Marston Vale line suspension over - FULL services start running 19/02/24

[birchesgreen]

Phonetic pronunciation of St Albans in Herts.
Basically referring to the wiring of the Abbey line between Watford and St Albans.

OK i see, doesn't really work in my accent so thats why i was a bit confused.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Phonetic pronunciation of St Albans in Herts.
Basically referring to the wiring of the Abbey line between Watford and St Albans.

Yep. Sorry, I thought most people were familiar with that, which is both referring to the place and its poshness/posh accent (and snobbery)

To be fair it is a very nice place (if one of the most expensive places in the country).

 

[AlastairFraser]

OK i see, doesn't really work in my accent so thats why i was a bit confused.

Lol neither does it in mine, but something clicked somewhere in my noggin to understand it

Yep. Sorry, I thought most people were familiar with that, which is both referring to the place and its poshness/posh accent (and snobbery)

To be fair it is a very nice place (if one of the most expensive places in the country).

I've only been once, but it looked alright. I think the connections it has certainly put it above other typical middle class Southern towns.

 

[Brush 4]

Locals in South Wales say Ptolbt where the steel works may be closing....

 

[LUYMun]

I wonder if the £1 rail single ticket would undercut the bus services currently offering £2 singles?

 

[Bletchleyite]

I wonder if the £1 rail single ticket would undercut the bus services currently offering £2 singles?

It doesn't really compete with any buses, to be honest. Sort of the X5 to MKC but that isn't a £1 fare (worth splitting if you do do that!)

 

[Bald Rick]

Goodness only knows why it wasn't wired at the same time as Snorbens. Would have been so much less hassle then. I guess maybe BR thought they'd get to close it eventually.

I would have thought electrifying that particular branch was a lot easier than Marston Vale would have been - entirely single track, no resignalling to worry about. Wasn't Marston Vale still Absolute Block and semaphores well into this century? Seems like it would have been a much bigger project to take on.

This.

The Abbey Line is 6 miles of single track, stub end fed, no signalling (and this no bonding, immunisation, or any interference to worry about). Also only a couple of arched bridges (easily dealt with) as almost all the bridges over the line were built after the railway with electrification clearances (M1, A41, North Orbital, etc). It also saved a lot of empty DMU mileage to/from depot.

The BBM is 16 miles of double track - ie 5 times more, with some crossovers and sidings, would have to be fed from both ends (= at least two and probably three neutral sections and switching sections required), lots of the then antiquated signalling to sort, and I suspect some track would have needed sorting to enable some of the bonding. There’s an outside chance that it would have needed a new power supply. My guess is that it would have cost at least 10x what the Abbey Line did, for about twice the benefit.

Also wasn‘t the Abbey Line done with some spare materials left over from the ECML wiring? (possible railway myth).

 

[Bedpan]

Locals in South Wales say Ptolbt where the steel works may be closing....

The BBC reporters commenting on the steelworks were calling it Pt-albert which I thought sounded a lot better than Port Talbot. But how does one pronounce Brickhill as in Bow Brickhill? Maybe I will find out of I buy a £1 ticket and listen to the announcements.

 

[Deafdoggie]

Hooray!

At the point it stopped I genuinely didn't think we'd see the day until East West Rail opened.

I thought "Wedgwood & Barlaston"!

 

[317 forever]

I am considering riding it in March but this may depend on what rolling stock.

If it uses for example 150s refurbished with LNWR moquette, or 196s, I may well come and ride it.

Conversely, if it uses 150s hired from Northern or unrefurbished 170s, I doubt I would bother.

 

[Baxenden Bank]

I am considering riding it in March but this may depend on what rolling stock.

If it uses for example 150s refurbished with LNWR moquette, or 196s, I may well come and ride it.

Conversely, if it uses 150s hired from Northern or unrefurbished 170s, I doubt I would bother.

It's 150's, three of them, from Northern, details somewhere above.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It's 150's, three of them, from Northern, details somewhere above.

They're 150/1s (facing layout, 3+2) with Northern moquette, though the outside is in LNR livery.

 

[317 forever]

Thank you to both of you for your replies.

As these are nothing I cannot ride on my doorstep, I shall put the idea on hold unless I find something else to combine the line with.

 

[duffield]

Thank you to both of you for your replies.

As these are nothing I cannot ride on my doorstep, I shall put the idea on hold unless I find something else to combine the line with.

Personally I'm probably going to combine a trip to Bletchley from Bedford with a walk** out from Bletchley station to Whaddon Road bridge at Newton Longville to admire the new East-West railway. Don't know if there will be any activity to see though.

** Maybe six or seven miles there and back to the station via minor roads and footpaths, haven't checked it accurately yet.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Thank you to both of you for your replies.

As these are nothing I cannot ride on my doorstep, I shall put the idea on hold unless I find something else to combine the line with.

You will be waiting a while for the WMT 196s. Possibly they will be working from Bletchley Westwards towards Oxford first.

 

[12LDA28C]

You will be waiting a while for the WMT 196s. Possibly they will be working from Bletchley Westwards towards Oxford first.

Indeed - in passenger service from Summer next year but ECS for training prior to that.

 

[317 forever]

You will be waiting a while for the WMT 196s. Possibly they will be working from Bletchley Westwards towards Oxford first.

I am more likely to ride a 196 from Shrewsbury to Birmingham or on the Camp Hill line, even if not for another year.

I may have combined it with a 360 from Bedford to Corby. However, despite the excellent value at £1 single the experience of 150s with Northern interiors would be unoriginal given some of my local train rides.

 

[H&I]

I am considering riding the Marston Vale Line early tomorrow morning.

(New reply below)
What a bargain!

The 05:18 to Bedford was lightly loaded. I counted fewer than 10 passengers in total. The 06:10 back to Bletchley had more passengers, around 20 people. Representatives from the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership boarded this service and began giving out paper timetables. They were certainly very happy that the line is now back to its full timetable!

The 07:18 to Bedford has a healthy number of passengers on it.

 

[sibbahz]

I am considering riding the Marston Vale Line early tomorrow morning.

(New reply below)
What a bargain!

The 05:18 to Bedford was lightly loaded. I counted fewer than 10 passengers in total. The 06:10 back to Bletchley had more passengers, around 20 people. Representatives from the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership boarded this service and began giving out paper timetables. They were certainly very happy that the line is now back to its full timetable!

The 07:18 to Bedford has a healthy number of passengers on it.

I’m about to board the 8.21 out of Stewartby. Me and one other person did get on there, which is one more than I usually see.
No rush of students today due to it being half term.

 

[DarloRich]

No rush of students today due to it being half term.

it was quiet this morning. Word is starting to go round about the low fares so hopefully the passenger numbers will tick up. The big problem is the "bad will" - any trace of positivity about the line & service has gone. Passengers have been driven away and many wont be back.

 

[43066]

it was quiet this morning. Word is starting to go round about the low fares so hopefully the passenger numbers will tick up. The big problem is the "bad will" - any trace of positivity about the line & service has gone. Passengers have been driven away and many wont be back.

Once word spreads that it’s back up and running, and reliable, I’m sure they will return.

 

[Peter Sarf]

Once word spreads that it’s back up and running, and reliable, I’m sure they will return.

I expect those who bought a car to cope will be hard to get back. After all they might as well use their car now they have invested in it I am afraid. There will be those who changed/lost jobs because of its closure and so will no longer need it.

Really depends how many travellers there are that got round the closures in those two ways (above).

 

[Bletchleyite]

I expect those who bought a car to cope will be hard to get back. After all they might as well use their car now they have invested in it I am afraid. There will be those who changed/lost jobs because of its closure and so will no longer need it.

There's a bit of an obsession about people buying cars to get around public transport issues on here. In reality pretty much everyone who can drive already runs a car somewhere like Milton Keynes - it would for instance be pretty awful to not be able to go anywhere on a Sunday.

 

[43066]

There's a bit of an obsession about people buying cars to get around public transport issues on here. In reality pretty much everyone who can drive already runs a car somewhere like Milton Keynes - it would for instance be pretty awful to not be able to go anywhere on a Sunday.

I was going to say - I’m sure the vast majority of Marston Vale users, other than the school kids, already had access to a car before the closure.

 

[AdamWW]

There's a bit of an obsession about people buying cars to get around public transport issues on here. In reality pretty much everyone who can drive already runs a car somewhere like Milton Keynes - it would for instance be pretty awful to not be able to go anywhere on a Sunday.

I was going to ask just that.

I have also (though perhaps this is unusual) known people moving to a city large enough to actually have public transport on a Sunday etc. giving up their car because they didn't need it enough to justify it.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I have also (though perhaps this is unusual) known people moving to a city large enough to actually have public transport on a Sunday etc. giving up their car because they didn't need it enough to justify it.

Unless for medical reasons nobody moves to MK and gives up their car, let alone a village just outside it with no public transport on Sundays. The public transport in the area generally is utterly woeful.

If I had to give up my car for medical reasons, I would without any doubt whatsoever leave MK pretty quickly and move either to somewhere smaller with a mainline station (for random example somewhere like Flitwick or Leighton Buzzard) or somewhere where public transport is actually decent.

I did try living without a car for a few months when I first moved here (before I'd bought my first) but soon discovered that one is necessary to live an even vaguely decent life in or around MK - and that was when I was 20 years younger, fitter, more willing to cycle everywhere and the bus service was orders of magnitude better!

 

[Peter Sarf]

I was going to ask just that.

I have also (though perhaps this is unusual) known people moving to a city large enough to actually have public transport on a Sunday etc. giving up their car because they didn't need it enough to justify it.

That is true enough. Since moving to London in 1988 I have gone for periods without a car. I must admit I am glad when I have got a car again though. I do walk or use busses more than those around me but a car is still a bit more than a luxury albeit a bit of a liability in London. As for Milton Keynes car culture is probably king there which is a shame for a large town. For the Marston Vale line the relatively rural nature of all but the ends must be a factor in car ownership.

 

[Bletchleyite]

That is true enough. Since moving to London in 1988 I have gone for periods without a car.

London has excellent public transport. The Marston Vale doesn't (nor the area itself! ). Very different.

I must admit I am glad when I have got a car again though. I do walk or use busses more than those around me but a car is still a bit more than a luxury albeit a bit of a liability in London. As for Milton Keynes car culture is probably king there which is a shame for a large town.

It's the City of the Car. And has largely worked quite well as that. You'd not build that now, though.

It could have better public transport but it would need higher Council Tax to subsidise it as it's very hard to make money out of it. There are only a few commercial bus routes left which largely link up the sink estates with the centre. The others are planning gain funded and will likely go away after the 5 years of funding runs out, just as did the one that served Woburn Sands.

For the Marston Vale line the relatively rural nature of all but the ends must be a factor in car ownership.

I suspect car ownership by people who can drive in places like Woburn Sands, Lidlington, Stewartby etc is very close to 100%. They are prosperous places. Sure, good quality public transport can tempt people out of cars even with two Jags on the drive (see some of the nicer places on Merseyrail like Aughton and Formby) but 1tph with a change and a walk up a big hill to get to the most likely destination (Central MK) just won't.

So I think the effect will be negligible. It might have pushed a few younger people to learn a bit sooner, though.

 

[H&I]

It's the City of the Car. And has largely worked quite well as that. You'd not build that now, though.

When I arrived at Bletchley on the 01:39 from Euston this morning, I had more than two hours to wait for the 05:17 to Bedford, the first Marston Vale Line departure that day. I decided to walk to the 24-hour McDonald’s next to Stadium MK. I found the walking provision rather poor. The footpaths were dimly lit, and one section was partially flooded. At junctions, priority seems to have been given to the car with pedestrians forced to use the dingy underpasses. It certainly is not a walkable area, which only serves to encourage people to stick to the car.

 

[Bletchleyite]

When I arrived at Bletchley on the 01:39 from Euston this morning, I had more than two hours to wait for the 05:17 to Bedford, the first Marston Vale Line departure that day. I decided to walk to the 24-hour McDonald’s next to Stadium MK. I found the walking provision rather poor. The footpaths were dimly lit, and one section was partially flooded. At junctions, priority seems to have been given to the car with pedestrians forced to use the dingy underpasses. It certainly is not a walkable area, which only serves to encourage people to stick to the car.

It's designed for the car, though the Redways are actually quite nice to use for cycling. Flooding isn't the norm (indeed the whole city is designed with a system of balancing lakes to prevent it) but due to the severe rainfall in recent days which has flooded all over the country combined probably with a blocked drain.

I assume you did that to be on the first Marston Vale service of the restart? If so I'd have grabbed a Travelodge or Premier Inn - MK has vast hotel overcapacity which is only usually full during Silverstone and prices can be very attractive indeed. Surprised the sit-in there was open overnight, they are mostly drive through only between about midnight and 6am.