MORNING AND evening peak-hour train services on London Northwestern Railway’s Marston Vale line will resume this autumn, followed by the reintroduction of a full timetable from January 2024.
The Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley has been without a passenger service since December 1 last year, when train building and maintenance company Vivarail entered administration. The Class 230 diesel multiple unit trains in use were immediately withdrawn from service with LNR, as Vivarail was also responsible for maintenance of the trains, with their reinstatement under different maintenance arrangements quickly ruled out. Staff employed by Vivarail at Bletchley depot were made redundant by the administrator.
The reliability of the three dedicated trains had also caused problems for the operator due to the number of times engines needed to be replaced.
LNR has since struggled to reinstate services on the route, mainly because of the need for trains to be no more than 40 metres in length due to platform lengths and signalling considerations. LNR has Class 170, 172 and 196 DMUs in sister company West Midlands Railway’s fleet, but all of these are too long to work services on the Marston Vale line.
Agreement has now been reached for three Class 150/1 DMUs to be transferred to LNR from Northern, and the DMUs involved – 150137/139/141 – were expected to be delivered to Bletchley depot in late July.
In an update issued by LNR on July 14, th
