Railfuture, the UK’s leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for passengers and freight, has asked the Department for Transport and London Northwestern Railway to provide regular updates on the progress of restarting the train service on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley.

The last passenger service on the line ran on 1st December last year, since when buses have replaced train services on the line. The services stopped after Vivarail Class 230s which previously operated services on the line were pulled from service after the manufacturer went into Administration. Other operators use class 230s, but it was only on the Marston Vale line that Vivarail was responsible for their maintenance.

Services are operated by London Northwestern Railway, and based on its most recent update, Railfuture says that:

• The timescales for the arrival of replacement rolling stock at Bletchley are now becoming clear, and three Class 150 trains are being transferred from Northern Trains for use on the route later this year.
• Although the duration of the training programme for drivers and conductors is reasonably clear, there are risks to their completion due to holidays over the school summer holiday and ongoing industrial action.
• There is uncertainty over the implementation of maintenance arrangements, as staff are still being recruited, which means that both the start dates and amount of training needed are still unknown.

Neil Middleton, a Director of Railfuture and Convenor of the Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire Division commented “It’s pleasing to see that London Northwestern Railway are reporting positive steps to progress the restart of trains on the Marston Vale Line.  We’d really like to see a commitment from London Northwestern Railway to have trains running again at the busiest times for the start of the Autumn School Term.

“We really hope that London Northwestern Railway will be able to make this commitment in good time before the end of the Summer term so parents and pupils will have the time to plan for their Autumn term journeys before the summer holidays”.

Stephen Sleight, Transport Team Leader (Rail), Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership said, “The Marston Vale Line is a lifeline for the communities along it. Many local people rely on the Marston Vale Line for access to education, work, and leisure, particularly students at Kimberley College, Bedford College and Milton Keynes College. I regret it has not been possible to reintroduce the Class 230 units, which were customised for the Line. I look forward to services resuming at the earliest possible opportunity in the Autumn”.

Neil went on to say “Provided that maintenance can be sorted in time, it’s our preference that the focus is on returning the nine most important return services each day Monday to Friday for travellers to and from the Schools on the line and other commuters (and some leisure traffic) and that there is also a Saturday offering of around 6 trains to start to rekindle leisure use on that is now usually the busiest day on the railway.

Phil Warner, Chair of BBRUA (the Bedford to Bletchley Rail Users Association) commented “We were annoyed by the decision to withdraw the Class 230s which are continuing to be used by other operators.  I am greatly concerned by the continued lack of a definitive timescale presented by London Northwestern for re-introduction of trains; there has already been slippage as an autumn return of trains was mentioned but now a full service is not expected until the New Year.

“We really need at least peak time trains to return to the Marston Vale in time for the Autumn School Term at the start of September otherwise its use by large numbers of school students may be a lost for ever.”