Bedford-Bletchley Rail Line Must Stay As Key Transport Link, Say Lib Dems

2.08.05pm GMT Thu 25th Nov 2004

Michael Headley beside the Bletchley train at Bedford Midland Station

Bedford Liberal Democrats are absolutely committed to keeping the railway line between Bedford and Bletchley as part of a proposed rail link between Oxford and Cambridge via Bedford. The Labour government recently announced that it is reviewing 56 rural rail lines, including the Marston Vale line between Bedford and Bletchley.

Lib Dem Parliamentary spokesperson Michael Headley said:

"The government are so short sighted to just look at reducing costs rather than looking at the value of services such as the Bedford-Bletchley line. I am very concerned that they have said that they are not ruling out closures. This must not be a return to Beeching by the back door. The Bedford-Bletchley line should be part of an important East-West link. Rather than reviewing the existing service they should be making sure that longstanding proposals for the extended service are moved forward. Given the extra pressure for housing being forced on our area by the government, we should be talking about improvements to our rail network to cope with the growth, not seeing threats hanging over one of our remaining rail links."

Any plans to axe the line would also mean that recent investment in improvements - funded by the taxpayer - will all have been in vain. This summer saw completion of major modernisation of signalling and level crossings on the line at a cost of £4.5 million. Following the improvements trains can now run faster - at up to 60mph between Fenny Stratford and Bow Brickhill. Planning permission has also been granted for a new station Kempston Interchange Retail Park, allowing shoppers to leave their cars at home and providing an environmentally-friendly travel alternative for the many people who work at the new Asda and Argos depots at Marsh Leys.

"There's obviously been a strong business case for investing in the line and its popularity can only grow thanks to recent improvements. Any talk now of closing it down now would be ludicrous," added Michael Headley.