A double dose of Chiltern... day 1

Two days of journeys to London Monday / Tuesday with timings that suited the use of my favourite train, the 10.55 Mainline Silver service from Birmingham Moor Street to London Marylebone.

One of the nice things about the Mainline timetable is that the xx.55 departures from Moor Street are formed of the xx.17 arrivals from Marylebone which means that the train is waiting to be boarded for up to half-an-hour before departure. So it was that I rolled up at 10.40 on Monday, bought my £25 Super Off-Peak return (what a bargain), and boarded the Business Zone of the Silver Set waiting in Platform 4.

As ever all was quiet in this carriage as most passengers passed by in search of 'standard' accommodation. However, it seemed too quiet with no sign of activity in the Expresso bar. The Train Manager didn't know if it was to be staffed so I patronised the excellent Expresso cabin before settling into my seat and getting out the laptop (Memo to Chiltern: do get your buffet car staff on board earlier!).

There is no doubt that the Business Zone is an excellent environment in which to work - power and wifi on tap and plenty of space - and is even better when free as on the 10.55 and you're not in any rush... and to be quite honest, currently the Mainline timetable is not delivering in terms of 'sharp' timing. Some of this is not Chiltern's fault - on both Monday and Tuesday, LondonMidland late running locals were allowed out in front of the 10.55 departure which naturally led to delays en-route and late arrivals into Marylebone - and some of it is (both my return journeys suffered from poor pathing!)

So let's move onto the so-called Mainline service that is the 20.37 departure from Marylebone... On Monday, this was formed of a three-car 165 set. There is no way that this set of commuter carriages, running to appalling semi-fast timings (122 minutes), can be described as Mainline and it was an insult for the departure board to suggest that it was. No tables, no wifi, no power points, no 100mph running... but at least it did eventually arrive into Moor Street - late! Chiltern, shame on you.