The Anonymous Widower

Bedford And Bletchley For £1.30 Return

I am not talking, rubbish, but that is the ticket price, I was charged to go between Bedford and Bletchley stations today.

Note.

1. I bought the two tickets from the machine at Bedford station.
2. I did get £0.70 pence off for my Senior Railcard.

These are some more pictures I took along the route.

Note.

1. Platform 1a at Bedford station is electrified.
2. The train was a Class 150 train, that had had a quality refurbishment.
3. The stations were neat and tidy.
4. The flyover and the extra platforms at Bletchley station seemed ready for the East West Railway.
5. There were several level crossings.
6. Platform 6 at Bletchley station is electrified.
7. Trains took over fifteen minutes to turn at both ends of the journey.
8. Bedford and Bletchley is 16.2 miles
9. The train was moderately full both ways.

This press release from London Northwestern Railway is entitled London Northwestern Railway: Full Timetable To Resume On Marston Vale Line As £1 tickets Launched.

This is an extract.

The full hourly train service will resume on Monday 19 February. To celebrate its return and encourage passengers to return to the route, LNR is also announcing a major ticket offer today. For three months from Monday, a single journey between any two stations on the Marston Vale Line will cost just £1 (50p for children). The promotion represents a discount of up to 90% on the usual fare, depending on the journey.

Jonny Wiseman, LNR customer experience director, said: “The return of the full timetable to the Marston Vale Line is fantastic news and marks the end of a frustrating period for our customers.

“Our focus now is on encouraging passengers to make full use of their local train service, which is why we have reduced the cost of a trip on the line to £1 for the next three months.

When were tickets between Bedford and Bletchley, last this price?

Will Bedford And Bletchley Be Electrified?

It is not a question of will, as the route already is.

• Platform 1a at Bedford is already electrified.
• Platform 6 at Bletchley is already electrified.
• The schedule gives battery-electric trains sufficient time to charge, whilst the driver changes ends at the two terminal stations.
• Bedford and Bletchley is just 16.2 miles.
• There is even electrified track from Platform 6 at Bletchley station to Bletchley depot, which is being extended.

All it needs is a small fleet of battery-electric trains, which have a 25 KVAC  overhead capability.

These pictures show a Class 321 Renatus.

Note.

1. The trains were recently refurbished by Greater Anglia.
2. In Eversholt Rail And Vivarail To Develop Class 321 BEMU, I talked about how Eversholt Rail planned to get Vivarail to convert the Class 321 Renatus trains into battery-electric multiple units.
3. The Class 321 train is a 100 mph four-car train.
4. Four-car trains would future proof the route for many years.
5. Thirty trains were converted to the Renatus specification.

These trains converted to battery-electric multiple units could certainly handle Bletchley and Bedford services.

Could Four-Car Battery Electric Multiple Units Handle The Next Phase Of East West Rail?

It is likely, when the East West Rail opens that this could be the service.

• Oxford and Milton Keynes – 2 tph – Calling at Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow and Bletchley
• Oxford and Bedford – 2 tph – Calling at Oxford Parkway, Bicester Village, Winslow, Bletchley, Woburn Sands, Ridgmont and Bedford St Johns
• Bletchley and Bedford – 2 tph – Calling at Fenny Stratford, Bow Brickhill, Woburn Sands, Aspley Guise, Ridgmont, Lidlington, Millbrook, Stewartby, Kempston Hardwick and Bedford St Johns

Note.

1. tph is trains per hour.
2. I have assumed that the existing Bletchley and Bedford service is doubled in frequency.
3. I estimate that Oxford and Milton Keynes Central is 41.6 miles.
4. I estimate that Oxford and Bedford is 54.7 miles.

This would mean the following.

• Oxford and Bletchley would have a frequency of 4 tph.
• Bletchley and Bedford would have a frequency of 4 tph.
• Oxford station would have to charge and turn 4 tph.
• Bedford station would have to charge and turn 4 tph.
• Bletchley station would have to charge and turn 2 tph.
• Milton Keynes Central station would have to charge and turn 2 tph.

There would need to be some form of charging at Oxford.

But Oxford station has two North-facing bay platforms.

These platforms could be electrified or fitted with a Vivarail/GWR Fast Charger.

As it takes less than fifteen minutes to fully-charge a train, two platforms could charge eight tph.

February 20, 2024 - Posted by AnonW | Transport/Travel | Bedford Station, Bletchley Station, Class 150 Train, Class 321 Renatus, East West Railway, Electrification, Eversholt Rail Group, London Northwestern Railway, Railcard, Ticketing, Vivarail, Vivarail/GWR Fast Charge