Chiltern Railways is organising a special train journey in February to bid farewell to its Mark III coaches, which date back to the era of British Rail. The trip will also raise money for the charity Railway Children.

The event will take place on Sunday, 22 February, and the coaches will leave the service of the railway by the end of March, as will the locomotives that haul them.

The Mark III coaches were built in the 1970s and were used on the first high-speed trains during that decade.

Chiltern has been using Mark III coaches since 2010.

The operator is to replace them with a more modern and larger fleet of coaches and locomotives next year, including Mark 5A coaches which were previously operated by Transpennine Express.

Other operators have also retired their Mark III coaches over recent years, including Great Western Railway and London North Eastern Railway in 2019 and Abellio Greater Anglia in March 2020.

Mark 3 coaches are used by Colas Rail for monitoring track condition on behalf of Network Rail.

The Branch Line Society is hosting the farewell event and will be supported by volunteers.

Proceeds from the sale of tickets will be donated to the Railway Children charity, which supports children who are alone and at risk around the railway network in the UK, Tanzania and India.

February’s farewell train journey will begin at Banbury and run to Stourbridge.

It will then travel along the full length of the Chiltern Main Line up to London Marylebone, and will then return to Banbury in the evening. 250 tickets are available and can be bought via the Branch Line Society’s website. Tickets are priced at £68 for adults and £34 for children.

Available on a first-come, first-served basis, tickets can be purchased via the Branch Line Society’s website here.

“We are consistently humbled by the generosity and commitment from our friends right across the rail family.

“This event, thanks to Chiltern Railways and Branch Line Society is a wonderful example of the industry uniting through a landmark occasion to support some of the world’s most vulnerable children. This will be an incredible event that will create a fitting legacy.”

Jack Miller, Group Director of Fundraising and Marketing, Railway Children