The Chiltern main line is becoming a lOOmph railway. Work underway to raise speed restrictions will result in a speed-up in service in September that will make journey times from many points in the West Midlands to London competitive with those on the West Coast main line. Completion of this project, known as Evergreen 3 Phase 1, will mark a return to the ranks of the great main lines out of London for the former Great Western & Great Central Joint route through High Wycombe. The main line from Paddington to Birmingham Snow Hill played a key role during the electrification of the parallel West Coast main line in the early 1960s, playing host to the principal services between the two cities. But on 6 March 1967, after completion of the West Coast electrification, that all changed. The GW & GC Joint route entered an era of contraction. Express services from Paddington to Birmingham and Wolverhampton were discontinued, and the route downgraded to secondary status.
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