Marston Vale Line
| Marston Vale Line | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Type | Heavy rail |
| System | National Rail |
| Status | Operational |
| Locale | Buckinghamshire Bedfordshire South East England East of England |
| Termini | Bedford Bletchley |
| Stations | 12 |
| Operation | |
| Owner | Network Rail |
| Operator(s) | London Midland |
| Rolling stock | British Rail Class 150 British Rail Class 153 |
| Technical | |
| Line length | ~24 mi (39 km) |
| No. of tracks | 1-2 |
| Track gauge | Standard gauge |
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The Marston Vale Line (Network Rail route MD 140) is the railway line from Bletchley to Bedford in England. It is one of two surviving passenger-carrying sections of the "Varsity Line" between Oxford and Cambridge.
It was designated by the Department for Transport as a community rail line in November 2006.
Contents |
[edit] History
The line was opened in 1845 by the London and Birmingham Railway.
In 1977 the Parliamentary Select Committee on Nationalised Industries recommmended considering electrification of more of Britain's rail network.[1] By 1979 BR presented a range of options to do so by 2000,[2] some of which included the Marston Vale Line.[3] Under the 1979–90 Conservative governments that succeeded the 1976–79 Labour government, the proposal was not implemented.
[edit] Operations
The line is part of the Network Rail Strategic Route 18, SRS 18.12 and is classified as a Rural line.[4]
[edit] Silverlink (1996 to 2007)
Silverlink operated the link from privatisation in 1996 until the franchise renewal in 2007. Services were initially in the hands of a mixture of heritage slam-door diesel multiple units formed of 2-car Class 117 and single-car Class 121 units until replacement with Class 150/1 trains inherited from Central Trains.
[edit] London Midland (From November 2007)
Passenger services are operated by London Midland, using Class 153 single-car diesel multiple units and two-car class 150 unit. An hourly service operates in each direction Monday-Saturday.
[edit] Infrastructure
Apart from a short length of single track at both ends, the line is double track, and is not electrified (barring short lengths at either end). It has a loading gauge of W8 and a line speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).[4] The line's Signalling Centre is at Ridgmont.
[edit] Community Rail Partnership
The Marston Vale Line is one of a number of British Railways that is covered by a Community Rail Partnership, known as the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership. Like other Community Rail Partnerships around the country, the Partnership aims to increase use of the line by getting local people involved with their local line. They do this by various means, such as holding community events, running special train services, and publicising the line locally.
[edit] Oxford to Bedford re-opening
The Marston Vale Line is one of the few remaining parts of the Varsity Line still in use.[5] In the 2011 Autumn Statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osbourne, announced the allocation of £270 million for the East West Rail Consortium to reinstate the Oxford — Bletchley — Bedford section of the Varsity Line. The service will link the Marston Vale Line (calling at Bedford, Lidlington, Woburn Sands and Bletchley only) to Winslow, Bicester Town, Oxford and Reading.[6][7] The Consortium hopes later to reopen the Bedford — Cambridge section, for which a new route may be required.[8]
[edit] Extension to Milton Keynes Central
In June 2005, Silverlink announced their intent to extend their Marston Vale service to Milton Keynes Central (via the West Coast Main Line), where a new platform with associated track would be built (alongside the slow mainline "up" track). On 4 December 2006, work began at Milton Keynes Central to prepare for a service connection from the Marston Vale line.[9][10] The platform was ready for use in January 2009 but services (now operated by London Midland) cannot begin until re-signalling of the Bletchley station area is completed, currently scheduled for 2013.
A further increase in service frequency seems likely if the National institute for research into aquatic habitats [11] succeeds in its bid [12] to build the world's largest freshwater aquarium in Stewartby. Additionally, in 2008 Marston Vale made the shortlist of 15 potential locations for the building of 10 new Eco-towns in England. If this goes ahead, it will involve the construction of 15,000 new homes in the vale, in addition to the several thousand already authorised. As of January 2009 neither of these projects appeared to have momentum.{[citation needed]
[edit] References
- ^ Anonymous Winter 1979, p. 0.
- ^ Anonymous Winter 1979, p. 2.
- ^ Anonymous Winter 1979, p. 8.
- ^ a b "Route 18 - West Coast Main Line". Network Rail. 2009. http://www.networkrail.co.uk/browse%20documents/StrategicBusinessPlan/RoutePlans/2009/Route%2018%20-%20West%20Coast%20Main%20Line.pdf. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "East West Rail Grip Stage 2 Report". p. 38. http://www.eastwestrail.org.uk/reports/documents/GRIPStage2Report.pdf.
- ^ "East West Rail Prospectus". http://eastwestrail.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/EWR-prospectus-web-2.pdf. Retrieved 14 December 2011.
- ^ RAIL. 14–28 December 2011. pp. 10–11.
- ^ "East West Rail: Central section map". http://eastwestrail.org.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/EWR-Central-r2.png. Retrieved 15 December 2011.
- ^ "UK transport news, data and jobs". Transport Briefing. http://www.transportbriefing.co.uk/story.php?id=3598.
- ^ "New Rail Platform On Time for 2008". Milton Keynes News. 6 December 2006. http://www.mk-news.co.uk/news/milton%20keynes/2006/dec/6/new%20rail%20platform%20on%20time%20for%202008.lpf.[dead link]
- ^ NIRAH
- ^ "Government backs aquarium project". BBC News. 11 May 2005. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/beds/bucks/herts/4536809.stm. Retrieved 12 May 2010.
[edit] Sources
- Anonymous (Winter 1979). Railway Electrification. British Railways Board (Central Publicity Unit). pp. 0–2, 8.
[edit] External links
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