Commuters' lives are set to become a little easier from the autumn after a raft of upgrades were announced as part of a deal on the route covering Marlow and Bourne End.
New ticket machines in Marlow and Cookham are among the changes after the First Group agreed a new franchise deal with the Government for the Great Western Route until 2019.
A fleet upgrade will see new trains across the entire First Great Western (FGW) route, which serves travellers in south Bucks via Maidenhead, including Bourne End, Marlow and Cookham stations.
Rail bosses say stations on the Marlow line will receive a “package of improvements” that FGW plans to deliver in partnership with Buckinghamshire Thames Valley Local Enterprise Partnership.
And the operator also confirmed it will extend its rollout of free WiFi – already available across its long distance services – to all Thames Valley services by the end of this summer.
FGW Managing Director Mark Hopwood said: “For us, this franchise deal is about changing the way people think about rail. The Great Western network is already seeing the biggest investment since Brunel, and this deal has been designed to match that investment and ambition.
“It gives passengers newer trains, faster, more frequent services and importantly, given the growth this franchise has seen in recent years, more seats – three million extra seats a year by December 2018.
“I believe that the team at First Great Western will deliver for customers and the thriving communities and economies they serve, as well as the taxpayer.”
Transport secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the new franchise agreement, worth around £68million, will create “a railway that is fit for the 21st century”.
FGW says newer trains will increase the number of seats for commuters in the Thames Valley travelling in high peak times by 25 per cent from 2017.
Electric trains will be introduced for the first time along FGW’s route, but there is no mention in today’s announcement of any concrete plans to roll it out along the Marlow line, despite long-standing calls from commuter groups.
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