Category: travel

PASSENGER Focus, the national rail consumer watchdog, has warned rail commuters across Great Britain that they could be missing out on big savings if they don’t buy a season ticket.
The watchdog has published research which praises Chiltern Railways’ benefits for annual season ticket holders. In particular it highlighted Chiltern Railways free weekend travel across the whole of their network.

Chiltern Railways also offer six free off-peak day passes for the ticket holder and there there friends, for use across the whole of the Chiltern Railways network, per year. Also, if you regularly make the same journey – in some cases – you only have to travel twice a week to make a season ticket cheaper than buying individual return tickets.

Alternatively, you could make use of the Chiltern Carnet. This is a pack of open return tickets which can be ordered direct from Chiltern Rail’s Business Travel Team and sent straight to you (please allow up to five working days for postage). Every time you order Chiltern Carnet you’ll get tickets for 12 open return trips to London, but you pay for only 10. Chiltern Carnet is valid for a full six months, so there’s plenty of time to use up all 12 tickets.

Neil Micklethwaite, Commercial Director said: “We always make sure we put our passengers first and it’s great that Passenger Focus have highlighted these benefits for our season ticket holders and the money that can be saved for our non-season ticket holders.”

ALL weekend, buses will replace trains between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough. Some early morning and late night services will also be replaced by buses between High Wycombe and Aylesbury.
This is due to important engineering works and we are therefore advising passengers that they may face a longer journey time. Only on the Saturday, we will also have some early morning and late night services operated by buses between High Wycombe and Aylesbury. This is due to overnight engineering works.
On Sunday, buses replace trains between Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa and Solihull/Birmingham Snow Hill until approx 12.30

This weekend – Saturday 30th June and Sunday 1st July – Chiltern Railways are running a normal advertised service with no scheduled track improvement work all of this weekend on the Aylesbury to London Marylebone via Amersham line. We are also running a normal service on Saturday on the Birmingham Snow Hill/Moor Street and Stratford-upon-Avon to London Marylebone via High Wycombe line.

All this weekend, buses will replace trains between Aylesbury and Princes Risborough.
On Sunday, buses replace trains between Leamington Spa and Stratford Upon Avon and Leamington Spa and Solihull/Birmingham Snow Hill until approx 12.30. This is because of track improvement work. During this time, we are advising passengers travelling to/from Birmingham to use connecting Virgin Cross Country trains between Leamington Spa and Birmingham New Street where applicable.

Also, on Sunday 1 July, in connection with the ‘Concert for Diana’ taking place at Wembley National Stadium, there will be a number of extra trains running to and from Wembley Stadium during the afternoon and evening. Many of our scheduled services will also call additionally at Wembley Stadium.

For more information on the above weekend alterations to train services, and for full timetable details for this weekend and for future weekends, visit www.chilternrailways.co.uk/timetablechanges.

CEDAR Crescent, Sycamore Drive, Hazel Avenue and Footpath 5, Thame: Temporary road closure to apply to a section of the above roads and footpath for essential sewer improvement works. Access maintained for emergency service vehicles and residents within closure area. For further information contact Cyril Okonkwo on 01189 236815.

S Road: Temporary closure of Southern Road, Thame for essential gas main replacement works. from 11 June for 8 weeks. Access will be maintained for emergency service vehicles and residents within the closure area, subject to the progress of the works. A copy drawing showing the extent of the temporary road closure and also alternative routes for traffic is available for viewing in the Thame Information Centre in the Town Hall. For further information contact Colin Horne on 07774 956649. Thame 10K Road Race: The Thame 10K Road Race is to be held on Sunday 24 June 2007. The effect of the Order is to temporarily prohibit any vehicle from proceeding on the B4012 between its junction with the A4129 and the B4445 to the east of Thame, between 09.30 and 10.30 hrs. This is because the course of the race crosses this section of road twice and the closure is required to prevent danger to participants, supporters and onlookers. A draft Order and Notice, with a copy of the Statement of Reasons and a copy drawing showing the extent of the closure are available to view in the Thame Information Centre in the Town Hall. More particular details of the Order are available for public inspection at County Hall in Oxford, or Thame Library, Southern Road, Thame.

DID you know there are new proposals out to build a new high speed rail line using the Chiltern Line that would link Oxfordshire with Midlands, London, Heathrow and Scotland and Europe for details, using double decker TGV type trains?

see LINK

It would also mean the east west rail line project would be built linking Bristol with Didcot, Oxford, Buckingham, Milton Keynes and Cambridge.

Photo: Double decker train (for illustrative purposes only)

ALL this weekend, buses will replace trains between Aylesbury and Princess Risborough. This is due to important engineering works and therefore, passengers may face a longer journey time.
There will also be some early morning and late night services operated by buses between High Wycombe and Aylesbury, also due to engineering works that will be carried out over the weekend.

On Sunday, buses replace trains between Leamington Spa and Stratford Upon Avon and Leamington Spa and Solihull/Birmingham Snow Hill until approx 12.30. This is because of track improvements and so Birmingham passengers are being advised to use connecting Virgin Cross Country trains between Leamington Spa and Birmingham New Street where applicable.

THAME COMMUTERS who take the popular 07.24 Chiltern Railways train to London, will be taking part in a group cycle ride tomorrow morning, June 20, to
Haddenham and Thame Parkway station.
Free tea or coffee and a pastry will be available for those taking part on arrival at the station, courtesy of Simon and Catherine Keeley, who run the cafe franchise on Haddenham and Thame Parkway station, Little Italy.
The group will leave Montesson Square in Thame at 6.45am for the station, tomorrow, which is National Bike to Work Day.

The event is part of a local programme of events organised by Haddenham and Thame cyclists for National Bike week. So,if you have always wanted to ride to the station but been a bit nervous of the road, this is your chance to ride with a group.

For further information on this event and others during Bike Week contact Lindsey Poole on 01844 290331.

NB Cyclists from Thame and Haddenham are working towards a possible cycle path between Thame and Haddenham, an aspiration which has so far been held up over land-ownership issues.

Photo: Flash back to the trail blazing ride to show support for a Thame-Haddenham cycle link, around three years ago.

THE Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway will be holding the Don Kaufman memorial gathering on Sunday, June 24, at Chinnor Station.
A memorial bench will be unveiled by Pat Kaufman and guests and members will ride on the Don Kaufman Memorial Train.

Don Kaufman 1943 – 2006.
Don, who died on New Years Day 2006, was one of the original group that met in ‘The Lions of Bledlow’ pub in 1989 to discuss trying to acquire the remains of the Watlington Branch for use as a Heritage Railway, following its ceasing to be used for transporting materials to the Chinnor Cement Works.
From this meeting was formed the Chinnor and Princes Risborough Railway Association of which Don was initially the Fund Raising Manager.
Don became Chairman of the Association in June 1993, a position he occupied until his resignation in January 2005. This period saw the purchase of the track from Chinnor to Thame Junction and the commencement of public passenger services in August 1994.

CORRESPONDENT for the EV World website, Great Haseley’s Richard Harding, recently covered the 2007 Brighton-to-London’s Trafalgar Square alternative fuel vehicle rally, on June 5.
Richard is a keen advocate of ‘green’ vehicles and drives a Toyota Prius. His report, published on the premier website for alternatives to oil-based motor transport, can be read here
as well as a report on a world ‘first’ for green racing cars.

Photo: A couple of Ford Foci on display at Kenilworth recently, which run on E85 Ethanol.

THIS weekend – Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th June – Chiltern Railways are running an enhanced services because of Wembley Stadium Events with some trains calling additionally at Wembley Stadium Station.

They are running a normal service this weekend on the Aylesbury to London via Amersham line with no planned engineering works. They are also running a normal service on Saturday between Birmingham to London Marylebone via High Wycombe.

On Sunday, buses replace trains between Leamington Spa and Stratford Upon Avon and Leamington Spa and Solihull/Birmingham Snow Hill until approx 12.30. This is because of track improvements and Birmingham passengers are being advised to use connecting Virgin Cross Country trains between Leamington Spa and Birmingham New Street where applicable.

At Wembley Stadium this weekend, Muse are performing in concert on both Saturday and Sunday so Chiltern Rail will be running an enhanced service with additional stops at Wembley Stadium Station. This could mean that they are busier than normal; passengers should be aware that on Saturday the turnstiles open for supporting acts at 16.45 and on Sunday they open at 16.45.

THAME Walking and Cycling Campaign have issued an invitation to anyone interested in campaigning for improved local cycling or walking facilities.
There is to be an open meeting on Thursday, June 14, between 7.30pm and 9.30pm at Lord Williams?s Lower School above the Sports Hall, off Queens Road in Thame.
The Phoenix Trail and the group’s aspiration for a Thame/Haddenham cycle link will be on the agenda.
All are welcome but, if you have not been to a meeting before, it would be helpful if you could let Cathy Gaulter-Carter know if you intend to come. Tel: 01844 261430.