West Ealing's Parliamentary train

Image: © Mark Percy Taken: 2 Feb 2022

What is this Chiltern Railways diesel multiple unit doing at West Ealing Station - nowhere near its usual route into Marylebone? It's the weekly 'Parliamentary train' to West Ruislip. The service has been through a number of permutations over the years. At the time of writing it was running on Wednesdays only at 1117 non-stop from West Ealing to West Ruislip. The aim is to familiarise Chiltern drivers with working the Greenford branch line in case regular services to and from Marylebone have to be diverted to Paddington in an emergency. Before 2018 the service started at Paddington and ran the entire length of the Acton to Northolt Line (then known as the 'New North Main Line'), but when the line was severed for HS2 construction, the ghost train was diverted to start from West Ealing instead. The weekly train ran non-stop to High Wycombe before being reduced to terminate at West Ruislip in December 2021. 'Parliamentary trains' began in the 1840s as statutory minimum services providing inexpensive transport for less affluent passengers. The Railway Regulation Act stipulated that at least one such service be run each day on each route. These days the term describes services that continue to run - typically once a week - to avoid the cost of formally closing a route or station. These 'ghost trains' have acquired a cult following among rail enthusiasts.

Images are licensed for reuse under creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0