The “new” Chiltern Trains Mark 5a train sets have finally entered commercial service today between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone.
And because they’re new trains, they need branding – Welcome the “Explorers“.
Chiltern Railways Explorer train set at Birmingham Moor Street – Image, Chiltern Railways.
The Explorer fleet has been introduced today, operating four daily services between Birmingham Moor Street and London Marylebone. They are made of a rake of five coaches (one of which is a driving coach, known as the Mark 5A), with a Class 68 locomotive providing traction.
When fully introduced, they will offer an extra 10,000 seats each weekday by December 2026.
They will be used to replace the existing Class 68 with Mark III coaching stock, whilst displacing Class 168 and Class 165. These will be used to boost other Chiltern Railways services as sets are released from the Birmingham route.
Aboard the train
Coaches A through D offer standard class accommodation with 68 seats per carriage, featuring a mixture of table, airline and tip-up seating.
Coach E offers First Class seating with 30 seats. It marks the reintroduction of First Class seating on the route. This will be offered as a £20 on-the-day upgrade.
Here’s the all-important seat map. As these are fixed-formation trains, they should remain the same, with Coach A being the Driving vehicle, and Coach E being nearest to the locomotive.
As usual on Chiltern Railways, seating is first-come, first-served.
During the deployment of the new trains, 13 train sets will be deployed to augment operations. Initially, they will be deployed on the London Marylebone – Banbury – Birmingham Moor Street – Stourbridge Junction route (along the Chiltern Main Line).
Onboard the train
The trains will feature Automated onboard air conditioning that reacts to outdoor temperatures, fold-down seatback tables with extendable sections for larger devices, plug sockets and USB ports at every seat, and Customer information display screens – both overhead and at the carriage end.
There will be both overhead and dedicated luggage racks in each seat, with each train equipped with bike storage for up to four bicycles.
For those passengers needing accessibility, there are 2 dedicated accessible areas complete with companion seating and a hearing loop.
And most importantly, there are four toilets on every train set, including one accessible toilet.
In Quotes
Richard Allan, Managing Director of Chiltern Railways, said:
“I am thrilled that following months of intensive preparation we are able to operate the first of our 13 newer trains on services between the West Midlands and London Marylebone, delivering a much better experience for customers.
“We will have all of the new trains available for service from December 2026, when all the necessary colleague training and train preparations have been completed.
“That will allow Chiltern to operate more services for customers, offering services every 30 minutes between the West Midlands and London every weekday. Some further internal changes to how current trains are used mean that in total there will be 10,000 more seats for customers across the entire Chiltern route every weekday from December. There will be more services at weekends, with further details to be announced nearer to December.”
Laura Shoaf CBE, Chair of Shadow Great British Railways, said:
“The arrival of the first Chiltern Explorer is a major milestone in delivering a more modern, accessible and reliable railway.
“These new trains will transform journeys for customers from the West Midlands through to London, strengthening connections for work, leisure and the region’s growing economy.
“They also demonstrate the kind of long‑term, customer‑focused investment we are working to embed by building a simpler, more joined‑up rail system that delivers for communities.
“Crucially, the fleet’s improved efficiency and design support our wider sustainability goals, helping create a greener railway for the future.”
Deployment
Chiltern Railways is taking the deployment with some pace, with one trainset out of the fleet operational on the rails as it continues to commission the rest of the fleet.
The remaining trains will be introduced at different stages through 2026, with the aim of four out of five London – Birmingham (via High Wycombe/Banbury services) to be operated by the type by December
By the end of March, four Class 68 and Mark III trailer sets will be withdrawn, as the leasing contract for these will have concluded. At the time of withdrawal, some of the Mark III coaches will have served nearly 50 years on the rail (with upgrades to the coaches completed during their lifetime).
Economy Class and Beyond is examining when these services are running – and hopefully will get some impressions soon.
Images, Chiltern Railways.
Welcome to Economy Class and Beyond. Your no-nonsense guide to network news, honest reviews, in-depth coverage, unique research, as well as the humour and madness I only know how to deliver.
Our Social Media pool has expanded. You can find us across most networks as @economybeyond on BlueSky, Threads, Mastodon and Instagram!
Also, remember that we are part of the BoardingArea community, bringing you the latest frequent flyer news from around the world.
Leave a Reply