This isn’t really about the class 700s. But, having looked at the fleets of trains set for imminent introduction to the lines around Bedford, we should probably complete the set by looking at the still very new, and now ubiquitous, class 700s. These trains will be the workhorses of the Thameslink network for no doubt… Read More New(ish) train for Bedford (4): Thameslink class 700s
The trains that operate the twice-hourly express services between St Pancras and Corby from December 2020 will be of most interest to Bedford commuters: these will provide the expresses when they are finally restored to Bedford during peak hours. Our summary of the requirements of the invitation to tender (ITT) to run the new East… Read More New trains for Bedford (3): Corby EMUs
The new trains on the Marston Vale line have their origins, unusually, on the London Underground. By the time I first moved to London in 2005, the Tube had adopted a form still recognisable today: Oyster cards were already in widespread use, and its trains were uniformly presented in its corporate livery of white with… Read More New trains for Bedford (2): Marston Vale Line D-trains
This is the first in a series of articles looking at the new types of rolling stock that will come to serve Bedford within the next five years or so. Starting with the introduction of the class 700s on Thameslink a few years ago, the fleet serving Bedford will have been completely replaced by the… Read More New trains for Bedford (1): Midland Main Line bi-modes
The last post picked out some highlights from the Invitation To Tender (ITT) for the next East Midlands franchise, mainly in respect of what it will mean for intercity services calling at Bedford (and if you’ve not read that one, I’d recommend checking it out, as this will make a lot more sense if you… Read More The East Midlands franchise – can we do better for Bedford?
This article follows the previous one looking at why Bedford lost its peak services – the first part of the triple whammy that is hitting rail travellers to and from Bedford. The second part – the dreadful failure of the new Thameslink timetable – has been unpicked and explored amply in many places, and parliamentary… Read More The East Midlands franchise and the future of Bedford’s express trains
This article looks at one of the three major problems that have hit, or will hit, railway users in Bedford. In reverse chronological order of when they hit, they are: the loss of direct intercity trains to destinations north of Kettering; the failed delivery of the May 2018 timetable changes; and the announcement at the… Read More Why did Bedford lose its peak express services?
