Chiltern Main Line

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The Chiltern Main Line is a railway line which links London (Marylebone) and Birmingham (Moor Street and Snow Hill) on a 112-mile (180 km) route via High Wycombe, Bicester, Banbury, Leamington Spa and Solihull in England. It is currently one of two main line railway routes between London and Birmingham; the other is the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Birmingham New Street, which is the principal inter-city route between the two cities. A third main line, High Speed 2, is currently under construction. The name Chiltern Line was invented as a marketing name for the line by Network SouthEast in 1985, with reference to the Chiltern Hills that the route passes through near its southern end. The route was originally part of the Great Western Railway's main line from London Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill, Wolverhampton Low Level and Birkenhead Woodside. Most main line services between London and Birmingham on this route were discontinued in 1967 after the West Coast Main Line was electrified, and Snow Hill station was closed. Services were resumed between London and the reopened Snow Hill in 1993; however, they were routed into Marylebone, formerly the London terminus of the now-closed Great Central Main Line, instead of the historic terminus at Paddington. Since the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, the main operator has been Chiltern Railways, which has continued to develop the route and services. In the early 2010s, the line underwent a major upgrade which saw much of the line cleared for 100 mph (160 km/h) running, resulting in significant reductions in journey times from 2013. The line is not electrified, although electrification is an aspiration. The line forms part of the suburban rail networks in both cities. The majority of towns towards the London end of the route are...