Chilternrailways Reviews 

Plenty of experiences to mention- dirty trains, overcrowded with no seats and super expensive. Chilvers was great at one point- shame it isn’t anymore. I’m currently in Japan riding the Shinkansen to Tokyo- now that is how you run a train service- clean, comfortable and professional staff.

Yet again bought tickets to London and had to stand packed like sardines for over 1.5 hours. Why sell too many tickets? Why not allocate seats like other companies? It's just appalling. No wonder people dont use public transport. Hang your heads in shame . Dire service.

I’m sitting on the 09.11 at Oxford Parkway, rescheduled to depart at 09.40 due to a broken train elsewhere. My one star rating is because this has become a’normal’ disruption i er the past year or so. During an 8 year campaign to build the new East West Rail from Oxford to Bicester with the link to the Marylebone line, Chiltern gave much hype about the superb quality of the trains, kept in tiptop condition, and a first class operation. The opposite is now true, with a grossly unreliable service and shoddy, failing trains. It is now 09.40 and the signal is still red. I note the next train to follow this us cancelled, due to a broken train. In half an hour there have been no announcements, other to say “The next station is Bicester Village”.

Travelled from.Wembley Stadium to Oxford. Crammed on like sardines, it was so hot I felt faint. I was elbowed and pushed, no place to hold on. Had to stand the whole way. And I paid money for this delightful experience.

AWFUL TRAIN SERVICE.
Not only am I not guaranteed a seat whilst paying £600 a month for a monthly ticket, but the WiFi service doesn’t even work half the time. I commute from Bicester North to London Marylebone and the majority of the time the train doesn’t have enough carriages to seat everyone. And, worse still, the train service decides to stop at extra stops when it’s already chock-a-block full. Ridiculous.
Thank you, Chiltern, for a complete ripoff service.

Chiltern Railways delivered an extremely disappointing service today. Trains were delayed both in the morning and evening, making an already stressful commute even worse. In the morning, the trains were late with the standard excuse updates, leaving passengers stranded and frustrated. By evening, the situation worsened when the train from Marylebone to Bicester North broke down at High Wycombe, resulting in further delays. It’s unacceptable to experience such poor service on a regular route, and Chiltern Railways needs to seriously improve its reliability and communication with passengers.

10.53 service Bicester to Marylebone - standing room only , 18.07 return again standing room , why oh why is this n always the case …..

Aufull .they never have the right time train.always they have delayed more than 30 minutes. Redicilus

Abin was very helpful and professional! He talked with me abiht the possible railcards that I can get.

Great experience travelling on Trainline, haven’t travelled for a long time and it was good to use again. A staff member called Abin was very helpful. Will definitely be using Trainline when travelling again.

Great service from Abi, helped me find my ticket and showed me the best way to book in the future. Fantastic

Banury to birmingham moore street On time brilliant, 3 carriages not so good had to stand all the Way! Return journey on time but 3 carriages absolutely packed standing room only!! Very poor!

The ticket inspector was very helpful and told me about the railcard and how to save money

Standing room only on a 2 hour train journey is not acceptable. You need to have more trains operating with more capacity for passengers. Stop putting up your prices and find more creative ways to generate revenue, (Eg brand partnerships/sponsorship) so you can keep ticket prices affordable & invest in buying new, faster, more comfortable and spacious trains.

With only two carriages at peak time treated like cattle, even the driver could not close the doors. all I get told we do not guarantee a seat so you have to stand from Wendover to London 08.47
When complained given waffle on the e=mail not answering the problem

I always have had great experiences on Chiltern Railways. Helpful and pleasant staff.

Apparently there was a time when this company were gold. Those days are long gone. Regular commuter from Haddenham & Thame to London here.

1. V overpriced tickets for not enough carriages to service the number of customers. Often sitting on the floor or the luggage rack ( old trains and luggage racks at the end of some carriages) especially on the home journey.

2. I have never found reduced tickets from early booking, ever.. I dont think they exist.

2. Old and dirty trains, charging points as one would expect in 2024 are few and far between. I wouldnt mind their age if there was enough of them and I got a seat for my £47.80 return ticket ( with a Network Railcard).

3. Ticket inspectors checking tickets regularly, sometimes twice a day whilst you’re stuffed in like a sardine can. One regular inspector shouts out as he enters the carriage ‘tickets, passes and excuses’ and has an agressive tone when he questions.

4. Queue management to get through the barriers by Chiltern staff at Marylebone poor..

5. Asking for assistance at Marylebone station from staff has often been unhelpful, there’s a not really bothered about offering a ‘service’
or helping attitude.

6. Announcing train platforms at Marylebone is always last minute, creating a rush of people running to get a seat when it is, because there just arent enough carriages. An elderly person, disabled or pregnant doesnt have time to get to the train in a calm fashion.

8. Train drivers dont really speak to keep passengers on a train informed when there is a delay/issue.

Abin Antu was the best train inspector ever!!

After a platform change I ended on the wrong train travelling across the country. Abi, a ticket inspector for Chiltern Railways was amazing at guiding me through a number of changes to get to my original destination. I was so lucky to find him at the time of my peak stress!

Abi was lovely and very helpful. Thank you!