German rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) has bought up award-winning company Chiltern Railways for an undisclosed sum.

The company, which has among the highest punctuality records in the country at 95 per cent, runs train services from Oxfordshire stations at Banbury, Bicester North, Kings Sutton, and Haddenham and Thame Parkway, to London's Marylebone.

It employs 751 people and achieves £89m annual turnover, running 2055 trains a week along 170 miles of track.

A spokesman for DB said that far from cut backs in jobs, DB plans to expand in UK and will offer further opportunities for Chiltern employees to expand their careers. He added that the company had no current plans to change fares charged.

Under the deal DB is to acquire Laing Rail, owners of Chiltern Railways and joint proprietors of London Overground and Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway Co., - which is this Spring due to start services between London, Shropshire and north Wales via Banbury.

Chiltern Railways will become part of DB Regio AG, the division of DB responsible for operating regional and local services.

The announcement ended months of speculation and marks DB's entry into the competitive UK passenger rail market.

Chiltern Railways is current holder of the National Rail Awards "Passenger Operator of the Year" accolade.

Since franchising in 1996, Chiltern Railways has initiated investment of £327m, doubled the size of its train fleet, invested in track and signalling to increase capacity and remove bottlenecks and improved facilities at numerous stations.

A spokesman said DB had confirmed the Chiltern name would remain unchanged and that Adrian Shooter and his management team would remain in control of the company.

DB AG is Europe's largest passenger operator, carrying some 5.1 million passengers daily.