Category: travel

THE collapse of a railwail tunnel at Gerrards Cross will mean disruption to local travellers this weekend.

Shortly before 8pm yesterday, June 30, a portion of the tunnel at Gerrards Cross collapsed on to the railway line. No one was injured and there were no trains in the tunnel when it collapsed.
The main line at Gerrards Cross remains blocked in both directions. Safety inspectors are currently on site investigating what has happened.

Chiltern Railways has apologised to passengers for disruption to services and passengers are asked to note the following advice:

? An hourly direct service will run in each direction from Birmingham to London Marylebone via Princes Risborough and Aylesbury. This service will not call at Lapworth, Hatton or Kings Sutton. The journey will take approximately 30 – 40 minutes more than usual.
? Birmingham passengers heading for London are advised to go to Birmingham New Street for Virgin?s service to London Euston.
? Wherever possible, customers from High Wycombe, Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross are advised to travel to Great Missenden, Wendover or Amersham for southbound services into London. A replacement bus service will be in operation between Beaconsfield and Amersham.
? A replacement bus service will be available to take passengers at Gerrards Cross to Slough. Passengers will be able to use their tickets on First Great Western services from Slough to London Paddington.
? A replacement bus service will be available to take passengers from High Wycombe to Maidenhead. Passengers will be able to use their tickets on First Great Western services from Maidenhead to London Paddington. There will also be a half hourly bus service from High Wycombe to Amersham from 06.30am.
? A shuttle service will run in each direction from Seers Green and Jordans to Princes Risborough. Customers will be able to join a connecting southbound service at Princes Risborough to London via Aylesbury. The first shuttle will leave Princes Risborough at 06.30; the first shuttle to leave Seer Green and Jordans will be at 7am.
? A shuttle service will run in each direction between London Marylebone and West Ruislip.
? Services between Stratford-upon-Avon and London will run via Princes Risborough and Aylesbury.
? There will be no services from Little Kimble or Monks Risborough. Taxis will be provided for onward journeys.
? There will be additional services between Aylesbury and London Marylebone. Trains will not stop at Metropolitan Line stations and will run fast from Amersham to London Marylebone.
? There is no service between West Ruislip ? Denham ? Denham Golf Club ? Gerrards Cross and Seer Green and Jordans.

THAME’S Deputy Mayor, Cllr Nigel Champken-Woods, who is the town council’s Transport Representative, says that the recently launched taxi-bus service is not being used by Thame commuters.
At a meeting of Thame Town Council’s Planning committee yesterday, he warned that unless the service is used, it could be withdrawn and urged local people to think about the advantages of the scheme.

See Taxi Bus Launched Today
for background information.

THE One Stop Shop in Thame Town Hall will be issuing the annual concessionary travel tokens to the value of

A THAME Travel Agent has returned from Thailand with a message from the people of Phuket who were badly hit by the Boxing Day tsunami.
?Please, please come back to visit us. Yes, some of us were badly affected by the disaster but we are not sad. Our lives go on and we must make a living.?
Bryony Hordern, of Tickets Anywhere, was among a group of Travel Agents invited by the Thai Tourist Office to see for themselves that, contrary to popular belief, only a couple of places in Thailand were affected but the majority of resorts were not, and that the country desperately needs tourists to come back to their country which is open for normal business.
Bryony told Thame.Net: ?Talking to people out there, I was made aware that they are very proud and even those who lost people are not sad because they are Buddhists and believe that the spirit lives on.
? In the areas that were effected, many of the beaches are better than they were because all the rubbish was washed away, and people who are waiters etc, have become builders and set about repairing much of the damage.
?There is no social security in these places and so they desperately need the tourists to go back.
?Not going back to Thailand because of the damage to a few places, is like not going to Cornwall because of the flooding in Boscastle,? she added.
Bryony pointed out that there are some fantastically good holiday deals around at the moment for such places as Thailand and Sri Lanka and urged people to consider these destinations for themselves.

OVER 300 passengers have now booked a new

PASSENGERS travelling with Chiltern Railways can now money with free car parking available Friday afternoon and through the weekend at a number of stations along the Chiltern Railways line.
Beaconsfield, Bicester North, Gerrards Cross, Great Missenden, Haddenham and Thame Parkway, Princes Risborough, Stoke Mandeville and Wendover are all providing free car parking. There is CCTV at these stations and manned security from 06.00 to 23.00 each day Monday to Saturday.
Speaking about the free car parking, Neil Micklethwaite said: ?This is great news for weekend passengers ? they can save both money and hassle by leaving their car at the station and travelling on the Chiltern Railways line. For those that live in more rural areas it presents an ideal opportunity for them to drive to their local station, park their car for free, and travel by train to do their shopping.

?It also offers even more flexibility for those who want to travel into central London but are keen to avoid the stress of driving and the expense of congestion charges and parking.?

Signs on display in car parks give full information about free parking.

A NEW Taxi-bus service to the Oxford Tube bus stop at Lewknor was launched today.
Eight-seater taxi-buses will take commuters to and from Thame, Chinnor, Chalgrove or Watlington, to Lewknor, from early morning to late in the evening, and even pick them up from home.
New bus lay-bys, shelters and information boards have been provided at the coach stops, as well as a Freephone to contact the Connection operator.
The service, called The Oxford Tube Connection, which has been in the making since 2000, did not originally include Thame, but Thame Town Councillors, Nigel Champken-Woods and Lionel Morbey, went along to a meeting as Traffic Advisory Committee members, and spoke up for Thame and eventually the town was included.
At the launch this morning, Cllr Champken-Woods warned that the scheme is a one-year pilot and if not supported by Thame commuters, will be withdrawn.
Leaflets about the scheme can be obtained from Thame town hall.

THE POLICE are launching a crackdown on drivers of cars with faulty headlights.
From Monday, January 31, officers will be targeting vehicles driven with faulty lights by stopping, advising and where necessary issuing rectification and fixed penalty tickets.
Insp Dave Milsom, of Abingdon Roads Policing Department, said: ?Officers are noticing that there are a large number of vehicles, cars in particular, on the roads throughout Oxfordshire driving with faulty lights.
?This can be very deceiving to other road users and we have had incidents where these vehicles are mistaken for motorcycles by passing motorists who do not allow enough room as they pass.
?In addition to the potentially dangerous confusion they cause, there are obvious impairments to the driver?s own visibility, both at night and in the daytime in bad weather conditions.
?Drivers should be carrying out regular checks on their vehicles to ensure they are in a roadworthy condition and I would urge anyone with faulty headlamps or brake lights to ensure they are mended, you risk paying a

A new link from Thame to Oxford, as part of the National Cycle Network, has been proposed, which will include widening some existing Thame footpaths.
Oxfordshire County Council, who will build the new link in partnership with SUSTRANS, the National Cycle Route charity, are inviting comments from local people regarding the proposal.

Any enquiries or comments should be sent to the Transport Projects Implementation Team (MW), Environment and Economy, Oxfordshire County Council, Speedwell House, Speedwell Street, OX1 1NE, by January 21.
The new link will be between Lord Williams School and the Shabbington turn on the A418 to Oxford, and will utilise the existing verge.
NB At a meeting of Thame Town Council’s Planning committee on January 11, councillors voted to support the scheme with the proviso that a speed restriction should be introduced where the A418 meets the junction for Shabbington at North Weston. They also commented that there should be clear demarcation for pedestrians and cyclists on the path itself.

THAME?S Deputy Mayor, Cllr Nigel Champken Woods, has warned that a subsidised transport service for the elderly or disabled may stop if local people fail to use it.
The Dial-A-Ride door-to-door service was introduced by Oxfordshire County Council with financial support from the Government.
However, although information about the service did appear on the town council?s website for a while and was mentioned in the local press, there is no mention of it on the county council?s website and the message does not seem to have got through to many of those whom the service could benefit.
The Dial-A-Ride service is for those who are unable, or find it difficult, to use public transport, such as the elderly or disabled of any age. The drivers of the vehicles, which are operated by Walter?s Limousines of Bicester, are trained in both First Aid and in the assistance of wheelchair users and those with mobility problems.
Application Forms for Dial-A-Ride membership and further information, are available from the One Stop Shop at Thame Town Hall.