Chilternrailways Anmeldelser 

I had an issue with being double-charged for tickets online, so I filled out the contact form on a Saturday. By Monday morning, Chiltern Railways had processed my refund with no hassle. Really impressed by how fast and efficient the customer service was.

Moved trains to Wembley line so no late trains from other major venues the operators are just plain stupid

Disgraceful service. Massively overly crowded train, standing room only on a train to London with 3 stops yet to go. Not for the first time, why do they send a 2 carriage train to London at a popular time to travel?
Crap service. I don't know what the CEO gets paid, I expect it's millions, but he or she needs to pull their finger out and sort it out.
Terrible service. Shame on you.

Arrived on time at Dorridge Station in Solihull, only to find no staff working, and the toilets? Closed. Naturally, the nearest bathroom is a solid 50 meters away at a nearby hotel, which presents a real dilemma: Will I make it back in time for my train? Of course I will because trains are never, ever on time. I was on my way to London yesterday, 07:30 train ... business meetings so I was hoping to get there on time.

The station itself? It’s like stepping into a time machine that malfunctioned and dropped me straight into the 1970s. Everything’s old, worn out, and leaning at awkward anglls. It’s as if the whole place is stuck in a perpetual state of "we'll get around to fixing it... eventually."
And as for the train? Well, at least I didn’t miss it... because it was 20 minutes late. Honestly, the station and the trains are perfectly in sync both equally timeless and equally unreliable.

The worst train trip I have ever experienced.
Bank holiday Saturday Warwick Parkway 11.10am to Marylebone. Dangerously overcrowded. Standing for 2 hrs.
No additional carriages in spite of the date and the other events planned for that weekend.
I would be embarrassed if I was running the Company.
Will be asking for a refund.

Customer service is none existent, stranded with no way of getting home

Appalling service. Season ticket holder from Bicester to Marylebone.

Trains are routinely delayed or cancelled. The staff and company in general simply don’t care.

Their rolling stock is almost always overcrowded, dirty and poorly maintained. They regularly fail to air condition the carriages in 30+ degree heat.

While they increase annual fairs by double the rate of inflation every year almost without fail, they never reinvest it in their rolling stock, choosing instead to place up to 4 “revenue protection” officers on their trains at a time.

I am taking this service to commute from Aylesbury to London. The trains are regularly delayed or cancelled and recently a lot of trains broke down. It is not surprising that happens given the fact that the trains are old and not well kept. The fares are ridiculous and even when they do go on time it still takes 1 hour from Aylesbury to London Marylebone even if they could run the service on shorter time. It used to be that you have faster trains but all of those were removed after Covid. It is a really bad railway company and if you have alternatives, avoid using it.

On multiple occasions their service/trains are delayed or late. This is not uncommon with rail providers however what is truly unique with Chiltern is how they handle such situations in terms of compensation.

Whilst trying to catch my return train from London Marylebone to Gerrards Cross I arrived at the station to find all trains from Marylebone cancelled and was then informed by the station team that all trains were cancelled for the evening. I checked this with two different staff members.

Having to get back to pick up my son from nursery I had no other choice other than to book an Uber for £56.

When trying to seek compensation from Chiltern I was offered £6 against my original return ticket of £24! Their rationale is that train services returned an hour later!

I've tried to dispute this provided full evidence including a picture of the board at London Marylebone showing all cancelled and their only reply now is to go to the Ombudsman.

This has taken a week of back and forth and despite flagging the fact I was instructed no trains would depart that evening they just ignore it.

Truly the worst customer support and service!

I caught the 9.36 from Marylebone to Birmingham Snow Hill and the air conditioning was on full blast. It was absolutely FREEZING cold. Everyone was cold. The train was old and had loud vibrating noises that were difficult to deal with. Absolutely awful train. I’ve never written a review about a train service before but having shivered for 1hr 30 mins, I felt people should be warned to put your winter coat on if using this service during the summer. I expect it’s just as bad in the winter!

If I could give -10 I would . Every single day cancellation or delayes not mention how dirty these trains are . On high wycombe station no timetables I guess they are saving on energy while charging passengers 43 pounds per day for travel card. People go to work , have hospital appointments , important meetings and we have to deal with this crap every single day . Today what i see is people running from platform to platform because again trains cancelled or delayed. Someone should take responsibility for this mess

I travelled by train from London Marylebone to Warwick Parkway on Thursday 10th July - it had been a long and stressful journey from France for my 87 year old mother but when we arrived at Warwick Parkway - a young lady called Sam greeted us and helped my Mum off the train (it's a long step to the platform), took her down in the lift and then waited with her while I got the car. We had not booked help but I was very impressed by the caring, courteous nature of this young lady - she went out of her way to help us. Excellent customer service. We were also advised that we can call ahead for help when we are on the train.

I've complained before about the pit of inadequate software development that is the Chiltern Railways App. Today however, it is their baffling electromechanical mess that is the ticket machine. Why do I have to type in a massive complicated code to get my tickets. A code printed in tiny, weeny letters in the App. Can't the app talk to the machine and say what tickets I want. Or how about using my payment card to identify me. I have to have it scanned to get the ticket anyway? Oh and on that...why does the machine not recognise the same card in Google Wallet? And if you use the wrong card, why doesn't it let you try again? Why oh why ??

I have to give some credit here - although two failed payments online but the money taken out of my account - I called them, got through to very helpful person based in the UK and money was refunded within 24hours . Quite refreshing compared to other companies where you end up on hold for ages/talk to a computer/someone clueless!

I would do so if I were allowed to give 0 star. Chiltern railway keeps cancelling trains. You can see minor and major disruptions all over a month, as if they are part of the schedule. When I file a complaint, they just said “you should plan your journey beforehand because we already informed you on the website”. Does it mean that I have to stay at home all weekends because their train is the only means reaching London? I don’t even dare to gather with friends during weekend. It’s frustrating.

They suck. Don't use them unless you have to. Slow, unreliable, uncomfortable, hot, crowded and overpriced.

We travelled at 30C degrees without an AC... end of the sentence!

I travel by train across the UK quite a bit, so when I say Chiltern Railways is the worst operator by a country mile, I say it with the wearied authority of someone who’s suffered through them all.

Yes, UK rail is generally a national embarrassment, but Chiltern isn’t just joining the shambles — it’s leading the parade. Consider the highlights:
• Trains routinely over capacity. Need a seat? Try arriving half an hour early and sacrificing a goat to the scheduling gods.
• Carriages older than most Gen Zs — complete with the charm of tired upholstery and the hum of failing air con.
• Speaking of air con… it’s more of a conceptual feature than a functional one.
• Eye-watering ticket prices that make you wonder if you’re funding a space program, not a rail journey.
• Delays and cancellations so frequent, they feel like part of the timetable.
• No seat reservations — it’s Hunger Games with briefcases.
• WiFi that works about as well as carrier pigeons in a tunnel.
• “Workspace” apparently designed by someone who’s never seen a laptop.

I was inspired to write this while standing, sweltering, for 90 minutes from Warwick to London. £50 for the privilege of being packed in like a human croissant in a sauna.

By contrast: Avanti from Coventry to London? £28, guaranteed seat, working air con, gets you there in an hour. Longer journey, lower price, and you can breathe. Imagine that.

Chiltern, you’re not just behind the times — you’re holding the timetable hostage

This is my reply in response to Chiltern Railways request for feedback.
The train - 16.24 from Solihull to MYB on 19.06.25 - had 3 carriages - it needed twice as many. It was hot, overcrowded and late. Some people had to stand all the way from Birmingham to London. We were lucky as we got a seat at Leamington; we still had to stand Solihull to Leamington and we are both over 70 years of age. Chiltern Trains are frequently overcrowded (I noticed that the trains leaving Marylebone at 18.30 on 19.06.25 were packed like sardines). The rolling stock is tatty and largely needs refurbishment. The only good thing is the staff who are generally friendly and helpful. They deserve better than the useless management of Chiltern Railways. Thank God it won't be run by the same people soon.

Afterthought: just read a pathetic explanation from Chiltern: "The average age of our fleet of trains is thirty years old". That's because you've creamed off the profits and not invested in new rolling stock. It explains all; when I first used Chiltern to travel from Leamington to London 25 years ago, the trains were fairly fresh and new. Now they are knackered. And tough s..t on the customers. It is appalling.
Just read the reviews below by David Williams: I agree 100%: in the early 2000s Chiltern was the star of the UK rail network; now Arriva have screwed it up and screwed every penny they can out of it. For God's sake Starmer, get rid of these shysters now!

Awful service

2 HUGE ISSUES HERE

Been on this train service lots of times and the seating is absolutely NONE EXISTENT for most passengers
Standing for 1.5 hours for £100 is an absolute joke, you should be held accountable for such a terrible service.

Also making CHILDREN PAY ADULT PRICES when they are at school AND HAVE NO JOB IS DISGRACEFUL
In the UK you aren’t classed as an adult for ANYTHING UNTIL YOU ARE 18 unless you’re travelling with chiltern railways !!
But for some reason you think you can charge kids the same as adults who most likely work or can at least pay their way ( just for us all to stand up for 1.5 hours) 🤬🤬