Lidlington News

Train services resumed on the Marston Vale Line on Monday 24th August. This is initially only at peak times (three journeys each way in the morning and three in the evening). It is supplemented by a Rail Replacement Bus Service during the rest of the day.

Rail services will resume on the Marston Vale Line between Bedford and Bletchley from next month, operator London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has announced today (29 July 2020).

The operator took the decision to suspend services at the end of March due to the impact of coronavirus on train crew availability, low passenger numbers and reliability issues with level crossings on the route. Rail replacement buses have been running since.

At a special (remote) meeting of Central Bedfordshire Council’s Executive (5 June 20200, Lidlington business owner, Miranda Smythe, asked the Executive to consider home-based businesses when allocating funds from the new Small Business Discretionary Grant scheme.

The new, Government-funded scheme, is aimed to help those small businesses, badly hit by the pandemic which were not covered by the Business Support Grant Scheme or other financial support.

Ms Smythe, who runs a learning and development consultancy, said that she recognised that the Council had to make some tough decisions with limited funding. But she asked them to factor in a group of businesses that she said had been “explicitly excluded” from all other forms of government support

Bedfordshire Police is appealing for information following an incident in which a motorbike was damaged with a chainsaw

At approximately 11am on Monday (25 May 2020) a man was riding an off-road bike in a public field when he was approached by a man who was holding a chainsaw.

The victim got off the bike and ran away. The offender has subsequently used the chainsaw to damage the bike.

Central Bedfordshire Council has been revamping roads across the area while traffic levels are low during the coronavirus lockdown.

It said that by taking advantage of the quieter roads it has fixed more than 600 repairs including potholes, streetlights and road signs as well as eight re-surfacing schemes.

A full rail replacement bus service started on the Marston Vale Line today (Monday 18 May 2020). This includes all stations and the limited stop services.
The limited stop service calls at Bedford, Bedford St Johns, Stewartby, Lidlington, Ridgmont, Woburn Sands, Bow Brickhill & Bletchley.

London Northwestern Railway is urging passengers to only use the train for essential journeys. This comes ahead of a new timetable coming into effect on 18 May 2020. The timetable includes an hourly rail replacement bus on Marston Vale Line.

Due to social distancing advice train capacity will remain limited. The operator is asking its customers to only travel by train if they have no other option.

Services on the Marston Vale Line have been suspended until further notice as part of the Rail Industry’s Coronavirus Resilience Plan.

Federation of Independent Retailers launches its Shop Local Shop Little Heroes Awards to shine a spotlight on the retail heroes who have been doing a fantastic job in keeping local people safe and fed in unprecedented times.

London Northwestern Railway is encouraging customers unable to travel due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions to claim their season ticket refunds online.