UK: A full service will resume on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley from February 19, operator West Midlands Trains has announced.
Trains on the route were replaced by buses in December 2022 following the demise of Vivarail, which supplied and maintained the line’s Class 230 diesel multiple-units produced from former London Underground metro cars.
A limited weekday peak-only train service was reintroduced in November 2023 after three replacement Class 150 DMUs were sourced from Northern. The completion of crew training on the Class 150s will now allow the restart of an hourly Monday to Saturday service; there are no services on Sundays.
To celebrate the return of the full service a single journey between any two stations on the Marston Vale Line will cost £1, or 50p for children, for the first three months. The reduced fares will be supported by a marketing campaign, and the release of a promotional film for Easter.
The return of services ‘marks the end of a frustrating period for our customers’, said Jonny Wiseman, Customer Experience Director at WMT’s London Northwestern Railway brand, on February 13. ’Our focus now is on encouraging passengers to make full use of their local train service.’
