates that real improvements to rail services can be paid for without public subsidy by attracting people out of their cars and on to trains." The table below outlines

2756-581: Is uncertain. The link will continue to be used by freight services to Calvert. Since winning the franchise, Chiltern has introduced "Route: High Wycombe" tickets for the Chiltern route between Birmingham and London that are considerably cheaper than "Route: Any Permitted" tickets, valid on the faster Avanti West Coast service to London Euston as well a number of other operators and routes. Chiltern offers only standard class, not standard and First Class as on Avanti services. Until January 2022, Chiltern offered

2862-520: The Chiltern Mainline service of two peak-hour locomotive-hauled services consisting of a Class 67 hauling a rake of modernised Mark 3 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer . Chiltern Railways originated with a number of former British Rail managers who sought to conduct a management buyout on one of the soon-to-be-created rail franchises that would be produced as a part of the privatisation of British Rail . In April 1995, they were granted

2968-731: The City of London ), and sustained problems within its construction division related to competition and overcapacity. Accordingly, in 2001, the company cut 800 jobs, and disposed of its construction division to O'Rourke for £1, far less than the roughly £100 million that had been anticipated. Shortly thereafter, Sir Martin Laing stepped down as executive chairman in favour of Bill Forrester. The business became orientated itself around its PPP / PFI activities; by 2002, it had structured itself into two main divisions, namely Homes and Investments. In April 2002, Laing's property developments divisions were sold to Kier Group , and its house building arm

3074-824: The Greater Anglia franchise on 5 February 2012. In September 2012, FirstGroup was awarded the right to operate the West Coast franchise which provoked a backlash from incumbent Virgin Trains West Coast. As a result of the Department for Transport having provided incorrect information during the bid process, the offer was withdrawn in October 2012 and £40 million of bid costs refunded. In September 2014, Govia Thameslink Railway took over services formerly operated by First Capital Connect as part of

3180-547: The InterCity East Coast franchise. John Laing Group The company has its origins in 1848, when James Laing and his wife Ann Graham embarked on a home construction venture in Cumberland before relocating to Carlisle . James' son, John Laing, took over the company and pursued larger contracts in the region. By 1920, John William Laing had taken charge and continued to expand the business; it became

3286-733: The Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive lets the Merseyrail franchise, while in London, Transport for London (TfL) oversees the new London Overground and Elizabeth line concessions. ( London Underground , a wholly owned subsidiary of Transport for London , operates trains nearly all on its own network serving mostly its own stations: It is not a Train Operating Company by the definition here.) The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) (formerly

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3392-955: The Metro buses in Belfast and Ulsterbus coaches around the country. NIR is not a TOC under the terms of the Railways Act 1993 , which only applies to Great Britain. The cross-border service Enterprise (Belfast–Dublin) is jointly operated with Iarnród Éireann , the publicly owned national railway company of the Republic of Ireland. Upon privatisation in 1994, the three passenger-operating sectors of British Rail ( InterCity , Network SouthEast and Regional Railways ) were divided, and their existing operations were let as 25 franchises: The privatisation process began when BR's passenger sectors were divided into 25 train operating units which were gradually incorporated as publicly owned subsidiaries of

3498-736: The North East Regional franchise and the North West Regional franchise . In 2004, these were altered into the TransPennine franchise, for intercity services, and the Northern franchise, for local services that were awarded to First TransPennine Express and Northern Rail respectively. Some North West services were transferred to the Arriva Trains Wales franchise. In the same year, Thames Trains

3604-642: The Strategic Rail Authority , which has since been abolished. For England, franchising is now the responsibility of the Department for Transport in the majority of cases. In Scotland, it is the responsibility of Transport Scotland . In Wales, since 2017, the responsibility for the specification and procurement of the Wales & Borders franchise belongs to Transport for Wales . In two parts of England, local government agencies are responsible: in Merseyside ,

3710-572: The Thameslink, Southern & Great Northern franchise and branded them as Thameslink and Great Northern. Services operated by Southern , another Govia subsidiary, were merged into the new franchise in the following year. Hull Trains became a 100% subsidiary of FirstGroup when the 80% shareholder bought out its partners. In March 2015, a Stagecoach and Virgin joint venture trading as Virgin Trains East Coast commenced operating

3816-562: The United States . While the late 1990s was a time of rapid expansion for the business expanded rapidly, profitability suffered, leading to job losses and the disposal of its construction division to O'Rourke for £1 in 2001 while the property developments divisions were sold to Kier Group and its house building arm was also divested to George Wimpey during the following year. In place of construction, John Laing Group focused on PPP / PFI opportunities. In December 2006, John Laing plc

3922-743: The West Midlands along two routes. Services on the Chiltern Main Line run from London to Birmingham Moor Street , Stratford-upon-Avon and Oxford , with some peak-hour services extended to Stourbridge Junction . Chiltern Railways also runs trains on the London–Aylesbury line to Aylesbury (some of which continue on to Aylesbury Vale Parkway ), and on the Princes Risborough to Aylesbury and Oxford to Bicester branch lines. From December 2010, Chiltern began operating

4028-791: The passenger transport executive or other civic body responsible for administering public transport. One of these bodies, the Merseyside Passenger Transport Executive (Merseytravel) is responsible for one of three National Rail franchises not awarded by central government, namely the Merseyrail franchise, while certain National Rail services in North London came under the control of TfL in November 2007 as London Overground. Two other franchises,

4134-431: The railway system of Great Britain , a train operating company ( TOC ) is a railway undertaking operating passenger trains under the collective National Rail brand. TOCs have existed since the privatisation of the network under the Railways Act 1993 . There are two types of TOC: most hold franchises let by the Department for Transport (DfT) through a tendering system, to operate services on certain routes for

4240-500: The tripcock safety equipment necessary to operate on London Underground lines, none of the Class 172s can operate via Amersham unless attached to a Class 165 or Class 168 DMU. Although initially intended for use on all-stations services out of London, they frequently operated as far afield as Birmingham. During mid-2021, all of Chiltern's Class 172s were leased to West Midlands Trains for use with their existing Class 172 fleet pending

4346-446: The 20-year duration of its franchise to improve routes and services. This has been divided into three distinct phases. The main focus of phase 1 was the redoubling of the Chiltern Main Line between Princes Risborough and Bicester North , with work taking place during 1998, as well as between Bicester North and Aynho Junction during 2001. Furthermore, several stations were subject to reconstruction works. Haddenham and Thame Parkway

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4452-630: The Association of Train Operating Companies) provides a commonality for the TOCs and provides some centralised co-ordination. Its activities include the provision of a national timetable and online journey planner facility, and the operation of the various Railcard discount schemes. Eurostar is also a member of the RDG, though it is not itself a TOC. For historical and geographical reasons

4558-565: The British Railways Board. They acted as shadow franchises prior to being put to tender: The opening of the Channel Tunnel saw operations by Eurostar begin from London Waterloo to Paris and Brussels . The franchising process was implemented, with various private companies taking over the shadow franchises. Three were awarded to management buyouts . The Great Western Holdings ' management also were awarded

4664-550: The COVID-19 emergency measures, Chiltern was awarded a new direct contract by the DfT, replacing its franchise agreement, with a core term until 1 April 2025 and expiring on 12 December 2027. Chiltern Railways is one of several train operators impacted by the 2022–2024 United Kingdom railway strikes , the first national rail strike in the UK for three decades. Its workers were amongst those are participating in industrial action due to

4770-407: The Chiltern Main Line, with Aylesbury, on the London to Aylesbury Line. Most trains on the line continue beyond Princes Risborough to London Marylebone, which gives Aylesbury an alternative route to reach central London; however, a few services terminate at Princes Risborough. The Oxford–Bicester line branches off the Chiltern Main Line just south of Bicester and links the town with Oxford . The line

4876-506: The Chiltern Railways franchise. In June 1996, the Director of Passenger Rail Franchising awarded the franchise to M40 Trains for an initial period of seven years. It was the only franchise operator to have as many as 51% of its shares controlled by its directors. On 21 July 1996, the company commenced operations, taking over from the publicly owned British Rail . Chiltern Railways was the first railway franchise to order new rolling stock in

4982-704: The Chiltern Railways franchise. On 21 July 1996, it took over operations from British Rail. The company promptly commenced the redoubling of the Chiltern Main Line under the Evergreen initiative and ordered the Class 168 Clubman diesel multiple units (DMUs) to supplement its ex-British Rail fleet. Following the awarding of a 20-year franchise to Chiltern Railways in August 2000, Evergreen phase 2 works begun to raise line speeds around Beaconsfield , built two new platforms at its London Marylebone terminus. In January 2010,

5088-438: The Class 165s tend to be concentrated on services to Aylesbury and Banbury, although this stock can also be found operating the service between Birmingham and Leamington Spa. Chiltern ordered several batches of Class 168 Clubman DMUs. Between 1998 and 2004, these entered revenue service, the company eventually operated nine three-car and ten four-car sets. These operate across the network. During April 2003, Chiltern restored

5194-557: The DfT Rail Group. Until 2005 this role was performed by the Strategic Rail Authority . The infrastructure of the railways in England, Scotland, and Wales – including tracks and signalling  – is owned and operated not by the train companies but by Network Rail , which took over responsibility from Railtrack in 2002. Most passenger trains are owned by a small number of rolling stock companies (ROSCO) and are leased to

5300-659: The East Coast franchise. In April 2008, Wrexham & Shropshire began operating open access services between Wrexham and London Marylebone . In June 2008, the Gatwick Express franchise was integrated with the South Central franchise operated by Southern . The government announced that National Express East Coast would have its franchise to operate intercity services along the ECML terminated, and that

5406-542: The Investment Advisory Agreement between John Laing Capital Management Ltd. and John Laing Environmental Fund Ltd. to Foresight Group CI Ltd. In May 2021, KKR announced that it has agreed terms to purchase John Laing Group in a deal valued at about £2 billion. John Laing confirmed that it would unanimously recommend that its shareholders back the deal and that it considered the terms of the acquisition to be fair and reasonable. In September 2021

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5512-557: The Laing Rail division, which by then operated Chiltern Railways and (jointly) London Overground, as well as held a stake in Wrexham & Shropshire , was put up for sale; the division was purchased by German rail operator Deutsche Bahn in January 2008. In June 2008, John Laing in a joint venture with Hitachi and Barclays Private Equity formed Agility Trains to bid for the contract to design, manufacture, and maintenance of

5618-587: The North West Regional Railways franchise. The remainder were divided between a handful of major transport operators: In Northern Ireland, NIR stopped using its own branding on the Enterprise service between Belfast and Dublin when it purchased new rolling stock in conjunction with IÉ, instead launching Enterprise as a separate brand name. Great Western Holdings , which operated Great Western Trains and North West Trains, became

5724-582: The Scottish national franchise, currently operated by ScotRail , and the Welsh domestic franchise, operated by Transport for Wales , are awarded by the devolved governments of the two constituent nations. The Rail Delivery Group is the coordinating body of the train operating companies in Great Britain and owns the National Rail brand, which uses the former British Rail double-arrow logo and organises

5830-565: The Shadow Strategic Rail Authority announced that both M40 Trains and the British transport group Go-Ahead had been shortlisted to bid for the next Chiltern franchise. In August 2000, M40 Trains was awarded the new franchise, which was set to run for 20 years, conditional on various investments being made across that period. On 3 March 2002, the new franchise period began. In August 2002, John Laing acquired

5936-497: The business' activities to the Carlisle area. John's son, John William Laing , (born in 1879) was working for the business before he was 20 years old, and so it became John Laing & Son. By 1910, John William Laing was running the business. More employees were recruited and larger projects were undertaken, including factory construction. During 1920, the firm became a limited company, and two years later moved its headquarters to

6042-628: The collapse of Gerrards Cross Tunnel on 30 June 2005; an unplanned six week closure of the main line was forced, resulting in compensation being paid by Tesco (which planned to build a supermarket over the tunnel) to both Chiltern Railways and Network Rail . Chiltern Railways operates commuter/regional rail passenger services from its central London terminus at Marylebone along the M40 corridor to destinations in Buckinghamshire , Oxfordshire and Warwickshire , as well as long-distance services to

6148-404: The common ticketing structure. Many of the train operating companies are in fact parts of larger companies which operate multiple franchises. The railway network in Northern Ireland is managed differently from the rest of the UK. The sole company in Northern Ireland that operates trains is NI Railways , who are a subsidiary of Translink , the publicly owned transport corporation, which also runs

6254-428: The company in 1950, jointly took over in 1957. During the latter half of the twentieth century, the company diversified into road construction and built numerous power stations as well as continuing to construct houses. In 1985, Martin Laing became the chairman and pursued further diversification; shortly thereafter, its home construction grew internationally, particularly in the Middle East , Continental Europe , and

6360-419: The company should begin to diversify. Home construction in the United Kingdom , Saudi Arabia , Oman , the United Arab Emirates , Iraq , Spain , and California was now one of the major sources of the company's growth. During 1969, the company opted to invest in a toll road in Spain, marking its first infrastructure investment in 1969 in a toll road in Spain (the 65km Europistas project). Another milestone

6466-559: The company sold its facilities management business to Carillion . In March 2014, Olivier Brousse was appointed as Chief Executive; he avidly pursued further PPPs for infrastructure delivery and management services. The John Laing Environmental Fund was established in 2014 in a £174 million public launch. In February 2015, the company became listed on the London Stock Exchange again. During September 2018, John Laing sold John Laing Infrastructure Fund Ltd. to Dalmore Capital and Equitix Investment Management. In June 2019, John Laing sold

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6572-439: The company were the transport groups Arriva and Go-Ahead . However, by December 2007, only the German publicly owned railway company Deutsche Bahn and the Dutch transport company NedRail reportedly remained in the bidding contest. In January 2008, Laing Rail was purchased by Deutsche Bahn; accordingly Chiltern Railways became a part of the DB Regio group. During early 2011, the company was restructured, with DB Regio becoming

6678-404: The delivery of British Rail Class 196 DMUs. In December 2021, it was later announced that the Class 172/1 fleet would not be returning to Chiltern once the Class 196s enter service with WMT. Starting in December 2010, Chiltern began operating two peak-hour loco-hauled services consisting of a Class 67 diesel locomotive hauling a rake of Mark 3 coaches and a Driving Van Trailer . A single set

6784-420: The discovery of bats roosting in Wolvercote Tunnel. Great crested newts also had a breeding habitat close to the route. In early 2012, the "bat problem" was apparently resolved. Chiltern Railways inherited a fleet of 34 Class 165 Turbos diesel multiple units (DMUs) from British Rail. From the franchise's onset in July 1996, the company publicly promised to introduce new rolling stock. During December 2004,

6890-419: The disruption; the retailer also pledged to fund a media campaign to win back passengers lost by the route's unplanned closure. The tunnel's construction resumed in January 2009. In late November 2010, the completed store was opened. In July 2007, Henderson Equity Partners announced its intention to sell on Laing Rail along with the Chiltern Railways franchise. Amongst the parties to express interest in acquiring

6996-427: The enactment of signalling improvements between High Wycombe and Bicester, as well as between Princes Risborough and Aylesbury, two new platforms were constructed at London Marylebone on land formerly occupied by the carriage sidings, while a new depot was constructed at Wembley . The DfT, Chiltern Railways and Network Rail agreed in January 2010 to a £250   million upgrade of the Chiltern Main Line. Phase 1 of

7102-406: The extent that, for the year ended 31 December 2001, its turnover was in excess of £1 billion. However, as the company celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1998, it faced falling profits following significant losses on certain construction contracts (including the Cardiff Millennium Stadium , the National Physical Laboratory , a disastrous PFI scheme in Teddington , west London, and No 1 Poultry in

7208-404: The first house financed the building of the next two houses on the same plot of land, one of which (Caldew House in Sebergham ) was kept by the Laing family to live in. Both the family and the business later moved near Carlisle . When James Laing died in 1882, his son, John Laing (born in 1842) took over the running of the company. John began to undertake larger contracts, but opted to confine

7314-404: The founding family, joined the company. John Laing & Sons was listed for the first time on the London Stock Exchange in January 1953; at the time, the Laing family along with its trusts and charities held the majority of the shares. John William Laing became the chairman while his sons became joint managing directors. By this time, the number of employees was around 10,000, and every site had

7420-514: The franchise would pass into the hands of public-sector company, Directly Operated Railways , which acted as the parent for East Coast . Grand Central open-access services from London to Bradford began on 23 May 2010. DB Regio's operations in the UK were integrated into those of Arriva following the acquisition of the latter by Deutsche Bahn in the previous year. Owing to continuing losses, Wrexham & Shropshire ceased operating on 28 January 2011. Abellio Greater Anglia began operating

7526-401: The franchising system, beginning its services from London Paddington to Heathrow with operating rights until 2023. The shareholdings of M40 Trains were restructured with John Laing owning 84% of the company with the remaining 16% held by former BR managers. MTL which operated Merseyrail Electrics and Northern Spirit and Prism Rail that operated c2c (renamed from LTS Rail earlier in

7632-470: The full length of the line between London and Birmingham. The fastest timetabled journey from Birmingham to London by this route is 99   minutes (compared with 82   minutes using Avanti West Coast services between Birmingham New Street and London Euston via the West Coast Main Line ). In addition to the Chiltern Railways services, CrossCountry also operates regular services on

7738-567: The individual TOCs. However, a handful of TOCs own and maintain some of their own rolling stock. Train operating companies also operate most of the network's stations , in their role as station facility owners (SFO), in which they lease the buildings and associated land from Network Rail. Network Rail manages some major railway stations and several stations are operated by London Underground or other companies. Most passenger TOCs in Great Britain are privately owned. The majority of these hold franchises to operate rail services on specific parts of

7844-401: The line between Wolvercote Tunnel (on the outskirts of Oxford) and Bicester Village was restored to double track, and the scheme included additional platforms at Oxford, Islip and Bicester Village. Network Rail provided the capital for the upgrade and will recover this through a facility charge over the subsequent 30 years, initially payable by Chiltern until its franchise expires, and then by

7950-707: The line north of Banbury, and West Midlands Trains operates regular services north of Dorridge . The London–Aylesbury line is the second "mainline route" operated by the company. The route links London (Marylebone) with Aylesbury via Amersham. All Chiltern Railways services on this route run the full length of the line between Marylebone and Aylesbury stations and call at all stations north of Amersham; most trains are extended one station further to Aylesbury Vale Parkway. The line runs alongside London Underground 's Metropolitan line between Finchley Road (just north of Marylebone station) and Harrow-on-the-Hill, each operator running on separate tracks. Beyond Harrow-on-the-Hill,

8056-718: The local council's initial objection to the scheme, it was approved by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott in July 1998. Due to a lack of available space, Tesco started building a tunnel over the active railway line to provide suitable land for the development. On 30 June 2005, the partially-constructed tunnel collapsed; nobody was injured, but a complete closure of the line was enacted for over six weeks before being permitted to reopen on 20 August 2005. Tesco paid an estimated £200   million of compensation to both Chiltern Railways and Network Rail for

8162-614: The name Wales & Borders . The remainder of Wales & West's services in the west of England were renamed Wessex Trains . John Laing bought out its partners in M40 Trains. Connex , having already lost the South Central franchise in 2001, was removed as franchisee of the South Eastern franchise in 2003 on the grounds of poor financial management. It was replaced as the franchise holder by South Eastern Trains ,

8268-486: The next franchisee. The infrastructure upgrade was carried out by main contractor BAM Nuttall , in partnership with Jarvis and WS Atkins . Oxfordshire County Council supported the scheme, but required convincing of the benefits of the new Oxford Parkway station at Water Eaton, which is in the Green Belt . In November 2011, there was a further setback to the project when a planning inspector withheld approval due to

8374-623: The peak timetable improvements. During October 2012, the Secretary of State for Transport granted permission for work to begin on Phase 2 of the Evergreen 3 project, with services between London Marylebone and Oxford. Under Phase 2, a quarter-of-a-mile double track has been constructed joining the Oxford–Bicester line at Bicester Village to the Chiltern Main Line, allowing a new Oxford to London Marylebone service to operate. A new station, Oxford Parkway , has been constructed at Water Eaton ;

8480-440: The post-privatisation era in the form of the Class 168 Clubman diesel multiple units (DMUs). However, their introduction was marred by unreliability, in part due to their rushed entry into service in response to booming passenger demand. By April 1999, the company claimed to employ 50% more staff than it had at the start of the franchise, and to be running 25% more services than had been operated by British Rail. Meanwhile, under

8586-511: The project, now complete, involved upgrading the Marylebone – Birmingham Chiltern Main Line to permit 100 mph (160 km/h) running on an additional 50 miles (80 km) of route. Junctions at Neasden, Northolt and Aynho were remodelled to permit higher speeds. The 'up' through track has been restored at Princes Risborough , the existing 'up' line becoming a platform loop, a new turnback siding has been provided at Gerrards Cross , and

8692-404: The purview of National Rail, which operate specific services which are recent additions to Britain's railways. The main examples are Eurostar, which operates to continental Europe via the Channel Tunnel , and Heathrow Express , which runs fast services from London to Heathrow Airport . A number of metropolitan railways on the network are operated by the local franchise holder in conjunction with

8798-716: The railway and come under the auspices of the National Rail brand. In addition, companies are able to bid for "paths" (specific parts of the overall National Rail timetable) to operate their own services, which the franchises do not operate – these operators are classed as open-access operators and are not franchise holders. Currently in Great Britain, there are three open-access operators: Hull Trains , which runs services between London King's Cross and Hull , Grand Central , which operates between King's Cross and Sunderland and between King's Cross and Bradford , and Lumo , which operates between King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley . In addition, there are operators that fall outside

8904-745: The railway network of the United Kingdom is split into two independent systems: one in Great Britain (including the Isle of Wight ), and one in Northern Ireland, which is closely linked to the railway system of the Republic of Ireland. In Great Britain, passenger train services are operated by a number of companies, referred to as Train Operating Companies or TOCs, normally on the basis of regional franchises awarded by

9010-468: The remaining 16% of shares in M40 Trains that it did not already own. In September 2006, John Laing was purchased by the global investment firm Henderson Equity Partners in exchange for £887 million. During December 2004, Chiltern Railways took over operation of passenger services on the Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon branch line from First Great Western Link . In June 2006, M40 Trains

9116-501: The routes operated by Silverlink in London, which were combined with the extended East London line in 2011. Services are controlled directly by TfL, with running of the trains themselves contracted to a private company as an operating concession. This is different from an ordinary franchise, as the train operator is not given control of the strategic aspects of the operation, such as pricing, timetabling and rolling stock procurement. In December 2007, National Express East Coast took over

9222-628: The running of the InterCity East Coast franchise from GNER . Grand Central also began operating its services between London and Sunderland as an open access operator. In January 2008, Laing Rail which owned M40 Trains and a 50% shareholding in London Overground Rail Operations was sold to Deutsche Bahn , becoming part of the DB Regio Group. In February 2008, One was re-branded by National Express as National Express East Anglia to bring it into line with

9328-532: The same franchise was partially enacted. In April 2004, One commenced operating the Greater Anglia franchise that combined the Anglia Railways and First Great Eastern franchises with the West Anglia Great Northern services radiating out from Liverpool Street . The remainder continuing to be operated as WAGN . In the North of England, prior to 2004 there were two regional franchises,

9434-496: The service between Oxford Parkway and London started on 26 October 2015, with the link from Oxford Parkway to Oxford becoming operational on 12 December 2016. All signalling on the route (including the new platforms at Oxford) is controlled by the Marylebone Signalling Centre. As part of Phase 2, the Oxford to Bicester Village service transferred from First Great Western to Chiltern in May 2011. Part of

9540-416: The service reviewed was started, and articles describing the disrupted journeys of commuters appeared in the local press. A new timetable introduced in December 2012 also met with frustration and opposition from some customers, particularly those using Saunderton and Princes Risborough stations. Evergreen is the name given by Chiltern to the major infrastructure works that the company has committed to over

9646-588: The south-east of England, were replaced as the operator of the Network SouthCentral franchise by Govia , who began operating it under the name South Central . Also in 2001, a new franchise, the Wales & Borders franchise was created by the amalgamation of Valley Lines and the majority of services in Wales and the Borders held by Wales & West . The new franchise was initially operated under

9752-449: The terms of the franchise agreement, the annual subsidy provided by the British government was gradually reduced. During early 1999, the ownership of M40 Trains underwent substantial changes; the John Laing Group opted to increase its shareholding in the venture to 84% via the purchase of shares from their previous holders; the outstanding 16% of shares were owned by several members of the former British Rail management team. In March 2000,

9858-560: The tracks are shared between Chiltern Railways and Metropolitan line services. This is an example of National Rail services using non- Network Rail tracks, and it uses a unique unregulated track-access agreement with London Underground. Beyond Amersham (where the Metropolitan line terminates), all services are operated by Chiltern Railways only. The other three routes regularly served by the company are all branch lines. The Aylesbury–Princes Risborough line links Princes Risborough , on

9964-416: The transaction was completed. Significant investments include: John Laing’s former construction division, now absorbed into Laing O'Rourke , undertook a number of landmark projects including: The subsidiary Laing Rail owned and operated Chiltern Railways and was joint operator of London Overground (with MTR Corporation ) and Wrexham & Shropshire (with Renaissance Trains ). In 2008, Laing Rail

10070-505: The year), Valley Lines Trains , Wales & West , and West Anglia Great Northern were purchased by Arriva and National Express respectively, resulting in the latter owning nine franchises. The two companies transferred to Arriva were renamed Arriva Trains Merseyside and Arriva Trains Northern. The first open access operator using the National Rail brand, Hull Trains , commenced running its services between King's Cross and Hull . In 2001, Connex , which had operated two franchises in

10176-618: Was acquired by the private equity arm of Henderson Group . A year later, the Laing Rail division, which had shareholdings in Chiltern Railways , London Overground Rail Operations and Wrexham & Shropshire , was sold to Deutsche Bahn . John Laing was part of the Agility Trains consortium that was awarded the Intercity Express Programme contract in 2012. In October 2013, the company sold its facilities management business to Carillion . The John Laing Environmental Fund

10282-493: Was also sold to George Wimpey later that same year. During 2003, its affordable housing division was sold via a management buy-out . In December 2006, John Laing plc was acquired by the private equity arm of Henderson Group . During June 2007, a 50:50 joint venture between Laing Rail and MTR Corporation , London Overground Rail Operations , was awarded the London Overground concession. Several months later,

10388-485: Was attained in 1990 in the construction of the Second Severn Crossing , which was the first PPP to be conducted by John Laing. During June 1995, amid the privatisation of British Rail , John Laing backed a management buyout that was the Chiltern Railways franchise. In early 1999, a controlling interest in Chiltern Railways was purchased. During the late 1990s, the business expanded rapidly, to

10494-429: Was established in 2014. During February 2015, the company was listed on the London Stock Exchange again. In September 2021, KKR completed the acquisition of John Laing Group. The business can trace its roots back to 1848 when James Laing (born in 1816), along with his wife Ann Graham, and some employees whom they had hired, built a house on a plot of land that they had bought for £30 in Cumberland . The £150 proceeds from

10600-445: Was in the form of refunds to its passengers. By the mid-2010s, Chiltern was considered one of the best railway operators in Britain, with Public Performance Measure (PPM) regularly over 90%, until the introduction of changes in November 2015, and infrastructure issues saw punctuality fall to 86% in December 2015. Chiltern's PPM is measured on stricter conditions than its long-distance rivals, such as Avanti West Coast , as Chiltern has

10706-523: Was initially hired from fellow DB Regio subsidiary Wrexham & Shropshire to operate a Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone service while another was made up of some DB-Regio-owned Mark 3s painted in British Rail blue/grey and Virgin Trains livery and operated from Banbury to London Marylebone. After Wrexham & Shropshire ceased operations in January 2011, Chiltern started using

10812-523: Was invited by the Department for Transport (DfT) to lodge a bid to operate the Snow Hill Lines , then operated by Central Trains , as part of the letting of the West Midlands franchise. However, this bid was not successful. During mid-2005, Chiltern Railways' services were heavily disrupted by the collapse of Gerrards Cross Tunnel . In 1996, the British retailer Tesco sought to build a supermarket near Gerrards Cross railway station ; despite

10918-417: Was not until 5 September 2011 that Chiltern was able to introduce a new timetable to take advantage of the improvements. As a result of the speed increases, journey times have been reduced significantly. From Marylebone, the fastest peak-hour journey time to Birmingham Moor Street is now 90   minutes, instead of 117   minutes previously. Chiltern Railways former chairman Adrian Shooter stated: "This

11024-542: Was rebuilt to have two operational platforms instead of a single platform; a new platform was also installed at Princes Risborough . Finally, the line speed limit was raised following appropriate infrastructure improvements. Phase 2 commenced shortly following the award of Chiltern's 20-year franchise period in August 2000. The most extensive works undertaken was the realignment of the route through Beaconsfield , which permitted line speeds to be increased to 75 mph (121 km/h). Further improvements in this phase included

11130-548: Was superseded by First Great Western Link and ScotRail (National Express) by First ScotRail . A new operator, Heathrow Connect , jointly run by BAA and First Great Western , began operating stopping services between London Paddington and Heathrow Airport complementing the Heathrow Express. Three new integrated franchises began operating in April 2006: Further integrations occurred in 2007. The first of these

11236-632: Was the South Western franchise ; this merged the original South West Trains franchise with the Island Line Trains franchise on the Isle of Wight and began operating in February 2007 under the name South West Trains, with Island Line retained as a separate brand. In November 2007, three new integrated franchises began operating: In addition to these three, a further new operator, London Overground Rail Operations , took control of

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