The
start of
train
services
between
Bicester,
Bletchley
and
Milton
Keynes
is
set
to
be
delayed
until
later
this
year,
although
test
trains
ran
successfully
on
the
line
last
October.

The
Department
for
Transport
had
already
announced
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.

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.

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