Updated 26 April
Train services between Bicester, Bletchley and Milton Keynes are not expected to start until almost the end of this year, although test trains ran successfully on the line last October.
The Department for Transport had already announced in March that Chiltern Railways, which is set to be renationalised by 2027, will provide the services using six Class 196 units, but at the time it did not reveal the start date, except that it would be ‘later this year’.
The update about a launch came during an event at the Railway Civil Engineers' Association in London yesterday.
Uncertainty remains about the next stage of the project to upgrade the existing double track line between Bletchley and Bedford, which was the only section of the former Varsity Line to escape closure in British Rail days.
Chiltern has been training crews with special movements between Bletchley High Level, Fenny Stratford and Bletchley depot, which involve reversing at Fenny Stratford. The training route includes the single line over Fenny Stratford viaduct, and the line is thought to be a candidate for doubling to avoid a bottleneck when services eventually start running between Oxford and Bedford.
A spokesman for the EWR Co said: ‘The East West Rail Alliance which built and delivered the new infrastructure between Bicester and Bletchley handed the line over to Network Rail on time and on budget. Now Chiltern has been officially appointed as their operator, their driving training programme is now in full swing. As your readers will know it takes time to recruit and train the required number of drivers to operate a route and ensure they are fully route trained, particularly as this route is complex as it connects with the busy West Coast Main Line.
‘Chiltern are also completing fit out work at the stations such as Winslow to ensure everything is in place for the entry into service and are also preparing the Class 196s by applying livery and branding to these units. It was always the plan that after the announcement of the operator it would take around 9 months to put everything in place to begin services.’
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