Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station is a railway station serving villages northwest of Aylesbury, England. It also serves the Berryfields and Weedon Hill housing developments north of the town. The station and all trains serving it are operated by Chiltern Railways.
Aylesbury Vale Parkway  | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Aylesbury Vale Parkway station, showing the taxi rank (left), cycle shelter (centre) and booking hall (right) | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire England | ||||
| Coordinates | 51°49′55″N 0°51′40″W / 51.8319°N 0.8612°W | ||||
| Grid reference | SP786153 | ||||
| Managed by | Chiltern Railways | ||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | AVP | ||||
| Classification | DfT category E | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 14 December 2008 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2019/20 |  0.207 million | ||||
| 2020/21 |  36,706 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 86,896 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 0.104 million | ||||
| 2023/24 | 0.109 million | ||||
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Background
editAylesbury Vale Parkway is on the former Metropolitan and Great Central Joint Railway, which formed part of the Great Central Main Line route linking London and Aylesbury with the East Midlands and North. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister announced in April 2006 that it would provide £8.17 million for track and signalling improvements to the existing line, which then was only used to carry freight. A further £2.8 million was invested by Chiltern Railways' owners Laing Rail and £1 million by Buckinghamshire County Council.[1]
Construction began in October 2007[2] and the rail works were completed by Carillion Rail.[3]
The station was originally not due to be completed until 2010,[1] but actually opened on 14 December 2008, although the station building itself did not open until 1 June 2009.[4] In the interim while the station buildings were being completed, tickets and facilities were provided from Portakabins.[5]
Services and facilities
editAylesbury Vale Parkway has links to existing public transport bus services along the A41 corridor. A bus service from the station to several villages north of Aylesbury began on 15 December 2008. Other bus journeys include the Green Route 4 of the Rainbow Routes served by Redline Buses and very infrequent services to and from Bicester on the route 18 run by Langston & Tasker. The station has a taxi rank, car park, a charging point for electric vehicles and parking bays for motorcycles and pedal cycles.
The off-peak train service is one departure per hour to Marylebone via Amersham. In peak periods there are up to three trains per hour to Marylebone.[6] The journey time to Aylesbury is about four minutes.
| Preceding station | Following station | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terminus | Chiltern Railways London–Aylesbury line |
Aylesbury | ||
| Future services | ||||
| Winslow | East West Rail Aylesbury-Milton Keynes Central |
Aylesbury | ||
Plans
editIn 2011, East West Rail planned to extend passenger services from Aylesbury north and east to Milton Keynes Central and Bedford by 2025, using parts of the former Varsity Line route.[7] However, in November 2020 it was reported that this service may be dropped from the first phase.[8]
As of 2020[update], trains between Aylesbury and Quainton Road cannot serve Aylesbury Vale Parkway as there is no platform on the through route. In the East West Rail consultation it was proposed that the station would have two new through platforms and a terminating platform for terminating services to and for trains to Marylebone.[9]
The track between Aylesbury and the new station was upgraded to continuous welded rail with a maximum line speed for DMU passenger trains of 60 mph (97 km/h). It was proposed that, if services are extended to the north, trains between Milton Keynes Central and Marylebone would run via High Wycombe and not Amersham.[7]
In March 2021, the East West Rail Company announced that its opening plans for East West Rail have changed, notably deferring indefinitely a connection to Aylesbury.[10]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "New Aylesbury Vale Parkway station to open in 2010". Chiltern Railways. 11 April 2006. Archived from the original on 21 June 2008. Retrieved 4 June 2008.
- ^ "The next stop will be Aylesbury Vale Parkway". Buckinghamshire County Council. Retrieved 4 June 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Access to Aylesbury Vale Parkway". Buckinghamshire County Council. 19 October 2008. Retrieved 30 December 2008. [dead link]
- ^ "Aylesbury Vale Parkway fully open on Monday, 1 June". Archived from the original on 31 May 2009. Retrieved 1 June 2009.
- ^ "Aylesbury Engineering Works: 18 – 20 November". Chiltern Railways. 30 October 2008. Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 18 November 2008.
- ^ "Aylesbury Vale Parkway". Chiltern Railways. Archived from the original (Microsoft Word) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 15 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Prospectus" (PDF). East West Rail Consortium. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ "East West Rail 'may not serve Aylesbury'". Transport Extra. 2 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
- ^ "EWR Alliance" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Connect Stages". East West Rail Ltd. 2021.[permanent dead link]
External links
edit- Train times and station information for Aylesbury Vale Parkway railway station from National Rail
- Chiltern Railways station page
- East West Rail Consortium