Services resume on Marston Vale Line linking Bedford and Bletchley

The Marston Vale Line links Bedford and Bletchley and 10 stations in between

Services have resumed after nearly a year on a rail route that was suspended after a maintenance firm went bust.

The Marston Vale Line runs through Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, linking Bedford and Bletchley and serving 10 stations in between.

Four services will run in each direction from Monday to Friday, focused on the morning and afternoon peak-time periods.

London Northwestern Railway said a full service would resume early next year.

Danielle Osei-Boateng is happy the service is up and running, making her travel into work a lot quicker

Commuter Danielle Osei-Boateng who works in the physiotherapy department at Bedford Hospital, said she would not have to get up as early, having previously had to catch rail replacement buses to work.

"Now I can get home much earlier, so that's great," she said.

A partial service is now in operation with two trains in the morning and two in the afternoon in each direction.

Rail replacement buses will continue to operate at other times.

Mr McGill said: "When you provide a rail service that is reliable, people will return"

Andrew McGill, public affairs manager for London Northwestern Railway, said: "It's natural that after a long period of no service that it will take some time to get some passengers back on board.

"But it's encouraging to see people are here to use the train today.

"Early in the new year we'll be able to introduce a full service back, and when that full service comes back is when we'll see the passengers really return.

A full service is expected to resume in early 2024 once all train staff have completed their training to operate the Class 150 fleet

"The trains we've got are fantastic. They've got really good features that we didn't have before: information screens, charging points."

Mr McGill said there were future plans for East West Rail to connect Oxford to Cambridge through the line but there was still some "uncertainty as to what that will look like".

Graham Baker said: "They’re lovely trains to drive"

Graham Baker, who has been driving the Marston Vale Line trains for 20 years, said he'd enjoyed driving the train so much he "would have done it for free."

"They're lovely trains to drive," he said.