Dear Huw,
Firstly, I want to thank you for your time in the last week to discuss the current suspension of the Marston
Vale Line between Bletchley and Bedford and for your letter of 21 December. As I am sure you are aware,
this route is important to many of my constituents who use it for education, employment and leisure reasons,
and so I am keen to see the situation resolved as soon as possible.
On Friday 13 January, I had the opportunity to meet with the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership
(MVCRP), the Chair of Bedford — Bletchley Rail Users’ Association (BBRUA) as well as Councillors from Woburn
Sands Town Council to update them on the current situation, to learn of the knock-on impacts the suspension
is causing and to hear their concerns. I want to take this opportunity to raise with you some of the points
that were discussed.
As you know, the main cause of the suspension of the Marston Vale Line is not having the team to maintain
and service the rolling stock due to the administration of Vivarail. However, as I understand it, some of the
engineers that worked on the Marston Vale Line rolling stock were contractors through an agency and not
directly employed by Vivarail. Whilst I am sure some of them will have sought alternative employment, Iam
certain there are some still job-searching. To that end, I wondered if there is a possibility for them to be re-
hired directly by London Northwestern Railway (LNWR) or Network Rail? By having some of these engineers
employed, the line should be able to function in some capacity because they would be on hand to ensure
sufficient maintenance of the trains, satisfying the necessary safety regulations needed to operate.
Also, I am slightly concerned about the true status of the engines in the trains that were running on the
Marston Vale Line. It has been suggested by the Department for Transport that the engines of the Class 230s
were reaching a point where a major overhaul would be required. However, I have also heard that the 230s
have got a considerable amount of mileage still left in them before they reach the need for an overhaul
because they are relatively new and were not used as extensively during the Coronavirus pandemic. Could I
ask for this point to be investigated further by the Department for Transport?
Unfortunately, at this current point in time, the only way that I can see a quick reintroduction of a service
along the Marston Vale Line is to use the Vivarail trains. To introduce another type of rolling stock will require
the traincrew to have to undertake a lengthy training period, unnecessarily delaying the reintroduction of a
train service.
If replacement stock is, however, to be required, I understand that using Class 150s or 153s would reduce
the time requirement for training up drivers as they were used on the Marston Vale line pre-2019 and
therefore some train crew will have existing knowledge of them. I further understand that the Class 153s
may have some toilet access issues but is there a way to overcome this for a short interim period?
Finally, I would like to highlight the unsuitability of the rail replacement bus service in terms of the extended
journey times and unreliability they pose, amongst other issues. An increasing number of complaints from
passengers are being received by MVCRP and BBRUA, which are being compiled and sent to LNWR for
investigation. I would be happy to share these with you if it is helpful.
My hope is that this letter will reach you prior to the Select Committee hearing on Wednesday 18 January
that you will be attending because it is my hope, that if the opportunity arises, I will put some questions to
you about the Marston Vale Line.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Yours ever,
lain Stewart MP
Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South
