The Chiltern Main Line is an inter-urban, regional and commuter railway, part of the British railway system. It links London and Birmingham on a 112-mile route via the towns of High Wycombe, Banbury, and Leamington Spa. The West Coast Main Line is the main InterCity route between London and Birmingham, but the Chiltern Main Line complements it by providing an additional link between England's two largest cities.
In addition to services between the two cities, the Chiltern Main Line forms part of the suburban rail networks in both cities. The majority of towns on the London half of the branch are prosperous suburbs, or commuter belt towns, such as Ruislip, Gerrards Cross and Beaconsfield. Such towns have a sub 30 minute commute to London Marylebone.
The line is currently undergoing a major upgrade which will see significant reductions in journey times by 2013 (see here). It is not electrified, although electrification is a future aspiration. Currently, the main operator on the route is Chiltern Railways.
Read more about Chiltern Main Line: History, Route Description and Line Speeds
Famous quotes containing the words main and/or line:
“Women are taught that their main goal in life is to serve others—first men, and later, children. This prescription leads to enormous problems, for it is supposed to be carried out as if women did not have needs of their own, as if one could serve others without simultaneously attending to one’s own interests and desires. Carried to its “perfection,” it produces the martyr syndrome or the smothering wife and mother.”
—Jean Baker Miller (20th century)
“If surrealism ever comes to adopt a particular line of moral conduct, it has only to accept the discipline that Picasso has accepted and will continue to accept.”
—André Breton (1896–1966)