Chiltern Railways has decided against making timetable changes that parents feared would leave schoolchildren “in the lurch”.

Pupils from Beaconsfield who get the train to school in Gerrards Cross and back were going to be left in a difficult situation as Chiltern Railways prepared to make big changes to its timetable on Monday, September 7, which would have seen their regular train no longer stopping at Gerrards Cross in the mornings.

According to the new timetable, the next train that would leave Beaconsfield and stop at Gerrards Cross would be just 10 minutes before they needed to be at school – meaning they would be late every day.

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Parent Wendy Cartledge said: “We rely on the train to get our kids from Beaconsfield to Gerrards Cross every day.

“They go back this week but from Monday the timetable changes and the train no longer stops at Gerrards Cross.

“The train they are left with is the 8:20 which is too late to get to school by 8:30 as they have to walk from the station at the other end.

“Then they miss the train home too because the 16:01 is too early - school finishes at 15:50 but by the time they get to the station it’s at least 16:10.

“There is a school bus but it’s three times the price, three times the length of journey and we’ve already missed the boat getting a place on it.

“Driving isn’t much of an option either because the traffic is so bad that you get stuck in queues just getting out of Beaconsfield.

“Plus we have to work, most of us, and getting a bunch of kids lift sharing isn’t very Covid friendly.”

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She urged Chiltern Railways to rethink the change, adding: “It’s only one extra stop each way. We depend on it.”

After the train company was approached by the BFP with these concerns, it has been confirmed that last minute changes have been made to correct these potential problems.

A statement from the company said: “Following feedback we recently received about our new scheduled timetable, we are delighted to announce that we have made changes to ensure that school children travelling between Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross can arrive at school and return home again, on time.

“Our train planning team have worked quickly to arrange for additional stops to be put in place. From Monday 7th September, a service will depart Beaconsfield at 07:58 and arrive at Gerrards Cross at 08:03.

“In the afternoon, a service will depart Gerrards Cross at 16:23 and arrive into Beaconsfield at 16:29. We will always seek opportunities to best serve our customers and are pleased that we were able to make these changes.”