Adrian Shooter honoured at Chiltern event
POPULAR railway executive and founder of one of the original privatised train operating companies, Chiltern Railways, Adrian Shooter was honoured by peers, colleagues, friends and politicians at a special event on August 30.
Two former transport ministers were among those who gathered to praise Shooter’s achievements. A statue of Adrian, paid for by a crowd-funding campaign, was unveiled by him next to platform 1 at London’s Marylebone station. Immediately afterwards, he was asked to unveil the name on pioneer Class 168 DMU No. 168001 (Adrian’s favourite) which had been stabled in platform 1 and subsequently went into service, with a run to Oxford, as Adrian Shooter CBE.
■ Oxford station, now one of Chiltern Railway’s destinations (alongside GWR and CrossCountry) is finally to get longawaited improvements. The DfT says a fifth platform (for northbound trains) and new western entrance will be completed by 2024. The £161 million revamp is necessary as nearly nine million passengers used the station each year (pre-Covid).