Lidlington News

London Northwestern Railway (LNR) passengers are being invited to have their say on their train service.

The East West Railway Company (EWR Co) has reported that its recent 10 week consultation received more than 9,800 responses, made up of over 190,000 individual comments that are now each being analysed.

The train operator says the changes are necessary due COVID-19 and the ongoing impact of ‘Test and Trace’ notifications causing trains to be cancelled at short notice.

The changes affect services between Northampton and London, and on the Abbey and Marston Vale lines

London Northwestern Railway is asking passengers to keep wearing face coverings, unless exempt, from Monday (19 July) as COVID restrictions are eased.

The train company is also warning rail users to expect more short-notice cancellations as increasing numbers of staff are getting ‘pinged’ by the Test and Trace app.

Using Google Earth it is easy to see how parts of Marston Vale have changed between 2002 and 2020.

London Northwestern Railway has today (6 April 2021) confirmed the return of train services to the Marston Vale Line from next week as national lockdown measures ease further.

The East West Railway Company (EWR Co) is encouraging people from towns and villages between Oxford, Bedford, Milton Keynes and Cambridge to take part in the next phase of public consultation.

It said the comments and ideas received will feed into the design, construction and operation of this rail scheme. Adding that it could provide people from communities across the area with new connections to family, friends, jobs, education and leisure activities

Members of a grassroots rail movement – including the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership – have continued to strive for communities in the Midlands and East of England towards a greener transport future, despite the pandemic.

Figures from Community Rail Network’s Community Rail in the Midlands and East briefing, sponsored by Rail Delivery Group, highlight that more than 8,000 volunteers give 37,000 hours annually to improve social inclusion and wellbeing, promote sustainable and healthy travel, and support economic development and tourism in their local area, valued at £3.1 million.

The consultation deadline for the Marston Vale New Villages Development Brief has been extended until 31 March 2021 by O&H Land.

Since the consultation was launched on 24 February, more than 800 people have viewed the consultation materials at the Marston Valley website, including the Development Brief which sets out the vision for the development.