Trains on the Marston Vale line in Buckinghamshire and Bedfordshire which were withdrawn when their supplier Vivarail went into administration at the start of December are unlikely to be replaced before the autumn.
Operator West Midlands Trains, which uses the brand London Northwestern outside the West Midlands, said the Class 230 units on the Marston Vale line could no longer be used, because the lack of Vivarail staff at Bletchley depot would make maintenance difficult.
The Class 230s are diesel units converted from former London Underground D78 stock, which was originally built for the District Line.
Since they were withdrawn buses have been replacing trains on the Marston Vale route, which connects Bletchley and Bedford and is part of the developing East West Rail link.
However, finding replacement trains is proving difficult, according to the operator.
London Northwestern said: ‘Due to the unreliable nature of the Class 230 fleet and the short platforms on the route there are only a limited number of trains in the country suitable, which has hampered progress. We expect we will be able to introduce morning and evening peak-time train services from autumn 2023, leading to the reinstatement of the full timetable in January 2024.’
Vivarail conversions are continuing to run on the Isle of Wight, and have recently entered service in North Wales. GWR has also taken over a project to run Vivarail battery trains on the Greenford branch in west London.
Vivarail was set up by the late Adrian Shooter in 2013, and had been modernising the aluminium-bodied Underground trains to provide economical rolling stock for local lines.
The Vivarail website has been reduced to a single page with an animated second hand. There is a simple caption: ‘It was good while it lasted. Over and out...’