Railfuture calls for no stone to be left unturned to get trains running again on the Marston Vale Line
Railfuture calls upon the Department for Transport and London Northwestern to move forward with restarting the train service on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley. Services on the line have been replaced with buses since the last train to run on 1 December 2022 (the 15:55 from Bedford to Bletchley).Neil Middleton, a Director of Railfuture and Convenor of the Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire Division commented “The buses are a very unsatisfactory alternative to the train, which provides (when it runs) an effective public transport service for those in the area who do not have access to a car. This includes school children going to Kimberley College and those with medical and other essential appointments. This current gap in the train service is yet another service interruption after many years of poor service, including during long periods after the start of Covid, due to shortages of train drivers.
“It’s easy to think ‘it’s a branch line, it doesn’t really matter’ – but that’s to forget that the people who use the service are often really reliant on the service to get them from A to B (for instance, in this case, Ridgmont to Bedford).”
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.
“The Class 230s were customised for the Marston Vale Line with a range of features including information panels on local visitor attractions and artwork co-created with passengers & the local community. I am keen to see all options explored for these units to be brought back into service at the earliest opportunity.”
The train service stopped following Vivarail’s Administration (Note 1), as Vivarail staff maintained the trains (this is in contrast to the other current Vivarail train operation – the Island Line, where the Train operator, SWR, has maintenance responsibly [note 2]). Transport for Wales are, we understand, still planning on introducing Class 230 trains between Wrexham and Bidston (the ‘Borderlands Line’).
Railfuture understands there are two main options for reinstating the train service:
- Make alternative arrangements to be able to use the Vivarail stock (the class 230s). The trains are available – and the drivers trained, but new leasing, maintenance and spare part arrangements are needed.
- Finding other rolling stock, probably waiting for them to be released, training the drivers, new leasing, maintenance and spare part arrangements (note 3).
“In particular we have yet to hear the outcome of any discussions with Transport for Wales Rail about how maintenance and other arrangements might be shared with them. If these discussions have yet to be held, we urge that they happen and if they have happened, we would like to hear the outcome.”
Phil Warner, Chair of BBRUA (the Bedford to Bletchley Rail Users Association) commented “I do not accept the decision to withdraw the Class 230s in the short term. Whilst it may be difficult to obtain suitable spares and maintain the trains, I do not believe this is impossible - they have performed latterly quite well on the line. I am also disappointed by the return of Class 150 units. These are old and were first introduced to the line over twenty years ago. However, this may be the most pragmatic medium-term solution. I am greatly concerned by the lack of definitive timescale presented by London Northwestern for their introduction and worried that further slippage to timescale may occur.
“In particular, while I would like to see trains sooner, I am keen to see a full train 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.”
Notes to editors:
Note 1: (eg) www.bedfordshirelive.co.uk/news/bedfordshire-news/marston-vale-line-trains-suspended-7889050.
Note 2: (eg) onthewight.com/south-western-railway-confident-that-vivarail-collapse-shouldnt-affect-island-line/
Note 3: the Marston Vale Line is limited to a train length of two for 20m carriages, or 1 for 23m carriages. This eliminates many types of rolling stock such as the Class 170. This is because longer trains will overhang level crossings when stopped at some platforms.
The CRP’s website is at www.marstonvalecommunityrail.org.uk and the Bedford to Bletchley Rail Users Association’s at www.bbrua.org.uk.
Railfuture is the UK's leading independent organisation campaigning for better rail services for both passengers and freight.
Railfuture's website can be found at: www.railfuture.org.uk
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For further information and comment please contact: Neil Middleton – neil.middleton@railfuture.org.uk & 07887 628367.