I attended a further meeting with the Rail Minister, train operating companies and regional MPs, to receive an update on progress being made to reopen the railway between Bedford and Luton.
Following my suggestions in Parliament, the minister confirmed that additional services will be stopping in Arlesey during peak hours during this recovery phase.
The current expectation is that the line will reopen on Monday next week (29/06). It isn’t known yet whether it will be a full service from day one, but we have asked that the timetable is confirmed before the weekend.
The recovery is a huge operation, involving building a temporary access road, the removal of overhead wires, cranes to lift the carriages away, and the replacement of around 600m of track (all whilst preserving evidence for the investigations).
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch issued its interim report, which we were briefed on. The final report will follow and this may take some time to complete.
