Chilternrailways Reviews 392

Travelling from Leamington Spa to London (90 mile) can coso over £100, I believe the government should do something. European counties offer better and more reliable services and cheaper and FAIR prices.

rubbish rubbish rubbish

I contacted customer services to report the shortcomings and the lack of helpfulness from their staff, but instead of addressing the issue, I was simply advised not to use the train if I was unhappy and to take a bus instead.

I’m genuinely unsure whether this attitude reflects individual employees or the company culture itself, but it is completely unacceptable.

I purchased a train ticket from Marylebone Station in London, and unfortunately, this has been my first and will certainly be my last experience.

The worst train operator on the planet! Haven’t a clue about passenger traffic, or just don’t care. I will go with the latter! Chiltern Railways should not be able to operate. I pray they go bankrupt and either someone else buys them or it goes public!

Easter holiday engineering works meant that my usual West Midlands train to London Marylebone was cancelled this morning and will be tomorrow as well. was there any warning? I small piece on their website refers to an 'enhanced service' suggesting improvements? What a joke. am I supposed to check their website everytime before I travel? I don't and nor were the dozens of passengers waiting for their non-existent train today. Was there any information at the station this morning or last week? No of course there wasn't as they don't care about passengers.
Incidentally, If I wanted to turn up at Birmingham Moor Street tomorrow morning and buy a one way ticket to London, it would cost me £96!!

I can only give 5 stars to the staff looking after passengers today for the London Marylebone to Birmingham route. A small station having to deal with the overflow as Euston is closed they were exceptional in challenging conditions. I’ve not ever had issues with Chiltern (used infrequently) other than maybe they need more carriages but platforms are not always accommodating I guess for longer trains at certain stations. Well done on site staff.

I give this company 1 out of 5 purely because I am unable to give them a zero. If negative points were available, I would score them that.

Today we have travelled from Aylesbury to the West End. Normally this is a 75-90 minute journey. Today it was 2.5 hours to get in and 3.5 hours to get home - we can get to Manchester quicker.

Yes, there is engineering works, but no effort has been made to link up the Chiltern trains with London Underground. The 22.45 train from Amersham to Aylesbury leaves 15 minutes before the tube arrives at Amersham, and the next train is 45 minutes later. Absolutely appalling and is threatening to ruin an excellent day out.

First time I have used them in 18 months, will be far longer before I use them again (and they are our local line). This is why we drive 45 minutes to Hemel Hempstead to use an alternative line. Useless would be too kind a description for this lot.

For their prices they should really at least pretend to give a t**s .. The 6:05 Marylebone train is always at least 2 carriages shorter than what's needed and it's even worse when they send out the triple seat row ones out. You're not cheap, you're not reliable most of the time, late for no reason and even headwinds slow you down. At least send enough seating out so nobody has to stand for their grand a month ticket. Absolute joke. Most of the passengers on that train are working all day and using the train Mon-Fri. By the time it hits Bicester it's already full.

Since the covid it looks like the company has stopped investments and maintenance; commuting on a daily basis I observe issues everyday, from faulty train to signal issues there is always a sign of hardware deterioration.
Surprinsingly in the past 5 years trains have actually been slower, with no direct service early morning (peak time) anymore from High Wycombe to London, as it used to be.
With shorter formation (fewer coaches) the trains are full and standing on pretty much all services in peak time, making the journey real nightmare.

I take this service a lot - this morning I was running very late and reached the train doors as they locked. Rather than drive off the driver saw me and opened the doors. I am so thankful and feel like this would not have happened with many other train serves. Thank you!!

A single, one-way ticket from London Marylebone to Oxford for £35? Are you out of your minds?

These absurdly inflated and unjustifiable prices serve only one purpose: filling your own pockets. This is not public service; it is blatant exploitation of passengers.

It is evident that the government has granted rail operators excessive and effectively unchecked power, which you are abusing without accountability. Such pricing practices are unacceptable, unreasonable, and entirely disconnected from the quality of service provided.

Chiltern Railways benefits from friendly staff when they’re available, and services generally run to time. However, the overall experience falls short. Power sockets frequently don’t work, Wi-Fi is unreliable, and the Oxford–Marylebone route is consistently overcrowded at peak times leaving London. Despite long-standing warnings about “standing room only,” little seems to have changed. The rolling stock feels outdated and poorly maintained, which further undermines what should be a dependable commuter service.

Terrible service! 2 hours delay on a route which is supposed to be 2h in total.

Non working delay repay form.

Avoid by all cost!

Old and bureaucratic company, usually late hours trains are delayed . In case of a refund the process to get it done (if it is due to a train malfunctioning causing a delay) if you have an advance ticket is ridiculously long

This has to be the worst train service I have ever used. I just moved here 6 months ago. I have lived all over the world, so this is really saying something. Because I thought france was bad for its train strikes. But at least ypu weren't paying a fortune. I travel regularly on the Gerrards Cross to Marylebone route and pay over £24 for a return ticket, yet the service is consistently late and severely overcrowded.
Delays during stormy or extreme weather conditions are understandable. However, this is not an occasional issue, there is some form of problem almost every single weekday. Passengers are trying to get to work/hospitals appointments on time, fully aware that the train will already be packed. There are not enough seats, not enough standing room, and people are forced to shove their way on simply to get to work.
The pattern is the same every weekday morning and evening, so this should not come as a surprise. The solution is obvious: add more carriages to peak-time services or introduce additional trains during the busiest hours. Even one extra train in the morning and evening would significantly reduce overcrowding.
From a health and safety perspective, the situation is genuinely concerning. The level of crowding makes travel unsafe, particularly for elderly passengers, pregnant women, and children. There is no excuse in this day and age for passengers to be put in this position, especially while paying such a high fare.
What makes this even more frustrating is that during the middle of the day, when there are far fewer commuters, trains often have plenty of carriages. This highlights that capacity exists, but it is not being allocated when it is actually needed.
Unfortunately, this route is the only realistic way into London for many commuters. If alternative options were available, most people would choose them. Instead, we are left dealing with the same aggravation day in and day out, with little sense that passenger experience or safety is being prioritised.
This level of service does not reflect the cost of the ticket, nor does it meet reasonable expectations of reliability or safety.

One final point: this review asks for a “date of experience.” Unfortunately, this applies every day.

Some very rude staff! I couldn’t find my ticket that I had BOUGHT from Marylebone in my email and was trying find a solution to the problem and was met with rudeness and arrogant staff just claiming I want a free ride. Thank God, ONE gentle man (Kendall Harris) who was on the staff helped me and addressed the issues in a kind manner and we came to an understanding and the matter was solved.

Chiltern employs thuggish staff, who manhandled Barrister Steven Barrett, I wouldnt want this lawsuit,

I am disabled and Chiltern are the only railway I can use due to cost of tickets I know Chiltern supply disabled assistance. I all ways call in advance my assistance I need with Chiltern railways directly. I recover email confirmation and so I take my journey but every time I’m let down by there disabled assistance be it on the out bound journey or the inbound journey I’ve been left on a train screening for help the public are normally very helpful but sometimes they think I’m nuts . I’ve been made to like I’m nothing worthless and unimportant. I have two outstanding complaints and still awaiting what are they going to do about it useless feeling again on 18/11/2025 left on train on 23/11/25 I received no information of works at London Marylebone works that coach service was laid on and I can not travel by coach on 19th ofDecember no assistance on the 22nd of December arrive Birmingham moor st and no one was there to help me off the Kidderminster train even though the train driver checked with Birmingham moor st. yet again the great British public was there to help me off the train but I still had to wait for assistance to help to the right platform for my London Marylebone I had ten minutes to get my departure train but by the time assistance arrived I missed my train and was delayed by 50 minutes till the next one and yet again the assistance person wasn’t there to put me on it. Some one helped me on the train the assistance guy showed up and assured me that he would radio through to London Marylebone of where I was sitting so the biggie would collect me. It’s disgusting how a company like Chiltern can make you feel so in significant and a very small human being

The train journey was smooth and a good price, not differing from anytime I travel with them. I have been using this company multiple times and have been impressed by it.
One major flaw, the Christmas rush seemed to have gone unnoticed at their offices and I was crammed in a carriage with no seats and little standing space. Also, there was little to none ventilation and so ended up boiling, in the Christmas holidays! Overall a good company but unadvisable to travel in busy times.

I was at the Marylebon platform. A train was going to leave in 1 minute. I asked the stuff whether this train will stop at High Wycombe. The stuff said "this train" before I finished my whole sentence.

Fxxk. I was in the wrong train