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Chiltern Railways

The operator of the Chiltern lines out of London Marylebone, to Aylesbury, Oxford and Birmingham, in public ownership since September 2026. Its trains are all diesel: Class 165 and 168 units and, since January 2026, Chiltern Explorer trains of Mark 5A coaches hauled by Class 68 locomotives. In 1998 its Class 168s were the first newly built trains brought in by an operator after privatisation.

2026Current operator since
217 miles (349 km)Route miles operated
64Stations served
24.1 millionJourneys a year, ORR (2025–26)

Facts

Current operator since
20 September 2026
London terminals
London Marylebone
Type
Intercity and commuter train operator
Depots
Aylesbury, Wembley, London, Eastleigh, Hampshire (the Class 68s and Mark 5A coaches, under an interim contract to 1 December 2026)
Main routes
London Marylebone to Birmingham Moor Street and Birmingham Snow Hill via High Wycombe, Bicester North, Banbury and Leamington Spa, with some peak trains on to Stourbridge Junction; Marylebone to Oxford via Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway; Marylebone to Stratford-upon-Avon; Marylebone to Aylesbury via Amersham or via High Wycombe and Princes Risborough, some trains running on to Aylesbury Vale Parkway; and Princes Risborough to Aylesbury.
Stations managed
35
Operating company
Chiltern Rail Limited, owned by DfT Operator (public ownership since 20 September 2026). It took over from The Chiltern Railway Company Limited, part of Arriva, which had run the trains since 1996, under a franchise and, from 31 December 2021, a National Rail Contract with the Department for Transport.
Class 165 Networker Turbo, schematic side elevation, 2 cars
Class 165 Networker Turbo · BREL

Routes 6 routes · 64 stations

London Marylebone – Stourbridge Junction 43
London Marylebone – Stourbridge Junction: schematic, not to scale London Marylebone — change for BakerlooLondon Marylebone Wembley StadiumWembley Stadium Sudbury & Harrow RoadSudbury & Harrow Road Sudbury Hill HarrowSudbury Hill Harrow Northolt ParkNortholt Park South Ruislip — change for CentralSouth Ruislip West Ruislip — change for CentralWest Ruislip DenhamDenham Denham Golf ClubDenham Golf Club Gerrards CrossGerrards Cross Seer GreenSeer Green BeaconsfieldBeaconsfield High WycombeHigh Wycombe SaundertonSaunderton Princes RisboroughPrinces Risborough Haddenham & Thame ParkwayHaddenham & Thame Parkway Bicester NorthBicester North Kings SuttonKings Sutton BanburyBanbury Leamington SpaLeamington Spa WarwickWarwick Warwick ParkwayWarwick Parkway Hatton (Warks)Hatton (Warks) LapworthLapworth DorridgeDorridge Widney ManorWidney Manor SolihullSolihull OltonOlton Acocks GreenAcocks Green TyseleyTyseley Small HeathSmall Heath BordesleyBordesley Birmingham Moor StreetBirmingham Moor Street Birmingham Snow HillBirmingham Snow Hill Jewellery QuarterJewellery Quarter The HawthornsThe Hawthorns Smethwick Galton Bridge HLSmethwick Galton Bridge HL Langley GreenLangley Green Rowley RegisRowley Regis Old HillOld Hill Cradley HeathCradley Heath Lye (West Midlands)Lye (West Midlands) Stourbridge JunctionStourbridge Junction
London Marylebone – Stratford-upon-Avon 28
London Marylebone – Stratford-upon-Avon: schematic, not to scale London Marylebone — change for BakerlooLondon Marylebone Wembley StadiumWembley Stadium Sudbury & Harrow RoadSudbury & Harrow Road Sudbury Hill HarrowSudbury Hill Harrow Northolt ParkNortholt Park South Ruislip — change for CentralSouth Ruislip West Ruislip — change for CentralWest Ruislip DenhamDenham Denham Golf ClubDenham Golf Club Gerrards CrossGerrards Cross Seer GreenSeer Green BeaconsfieldBeaconsfield High WycombeHigh Wycombe SaundertonSaunderton Princes RisboroughPrinces Risborough Haddenham & Thame ParkwayHaddenham & Thame Parkway Bicester NorthBicester North Kings SuttonKings Sutton BanburyBanbury Leamington SpaLeamington Spa WarwickWarwick Warwick ParkwayWarwick Parkway Hatton (Warks)Hatton (Warks) ClaverdonClaverdon BearleyBearley WilmcoteWilmcote Stratford-upon-Avon ParkwayStratford-upon-Avon Parkway Stratford-upon-AvonStratford-upon-Avon
London Marylebone – Oxford 20
London Marylebone – Oxford: schematic, not to scale London Marylebone — change for BakerlooLondon Marylebone Wembley StadiumWembley Stadium Sudbury & Harrow RoadSudbury & Harrow Road Sudbury Hill HarrowSudbury Hill Harrow Northolt ParkNortholt Park South Ruislip — change for CentralSouth Ruislip West Ruislip — change for CentralWest Ruislip DenhamDenham Denham Golf ClubDenham Golf Club Gerrards CrossGerrards Cross Seer GreenSeer Green BeaconsfieldBeaconsfield High WycombeHigh Wycombe SaundertonSaunderton Princes RisboroughPrinces Risborough Haddenham & Thame ParkwayHaddenham & Thame Parkway Bicester VillageBicester Village IslipIslip Oxford ParkwayOxford Parkway OxfordOxford
London Marylebone – Aylesbury 18
London Marylebone – Aylesbury: schematic, not to scale London Marylebone — change for BakerlooLondon Marylebone Wembley StadiumWembley Stadium Sudbury & Harrow RoadSudbury & Harrow Road Sudbury Hill HarrowSudbury Hill Harrow Northolt ParkNortholt Park South Ruislip — change for CentralSouth Ruislip West Ruislip — change for CentralWest Ruislip DenhamDenham Denham Golf ClubDenham Golf Club Gerrards CrossGerrards Cross Seer GreenSeer Green BeaconsfieldBeaconsfield High WycombeHigh Wycombe SaundertonSaunderton Princes RisboroughPrinces Risborough Monks RisboroughMonks Risborough Little KimbleLittle Kimble AylesburyAylesbury
London Marylebone – Aylesbury Vale Parkway 11
London Marylebone – Aylesbury Vale Parkway: schematic, not to scale London Marylebone — change for BakerlooLondon Marylebone Harrow-on-the-Hill — change for MetropolitanHarrow-on-the-Hill Rickmansworth — change for MetropolitanRickmansworth Chorleywood — change for MetropolitanChorleywood Chalfont & Latimer — change for MetropolitanChalfont & Latimer Amersham — change for MetropolitanAmersham Great MissendenGreat Missenden WendoverWendover Stoke MandevilleStoke Mandeville AylesburyAylesbury Aylesbury Vale ParkwayAylesbury Vale Parkway
Banbury – Oxford 2
Banbury – Oxford: schematic, not to scale BanburyBanbury OxfordOxford

Schematic, not to scale. Ringed stations are interchanges. Each strip is one service route with its stops in order. Where fast and stopping trains share a route, the strip shows the one with most stops, and a route whose stops all lie on a longer one is left out. Station order from TfL open data.

StationZoneInterchanges
London Marylebone1Bakerloo
Wembley Stadium4
Sudbury & Harrow Road4
Sudbury Hill Harrow4
Northolt Park5
South Ruislip5Central
West Ruislip6Central
DenhamNA
Denham Golf ClubNA
Gerrards CrossNA
Seer GreenNA
BeaconsfieldNA
High WycombeNA
SaundertonNA
Princes RisboroughNA
Haddenham & Thame Parkway
Bicester North
Kings Sutton
Banbury
Leamington Spa
Warwick
Warwick Parkway
Hatton (Warks)
Lapworth
Dorridge
Widney Manor
Solihull
Olton
Acocks Green
Tyseley
Small Heath
Bordesley
Birmingham Moor Street
Birmingham Snow Hill
Jewellery Quarter
The Hawthorns
Smethwick Galton Bridge HL
Langley Green
Rowley Regis
Old Hill
Cradley Heath
Lye (West Midlands)
Stourbridge Junction
Claverdon
Bearley
Wilmcote
Stratford-upon-Avon Parkway
Stratford-upon-Avon
Bicester Village
Islip
Oxford Parkway
Oxford
Monks RisboroughNA
Little KimbleNA
AylesburyNA
Harrow-on-the-Hill5Metropolitan
Rickmansworth7Metropolitan
Chorleywood7Metropolitan
Chalfont & Latimer8Metropolitan
Amersham9Metropolitan
Great MissendenNA
WendoverNA
Stoke MandevilleNA
Aylesbury Vale ParkwayNA

Stations, zones and interchanges from TfL open data (2026-10-06). National Rail interchanges are listed where TfL groups the stations together.

Fleet

ClassUnitsFormation and notes
Class 168 Clubman2885 carriages in two-, three- and four-car units: 5 four-car 168/0s, 6 three-car and 2 four-car 168/1s, 3 three-car and 3 four-car 168/2s, and 9 two-car 168/3s; refurbished from 2024
Class 165 Networker Turbo39Class 165/0: 28 two-car and 11 three-car
Chiltern Explorer (Class 68 and Mark 5A)13Chiltern Explorer sets: a Class 68 diesel locomotive and five Mark 5A coaches (one first, three standard and a driving trailer), built by CAF; 15 Class 68s; seven sets in service by September 2026, all 13 due by December 2026

History 10

  1. Chiltern Railways, a company formed by a group of former British Rail managers as M40 Trains, takes over the trains out of Marylebone from British Rail at privatisation.
  2. The first Class 168 Clubman trains enter service: the first newly built trains brought in by an operator after privatisation.
  3. Chiltern is awarded a 20-year franchise. It later passes to Laing Rail.
  4. Deutsche Bahn buys Laing Rail, and with it Chiltern. Aylesbury Vale Parkway opens.
  5. Locomotive-hauled trains of Mark 3 coaches join the fleet.
  6. Oxford Parkway opens, with trains to Marylebone over a new chord at Bicester: the first stage of a £320 million project, £130 million of it from Chiltern and £190 million from Network Rail. Bicester Village opens the same year.
  7. Trains run between Oxford and Marylebone, two an hour, completing the first new rail link between a major British city and London for more than 100 years.
  8. A National Rail Contract with the Department for Transport replaces the 2002 franchise.
  9. The first Chiltern Explorer trains, a Class 68 locomotive and five Mark 5A coaches formerly used by TransPennine Express, carry passengers between Birmingham Moor Street and Marylebone. They replace the Mark 3 sets, the last of which were due to go at the end of March.
  10. Chiltern passes into public ownership: Chiltern Rail Limited, owned by DfT Operator, takes over the trains.

Sources 32

How we source figures →

unverified Class 165s: 39 units (Angel Trains and the 2021 contract), but ORR counted 166 Chiltern diesel vehicles in March 2025, down from 172 in 2022 to 2024, fewer than the 174 the 165s and 168s add up to; some units may be out of use, Class 168/1 split: the 2021 contract's fleet table is partly illegible; Eversholt confirms its three three-car units (9 vehicles), and the contract's totals (85 vehicles in 28 units) match Chiltern's 85 carriages, Class 68s: 15 (Chiltern's tender notice, February 2026); RAIL gives 14 (68019 to 68032), with 68018 kept for rescue only, Explorer sets in service: seven by September 2026, worked out from the DfT's statement that six more would complete a fleet of 13 in December 2026, Mark 3 sets: Chiltern and RAIL said the last would go by the end of March 2026; no source seen confirms the last day. RAIL said five Mark 3 rakes were being replaced; the 2021 contract described four rakes of seven vehicles, the name M40 Trains (Wikipedia; Companies House lists M40 Trains Limited, incorporated 23 December 1994, at Arriva's head office), depots: the sources name Aylesbury, Wembley, Banbury and Stourbridge depots but not what each maintains; only the Eastleigh contract is described, journeys: the DfT gives 'almost 20 million passengers a year', a different measure from ORR's 24.1 million journeys, Chiltern's own history page says the Oxford link opened in 2011, against its own timeline and Network Rail (December 2016); 2016 is used, East West Rail: Chiltern is to run Oxford to Milton Keynes with Class 196 units, but no passenger trains had run by October 2026, so they are not listed, route strips: two of TfL's route sequences join the Oxford line to the Birmingham line (Marylebone to Stourbridge Junction and Kings Sutton to Marylebone through both Oxford and Bicester North), which no train runs; they are left out, and the other direction of the Stourbridge route is drawn