1. History
    Accidents and incidents 

2. Layout and facilities

3. East West route
    Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership  Future  Proposed entrance from Saxon Street  Development to 2025 

4. Ticket office opening hours

5. Services

6. Location

7. See also

8. References
    Notes 

9. External links

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| gridref = SP868337
| original = London and Birmingham Railway
| pregroup = London and North Western Railway
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}}

Bletchley is a railway station that serves the southern parts of Milton Keynes, England (especially Bletchley itself), and the north-eastern parts of the Buckinghamshire district of Aylesbury Vale. It is 47 miles (75 km) northwest of {{rws|Euston}}, about 32 miles (51 km) east of {{rws|Oxford}} and 17 miles (27 km) west of {{rws|Bedford}}.

It includes junctions of the West Coast Main Line with the Bletchley-Bedford Marston Vale Line and the disused Bletchley-Oxford Varsity line.

This is one of the six railway stations serving the Milton Keynes urban area.{{efn|The others are {{rws|Milton Keynes Central}}, {{rws|Wolverton}}, {{rws|Fenny Stratford}}, {{rws|Bow Brickhill}}, and {{rws|Woburn Sands}}}}

It is the nearest main line station for Bletchley Park, the World War II codebreaking centre, and also serves Stadium MK, the home of Milton Keynes Dons F.C., at present{{efn|(2017). When the proposed entrance from Saxon Street opens, this will be roughly halved}} a 30-minute walk. Fenny Stratford station, on the Marston Vale Line (a limited service branch line) is closer.^[2]

History

The London and Birmingham Railway, now part of the "West Coast Main Line", was officially opened from Euston as far as {{rws|Denbigh Hall}} (approximately one mile north of Bletchley station) on 9 April 1838, where a temporary station was built. The line was fully opened in September 1838, and there seemed no apparent need for a station in the Bletchley area at all. It was not until 1846 that Bletchley station was built following the opening of the line from Bedford. Originally a major intercity station, that role passed to Milton Keynes Central in 1982 when the latter was built, long after the east–west route had been downgraded, taking Bletchley's importance as a junction with it. Today, no Virgin Trains stop at Bletchley.

The eastward route (to {{rws|Bedford St Johns}}) opened in 1846,^[3] and the first station at Bletchley was built. The westward route (to {{rws|Buckingham}}) opened in 1850. This east–west route subsequently became the Oxford – {{rws|Cambridge}} "Varsity Line".

Accidents and incidents

• On 14 October 1939, an express passenger train was in a collision with another train. Five people were killed and more than 30 were injured.^[4]

Layout and facilities

There are six platforms in use here, numbered 1 to 6 from west to east. Platforms 1 and 2 serve the fast lines used by Virgin West Coast expresses that do not stop here and consequently normally see little or no use. They are only used if the slow lines are out of service for engineering work or other exceptional events. Platforms 3 and 4 serve the slow lines and are used by London Northwestern Railway services between Euston and {{rws|Northampton}} and Birmingham New Street, along with Southern's Milton Keynes Central to {{rws|East Croydon}} trains. Platforms 5 and 6 are located on the eastern side and are the only ones that give access to the Marston Vale line to Bedford, (though they can also be used by main line trains from Milton Keynes Central). Bedford trains normally start and terminate in platform 6, but can use platform 5 if required. There are carriage sidings to the north of the station (along with the now closed train maintenance depot), whilst the high level flyover carrying the former Varsity Line towards Oxford crosses the main lines to the south. The main buildings and station entrance are located on the west (Bletchley Park) side of the complex, off Sherwood Drive.^[5]

There are ticket barriers controlling access to the platforms.

East West route

As well as being on the national north–south West Coast Main Line, Bletchley is also on the east–west former Cambridge–Oxford Varsity line, though {{as of|2018|November|lc=y}} only the central section, the Marston Vale line, between Bletchley and Bedford and the section between Oxford and {{rws|Bicester Village}} are open for passenger services.

Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership

Bletchley, in common with other stations on this line, is covered by the Marston Vale Community Rail Partnership, which aims to promote the line by encouraging local users to take an active interest in it.^[6]

Future

The high level crossing over the WCML, officially named the "Bletchley Flyover" and comprising seven {{convert|56|ft|abbr=on}} spans and built in 1959 as part of the British Rail Modernisation Plan, by-passes Bletchley station. At the time it was expected to carry as many as 80 trains a day^[7] and though it remains in place it is not in use. There is a funded, scheduled, plan to re-open this route to passenger traffic via Bicester to Oxford by 2025 and an unfunded plan to re-open the entire route between Oxford and Cambridge. In the view of Milton Keynes Council, a key element of the plan is to build high level platforms at Bletchley so that passengers may transfer between the lines.^[8]

Proposed entrance from Saxon Street

As part of a project to regenerate Bletchley as a whole, Milton Keynes Council has proposed the creation of a new eastern pedestrian access to the station by extending the existing platform overbridge across the tracks to reach Saxon Street. The proposed eastern entrance is to open out into a new station square and a transport interchange where an at-grade pedestrian crossing across Saxon Street would give access to the town centre and bus station.^[8] In the longer term it is planned to construct an underground concourse to link the eastern and western station entrances.^[8]

Development to 2025

Following approval on 29 November 2011 of the western section of East West Rail between Oxford and Bedford via Bletchley, the route was expected to open in 2019.^{[9][10][11][12]} The plan provides for new high level platforms to be built on the flyover as the line has no direct route through the existing station without reversing.^[13]

On 7 July 2014, the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership announced that the Government had allocated £64.6 million funding for various projects that includes a £1.5 million contribution towards the cost of this work.^[14] However, {{As of|October 2018|lc=y}}, work on the high-level platforms or the Saxon Street entrance had yet to begin.

In July 2017, Network Rail began a public consultation on the details of its proposals for the Bicester–Bedford section of East West Rail.^[15] The consultation documents provide detailed drawings for the high-level platforms but do not include any details about the station itself.^[16]{{efn|There is, however, an artist's impression of the upgraded station on the East West Rail Ltd web site.^[17]}} In December 2017, the Transport Minister Chris Grayling announced to a press conference at Bletchley Park that a new private sector company, the East West Railway Company, was being established to build and operate the line.^[18][19]

Ticket office opening hours

In mid September 2012, the Transport Minister Norman Baker announced in a 'written answer' that the Government has approved London Midland's request to reduce the opening hours of the ticket office, so that the station will close at 21:00 on Mondays and 20:00 on Tuesdays to Fridays.^[20] Defending the Government's decision to reduce the opening hours here and at {{rws|Wolverton}}, local MPs Iain Stewart and Mark Lancaster said that most passengers use ticket machines to buy or retrieve their tickets.^[20] Speaking for the opposition Cooperative and Labour Party, prospective parliamentary candidate Andrew Pakes called it the "thin end of the wedge", that it would put into question the opening hours of the station toilets and waiting room.^[20]

Services

Southwards, London Northwestern Railway operate services to {{rws|Watford Junction}} and London Euston (3 per hour off-peak). {{As of|July 2016}}, Southern runs a restricted service on the West London Route to {{rws|East Croydon}} via the West London Line. Northwards, both operators run services to Milton Keynes Central, with London Northwestern Railway continuing on to {{rws|Northampton}}, {{rws|Rugby}} and {{rws|Birmingham New Street}}.^[21]

There is also one train to and from Crewe on weekdays. Additional London Northwestern Railway services to/from Euston start and terminate here during the rush hour.

Services also operate hourly between Bletchley and {{rws|Bedford}} on the Marston Vale Line on Monday to Saturday only.^[22]

Location

zoom in
Mapping © OpenStreetMap contributors }}

The station is on Sherwood Drive in Old Bletchley, near the B4034. The nearest post-code is MK3 6DZ.^[23] In the chainage notation traditionally used on the railway, its location on the West Coast Main Line is {{convert|46|mi|54|ch|mi km|2|lk=on}} from Euston;^[24] to Oxford on the former Varsity line the distance is {{convert|31|mi|48|ch|mi km|2}};^[25][24]{{efn|31 miles 22 chains from Bletchley south junction to {{rws|Oxford Rewley Road}} ^[25] plus 16 chains from Bletchley south junction to Bletchley station.^[24]}} and to Bedford it is {{convert|16|mi|51|ch|mi km|2}}.^[26]

See also

• Bletchley Traction Maintenance Depot

References

Notes

External links

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