Banbury becomes northern terminus for Chiltern Railways as strike action returns tomorrow, Wednesday

A limited train service will run between Banbury and London Marylebone tomorrow, Wednesday, with Chiltern Railways urging people to avoid travelling if possible and check for the latest information before heading to a station.
Banbury station will be the outer limit for Chiltern services tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27. Photo: Google Street View.Banbury station will be the outer limit for Chiltern services tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27. Photo: Google Street View.
Banbury station will be the outer limit for Chiltern services tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27. Photo: Google Street View.

In a statement released today, Tuesday, Chiltern said it hopes to run a service on an hourly basis between the two until late afternoon - and none of its trains will go north of Banbury or to/from Oxford.

It expects to run a normal service on Saturday, July 30 but is warning that due to the strike action affecting other operating companies coinciding with the first weekend of the Commonwealth Games, its services are expected to be ‘extremely busy’.

It says passengers can expect to queue at stations in the West Midlands and are advised to plan ahead, check their train before they travel and allow extra time for their journey.

In terms of tomorrow, Wednesday, its plans for dealing with the return of the strike action include one train per hour from Marylebone via stations to Banbury (and vice versa) and one train per hour from Marylebone via stations to Oxford Parkway (and vice-versa).

The first train from Banbury will be at 9.08am and the last return from Marylebone will leave there at 3.15pm

For Bicester North, the first train is at 8.23am, for Bicester Village it’s 8.42am and for Oxford Parkway, 9.30am – the last trains from London are 4pm for Bicester Village and Oxford Parkway, with Bicester North getting the final departure from Marylebone, leaving there at 4.15pm.

There is also a skeleton service for the Aylesbury routes but there are no replacement buses.

The strike action tomorrow is also due to have an impact on the start of services on Thursday, July 28, as trains will be out of position – Chiltern says the start of services will be delayed.

Cross Country will be operating its Manchester to Southampton service in the middle of the day tomorrow, with stops at Banbury in both directions providing a service to Birmingham and Oxford and beyond.

For the impact on Great Western and other services, check National Rail Enquiries.