October 16th - New trains for old on Chiltern Railways, linking London Marylebone with Banbury and Birmingham
Simon Calder's Independent Travel Podcast
The Independent
3.6 • 628 Ratings
🗓️ 16 October 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On a shiny 21st-century train with just one careful previous owner, I am talking to Richard Allan – managing director of Chiltern Railways – about new rolling stock for a network that currently relies on trains nearly half a century old.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi there. I'm off this week. |
| 0:04.6 | Apparently we're more productive at work after a good holiday. |
| 0:12.1 | So I'm counting this Caribbean rum distillery tour as professional development. |
| 0:21.6 | Yours calling. |
| 0:23.6 | Take your holiday as seriously as British Airways Holidays |
| 0:27.6 | Take Your Holiday, Atul Protected. |
| 0:29.6 | This autumn, your street could be glowing gold with People's Postcode Lottery. |
| 0:34.6 | Because in our November draws, you could win a share of 28.3 million pounds. |
| 0:40.9 | For the chance to win, sign up before midnight on the 31st of October. |
| 0:44.9 | A share of 28.3 million pounds could be yours, |
| 0:49.2 | but only if your door is in the drawer. |
| 0:52.1 | People's Postcode Lottery managed lotteries on behalf of good causes, 18 plus conditions apply, play responsibly, not available in the drawer. People's Postcode lottery managed lotteries on behalf of good causes. |
| 0:54.5 | 18 plus conditions apply, play responsibly, not available in Northern Ireland. |
| 1:02.2 | Hello and welcome to today's independent travel podcast with me. |
| 1:06.0 | I'm on the order. It's Thursday, 16th of October. |
| 1:08.5 | I do like a shiny new train, and I'm sitting on one sort of right now. |
| 1:15.6 | I'm at Merlebone Station in London, and I am with Richard Allen. |
| 1:19.8 | He is the managing director of Children Railways. |
| 1:23.3 | And congratulations. |
| 1:24.7 | This is your train. |
| 1:26.5 | It's fantastic news for customers. |
| 1:28.0 | We've been searching for something to replace our near 50-year-old carriages for some time. |
... |
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