This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(January 2023)
The London–Aylesbury line is a railway line between London Marylebone and Aylesbury, going via the Chiltern Hills; passenger trains are operated by Chiltern Railways. Nearly half of the line is owned by London Underground, approximately 16 miles (26 km) – the total length of the passenger line is about 39 miles (63 km) with a freight continuation.
The Great Central Railway (GCR) decided to build a main line called the London Extension from Annesley Junction north of Nottingham to London via the Metropolitan Railway. It was the last main line to be built in Britain in the Victorian era. The line was completed in 1899. In 1903 the line between Harrow and Canfield Place (near Finchley Road) was built, thus bypassing this part of the Metropolitan tracks. The route was a major trunk route with many prestigious trains, such as The Master Cutler and The South Yorkshireman.
The line beyond Aylesbury Vale Parkway is currently closed to almost all passenger services: the Metropolitan line service north of Aylesbury to Verney Junction and Brill was withdrawn in 1936 as London Transport (LT) wanted to focus more closely on London.
Electrification
The line north west from Harrow was electrified in stages. In 1925, four rail electrification reached Rickmansworth and Watford, and the Metropolitan Railway planned to electrify the line as far as Aylesbury by 1935. However, when the Met was absorbed into LT the plans were put on hold. Electrification of the final leg of the Met finally got under way in the late 1950s, but LT decided later to electrify only up to Amersham. The original intention to electrify further is evidenced by the colour light signalling which was fully installed as far as Aylesbury and by platform extensions up to Stoke Mandeville. In 1961 LT withdrew the Metropolitan line from Aylesbury and since then it goes only as far as Amersham. Following the end of steam-hauled Metropolitan line trains in 1961 the service was provided by British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple units until 1992 (which were then replaced by the line's current rolling stock) – along with Metropolitan line electric multiple units south of Amersham. The last steam train ran on 17 June 1962 and the timetable from 18 June reduced the London to Aylesbury timings from 90 minutes to 59.[1] Responsibility for the line north of Amersham was transferred from London Transport to British Railways on 11 September 1961; London Underground signage at the stations on this section was gradually replaced by those of British Railways.
Rationalisation from 1960s onwards
The mainline services north of Aylesbury (via Woodford Halse, Rugby and Loughborough to Nottingham Victoria and beyond) were withdrawn in 1966 as the Great Central Main Line was seen by Dr Beeching as a duplicate of the Midland Main Line. Now only freight services to Calvert and on certain Bank Holidays special passenger train service runs to and from Quainton Road. The track remains in situ from Calvert west to Bicester Village and the line to Bletchley is being reconstructed for future reopening as part of East West Rail.
InterCity 125 trains were used on the line, albeit rarely, during the 1980s.[2] Also in the 1980s, there were passenger specials north to Milton Keynes from Marylebone via Aylesbury and High Wycombe, which picked up passengers at Quainton Road and the disused Winslow railway station.[3]
From Marylebone the line runs through a series of tunnels as far as Finchley Road, from where the line runs overground and runs parallel to the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines. At Neasden Junction, the Chiltern Main Line diverges to the west, while the Aylesbury line continues north parallel to the underground lines. The line then joins the Metropolitan line tracks a few yards south of Harrow-on-the-Hill station and shares this track with the London Underground's fast Metropolitan line services to Amersham from Baker Street. Beyond Moor Park, the line to Watford diverges.
Passenger services are provided by Chiltern Railways. From Marylebone to Neasden Junction the track is shared with the Chiltern Main Line and from Harrow to Amersham the track is shared with London Underground's Metropolitan line, and is used by their "fast" services. As a result, all Chiltern trains must be fitted with the tripcock braking system to run on Underground lines. Marylebone Signalling Control Centre controls all the signals on the line between Marylebone and south of Harrow, and also from north of Amersham to Aylesbury. Marylebone can see all train movements throughout the line but does not control the signals on the Metropolitan line section. These are operated by London Underground signal cabins at Harrow, Rickmansworth and Amersham. The Network Rail-controlled section of the line is fully equipped with ATP, one of three lines in Britain to have this (the others being the Chiltern Main Line and the Great Western Main Line). As a result, all Chiltern trains must be equipped with ATP equipment.
The line operates lower frequency timetables during autumn as trains need to take more time to brake due to the leaves that fall on the line in the heavily wooded section between Amersham and Rickmansworth.[5]
Following completion of a major track work project in December 2006, journey times on the line were cut by about 10 minutes. Major track replacement work is under way on the London Underground parts of the line, to increase maximum speeds and reduce delays.[9]
A proposal announced in March 2010 would have routed the future high speed line, High Speed 2, parallel with a section of the Chiltern Main Line. If this was undertaken, it would have been a non-stop service, with no interconnections with the Chiltern Line.[14]
National Rail passenger volume
These are the passenger usage statistics on the National Rail network from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2012. Large increases in the final year in some stations are mainly due to the introduction of Oyster Cards on the National Rail Network. The reason there were no usage figures in the first three years for stations from Amersham to Harrow-on-the-Hill was because these figures were not yet separated from the London Underground figures, who own and share the same tracks at this point. Aylesbury Vale Parkway has no previous data for the first five years as it only opened in 2008.[15]
The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage. The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve-month periods that start in April. Methodology may vary year on year. Usage from the periods 2019-20 and especially 2020-21 onwards have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic
References
^"Full diesel operation of Marylebone suburban services". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 108, no. 735. July 1962. p. 454.
Horne, Mike (2003). The Metropolitan Line, an Illustrated History. Capital Transport. ISBN978-1-85414-275-7.
April 07, 2023
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This article needs to be updated Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information January 2023 The London Aylesbury line is a railway line between London Marylebone and Aylesbury going via the Chiltern Hills passenger trains are operated by Chiltern Railways Nearly half of the line is owned by London Underground approximately 16 miles 26 km the total length of the passenger line is about 39 miles 63 km with a freight continuation London Aylesbury lineAmersham stationOverviewStatusOperationalOwnerLondon UndergroundNetwork RailLocaleGreater LondonSouth East EnglandTerminiLondon MaryleboneAylesbury Vale Parkway Passenger Calvert Freight Stations16ServiceTypeCommuter rail Suburban rail Rapid transitSystemLondon UndergroundNational RailServices2Operator s London Underground Metropolitan line Chiltern RailwaysDepot s Neasden Met Aylesbury TMD Chiltern Rolling stockS StockClass 165 Networker Turbo Class 168 Clubman HistoryOpened1892 fully ClosedQuainton Rd Verney Junction Brill 1936North of Calvert GCML 1966TechnicalNumber of tracks2Track gauge1 435 mm 4 ft 8 1 2 in standard gaugeElectrification750 V DC fourth rail LUL section only Operating speed75 mph 121 km h maximumRoute map Click to expand vteLondon Aylesbury lineLegendGreat Central Main LineVarsity Line future East West Rail Calvert Freight DepotCalvertto Chiltern Main LineMetropolitan Railwayto Brill to Verney JunctionQuainton RoadWaddesdon ManorAylesbury Vale ParkwayAylesbury Maintenance DepotAylesburyAylesbury Princes Risborough lineStoke MandevilleWendoverGreat MissendenLondon Underground boundaryAmershamMetropolitan line to CheshamChalfont amp LatimerChorleywoodM25 motorwayRickmansworthWatford amp Rickmansworth RlyMetropolitan line to WatfordWatford South JunctionNon stop sectionNon stop sectionGrand Union Canal River ColneMoor Park LU only NorthwoodNorthwood HillsPinnerNorth HarrowHarrow JunctionMetropolitan line to UxbridgeHarrow on the HillLondon Underground boundaryNon stop sectionNon stop sectionNorthwick ParkWest Coast Main Line amp Watford DC linePreston RoadJubilee line to StanmoreWembley ParkNeasden Junction Chiltern MLNeasdenDudding Hill LineDollis HillWillesden GreenKilburnNorth London lineWest HampsteadFinchley RoadJubilee amp Metropolitan linesto Baker StreetHampstead tunnelWest Coast Main Line amp Watford DC lineSt John s Wood tunnelLords tunnelRegent s CanalLondon MaryleboneThe line is part of the former trunk route the Great Central Main Line Contents 1 History 1 1 Development of the route 1 2 Electrification 1 3 Rationalisation from 1960s onwards 2 Route description 3 Operation 3 1 Weekday off peak service pattern 4 Future 5 National Rail passenger volume 6 References 7 Further readingHistory EditDevelopment of the route Edit The route towards Aylesbury opened in stages between 1868 and 1899 The Metropolitan amp St John s Wood Railway later part of the Metropolitan Railway opened from Baker Street to Swiss Cottage in 1868 The Aylesbury and Buckingham Railway connected Verney Junction with Aylesbury in 1868 The route would become part of the Met in 1891 In 1879 the Met was extended from Swiss Cottage to Willesden Green In 1880 to Harrow on the Hill In 1885 to Pinner In 1887 to Rickmansworth In 1889 to Chesham Then in September 1892 the Metropolitan connected to Aylesbury via Amersham making the Chesham route a branch line The Great Central Railway GCR decided to build a main line called the London Extension from Annesley Junction north of Nottingham to London via the Metropolitan Railway It was the last main line to be built in Britain in the Victorian era The line was completed in 1899 In 1903 the line between Harrow and Canfield Place near Finchley Road was built thus bypassing this part of the Metropolitan tracks The route was a major trunk route with many prestigious trains such as The Master Cutler and The South Yorkshireman The line beyond Aylesbury Vale Parkway is currently closed to almost all passenger services the Metropolitan line service north of Aylesbury to Verney Junction and Brill was withdrawn in 1936 as London Transport LT wanted to focus more closely on London Electrification Edit The line north west from Harrow was electrified in stages In 1925 four rail electrification reached Rickmansworth and Watford and the Metropolitan Railway planned to electrify the line as far as Aylesbury by 1935 However when the Met was absorbed into LT the plans were put on hold Electrification of the final leg of the Met finally got under way in the late 1950s but LT decided later to electrify only up to Amersham The original intention to electrify further is evidenced by the colour light signalling which was fully installed as far as Aylesbury and by platform extensions up to Stoke Mandeville In 1961 LT withdrew the Metropolitan line from Aylesbury and since then it goes only as far as Amersham Following the end of steam hauled Metropolitan line trains in 1961 the service was provided by British Rail Class 115 diesel multiple units until 1992 which were then replaced by the line s current rolling stock along with Metropolitan line electric multiple units south of Amersham The last steam train ran on 17 June 1962 and the timetable from 18 June reduced the London to Aylesbury timings from 90 minutes to 59 1 Responsibility for the line north of Amersham was transferred from London Transport to British Railways on 11 September 1961 London Underground signage at the stations on this section was gradually replaced by those of British Railways Rationalisation from 1960s onwards Edit The mainline services north of Aylesbury via Woodford Halse Rugby and Loughborough to Nottingham Victoria and beyond were withdrawn in 1966 as the Great Central Main Line was seen by Dr Beeching as a duplicate of the Midland Main Line Now only freight services to Calvert and on certain Bank Holidays special passenger train service runs to and from Quainton Road The track remains in situ from Calvert west to Bicester Village and the line to Bletchley is being reconstructed for future reopening as part of East West Rail InterCity 125 trains were used on the line albeit rarely during the 1980s 2 Also in the 1980s there were passenger specials north to Milton Keynes from Marylebone via Aylesbury and High Wycombe which picked up passengers at Quainton Road and the disused Winslow railway station 3 On 14 December 2008 Chiltern Railways opened a new station Aylesbury Vale Parkway This station is situated two miles NW of Aylesbury station Route description Edit Class 165 and 168 trains at London Marylebone From Marylebone the line runs through a series of tunnels as far as Finchley Road from where the line runs overground and runs parallel to the Metropolitan and Jubilee lines At Neasden Junction the Chiltern Main Line diverges to the west while the Aylesbury line continues north parallel to the underground lines The line then joins the Metropolitan line tracks a few yards south of Harrow on the Hill station and shares this track with the London Underground s fast Metropolitan line services to Amersham from Baker Street Beyond Moor Park the line to Watford diverges Harrow on the Hill station Between Rickmansworth and Chorleywood the M25 motorway crosses on a viaduct After Chalfont amp Latimer station the Chesham branch diverges and the main line continues to Amersham the terminus for Metropolitan line trains Beyond Amersham the line returns to Network Rail control and runs northwest to Aylesbury following the A413 road The Princes Risborough line joins the main line at Aylesbury where Chiltern Railways have a maintenance depot There the line becomes single track and after Aylesbury Vale Parkway freight only passing through Quainton Road to Calvert the site of a major waste transfer station and landfill site Beyond Calvert at the former junction the line turns east to join the Varsity Line while the trackbed of the former Great Central Main Line continues northwest Aylesbury station London Underground own the track and co run on the line between Harrow on the Hill and the property boundary north of Amersham 4 The line serves the following stations London Marylebone Harrow on the Hill Rickmansworth Chorleywood Chalfont and Latimer Amersham Great Missenden Wendover Stoke Mandeville Aylesbury Aylesbury Vale Parkway Quainton Road Operation EditPassenger services are provided by Chiltern Railways From Marylebone to Neasden Junction the track is shared with the Chiltern Main Line and from Harrow to Amersham the track is shared with London Underground s Metropolitan line and is used by their fast services As a result all Chiltern trains must be fitted with the tripcock braking system to run on Underground lines Marylebone Signalling Control Centre controls all the signals on the line between Marylebone and south of Harrow and also from north of Amersham to Aylesbury Marylebone can see all train movements throughout the line but does not control the signals on the Metropolitan line section These are operated by London Underground signal cabins at Harrow Rickmansworth and Amersham The Network Rail controlled section of the line is fully equipped with ATP one of three lines in Britain to have this the others being the Chiltern Main Line and the Great Western Main Line As a result all Chiltern trains must be equipped with ATP equipment The line operates lower frequency timetables during autumn as trains need to take more time to brake due to the leaves that fall on the line in the heavily wooded section between Amersham and Rickmansworth 5 Weekday off peak service pattern Edit As of 28 December 2014 update 6 Chiltern Railways 7 Service Type Frequency Additional Information Chalfont amp Latimer Marylebone journey timeMarylebone Aylesbury Fast 2 tph 1 tph extended to Aylesbury Vale Parkway 35 minutesMetropolitan line 8 Service Type Frequency Additional Information Chalfont amp Latimer Baker Street journey timeAldgate Amersham Slow 2 tph Some rush hour services are limited stop 48 minutesAldgate Chesham Slow 2 tph Some rush hour services are limited stop 48 minutes tph train s per hourFuture EditFollowing completion of a major track work project in December 2006 journey times on the line were cut by about 10 minutes Major track replacement work is under way on the London Underground parts of the line to increase maximum speeds and reduce delays 9 The line north of Aylesbury was reopened to regular passenger traffic in 2008 as far as the new Aylesbury Vale Parkway station 10 In the long term the line is to reopen beyond Aylesbury Vale Parkway to allow passenger services to reach Milton Keynes Central and Bedford via East West Rail 11 12 13 A proposal announced in March 2010 would have routed the future high speed line High Speed 2 parallel with a section of the Chiltern Main Line If this was undertaken it would have been a non stop service with no interconnections with the Chiltern Line 14 National Rail passenger volume EditThese are the passenger usage statistics on the National Rail network from the year beginning April 2002 to the year beginning April 2012 Large increases in the final year in some stations are mainly due to the introduction of Oyster Cards on the National Rail Network The reason there were no usage figures in the first three years for stations from Amersham to Harrow on the Hill was because these figures were not yet separated from the London Underground figures who own and share the same tracks at this point Aylesbury Vale Parkway has no previous data for the first five years as it only opened in 2008 15 Station usageStation name 2002 03 2004 05 2005 06 2006 07 2007 08 2008 09 2009 10 2010 11 2011 12 2012 13 2013 14 2014 15 2015 16 2016 17 2017 18 2018 19 2019 20 2020 21 2021 22Aylesbury Vale Parkway 13 058 49 212 55 864 72 760 81 696 100 886 128 644 168 610 169 164Aylesbury 939 033 1 101 302 1 048 931 1 092 423 1 129 973 1 093 076 1 025 136 1 067 280 1 060 698 1 068 894 1 104 398 1 134 222 1 158 350 1 176 646Stoke Mandeville 267 307 318 451 316 986 313 188 309 449 312 744 282 086 292 478 294 944 288 208 303 742 312 744 316 102 318 494Wendover 382 436 409 616 405 386 403 674 405 247 427 314 406 506 414 214 435 292 434 952 462 490 487 472 506 538 502 368Great Missenden 402 511 488 401 525 041 526 800 530 999 524 694 500 418 535 652 561 832 541 878 592 470 603 548 625 050 622 988Amersham No data No data No data 1 805 767 1 510 922 1 059 766 1 218 936 1 713 718 1 784 026 2 035 452 2 164 370 2 133 978 1 944 310 1 958 866Chalfont and Latimer No data No data No data 446 522 349 370 254 398 398 650 686 488 718 268 702 438 748 158 817 372 822 284 831 716Chorleywood No data No data No data 650 033 499 400 339 532 402 688 608 914 613 282 632 460 671 680 721 940 537 576 552 374Rickmansworth No data No data No data 276 561 202 743 152 268 285 790 663 990 735 116 733 604 807 286 931 434 1 124 216 1 162 196Harrow on the Hill No data No data No data 207 167 293 939 157 534 453 158 1 309 328 1 444 386 1 410 622 1 396 730 1 925 856 2 395 172 2 463 400Marylebone 6 354 517 6 949 363 6 819 287 11 638 642 11 559 187 11 396 645 11 758 094 13 200 221 14 410 072 14 685 1481 15 520 762 15 977 862 15 932 954 16 666 936The annual passenger usage is based on sales of tickets in stated financial years from Office of Rail and Road estimates of station usage The statistics are for passengers arriving and departing from each station and cover twelve month periods that start in April Methodology may vary year on year Usage from the periods 2019 20 and especially 2020 21 onwards have been affected by the Covid 19 pandemicReferences Edit Full diesel operation of Marylebone suburban services The Railway Magazine Vol 108 no 735 July 1962 p 454 Smiler Simon Track Sharing amp Route Sharing Citytransport info Retrieved 15 October 2018 The Quaintonian Archived from the original on 20 July 2008 Retrieved 16 December 2008 The myth of Mantles Wood Metropolitan Line and Network Rail boundary and Mantles Wood myth METADYNE New train simulator helps drivers deal with autumn leaf fall Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine Chiltern Railways London Underground Tube Guide PDF Transport for London 28 December 2014 Retrieved 3 February 2015 Chiltern Railways May 2011 timetable PDF 22 May 2011 permanent dead link Metropolitan line Amersham Chesham Guide Dec 2010 timetable PDF 22 May 2011 Archived from the original PDF on 22 January 2014 Four Lines Modernisation Transport for London Retrieved 6 November 2019 New Aylesbury Vale Parkway station to open in 2010 Archived 21 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine Chiltern Railways East West Rail Prospectus Archived 3 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine Accessed 14 December 2011 Rail Magazine Issue 685 14 28 December 2011 pp 10 11 Disappointment as East West Rail delayed by two years Bucks Herald 31 March 2014 Archived from the original on 29 April 2014 Retrieved 3 May 2014 Greengauge21 proposal for a High Speed Two PDF Archived from the original PDF on 9 October 2007 Station Usage Rail Statistics Office of Rail Regulation Retrieved 2 January 2013 Further reading EditFoxell Clive 2010 The Metropolitan Line History Press ISBN 978 0 7524 5396 5 Horne Mike 2003 The Metropolitan Line an Illustrated History Capital Transport ISBN 978 1 85414 275 7 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title London Aylesbury line amp oldid 1140268910, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
