Full rail timetable resumes this week on Bletchley to Bedford Marston Vale line

A full rail timetable has resumed on the Marston Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford.

All services were suspended on the troubled line in December 2022 when maintenance provider Vivarail entered into administration.

Following extensive efforts to find and prepare suitable trains for the route, London Northwestern Railway (LNWR) began running a partial service on the line in November last year.

But now they are in a position to resume the hourly timetable – and they’ve even launched a special ticket offer to encourage people to use it.An event to mark the return of the full timetable took place at Bletchley station this morning, attended by rail users, members of the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership and local MPs.

To celebrate, LNR is offering a £1 ticket offer for the next three months. Any single journey between any two stations on the Marston Vale Line will cost just £1 for adults and 50p for children - a discount of up to 90% on the usual fare, depending on the journey.

Jonny Wiseman, LNR customer experience director, said: “I am delighted the full timetable has resumed on the Marston Vale Line. I look forward to welcoming passengers back on board and I thank them for their patience whilst we have worked to overcome logistical challenges and return services to the line.

“We have reduced the cost of a trip on the line to £1 for the next three months to encourage passengers to make full use of the train service and we hope this will encourage customers between Bedford and Bletchley to return to the railway.”

Due to the very short platforms on the Marston Vale Line, only certain types of train can be used on the route. Following the demise of the Class 230s, LNR worked with partners in the rail industry to arrange the transfer of three Class 150 trains from elsewhere in the country to restore the service.

The Class 150 trains being used on the route were most recently in service with Northern. Each train is wheelchair accessible and has capacity for 173 passengers. The trains have been recently refurbished with features including a universally accessible toilet, an upgraded passenger information system and USB charging points throughout the carriages.

Under the full timetable there are 17 daily departures in each direction between Bedford and Bletchley from Monday-Saturday. There is no Sunday service.

The trains stop at Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise, Ridgmont, Lidlington, Millbrook, Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick, Bedford St Johns and Bedford.

In the future, however, the Marston Vale line will be vastly improved and have trains running every 20 minutes. For it will eventually become part of the East West Rail line that will link Cambridge and Oxford together.

The project aims to transform connectivity and journey times across the heart of the country, boost economic growth and create opportunities for new housing and jobs. It involves refurbishing existing lines from Bletchley to Bedford along with major upgrades to Bedford’s railway stations and a revamp at Bletchley station.