Marston Vale Line disruption - 14/08/25

[DarloRich]

This morning there seems to have been disruption on the Marston Vale line which spilled over onto the WCML. It seems there was an operating incident involving 2 freight trains and the single track section between Fenny Stratford & Bletchley. There is also a suggestion of a signal failure.

MV trains were cancelled with one stuck at Bedford. WCML trains were delayed because a car train couldn't turn off onto the branch line and I noted the Network Rail MOM at Bletchley

Does anyone know what was going on? It all seems very strange!

 

[zwk500]

MV trains were cancelled with one struck at Bedford.

Hopefully this is a typo?

It's incredibly strange, 6M77 reported passing Bletchley at 0548 and then Fenny Stratford at 0738.

Realtime Trains | 6M77 0419 Acton T.C. to Forders Sdgs | 14/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 6M77 0419 departure from Acton T.C. to Forders Sdgs on 14/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

6Z76 reported passing Fenny Stratford at 0551 and then Bletchley at 0731

Realtime Trains | 6Z76 0310 Mountsorrel Sdgs to Wembley Receptions 1-7 | 14/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 6Z76 0310 departure from Mountsorrel Sdgs to Wembley Receptions 1-7 on 14/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

Both trains are described as Aggregates trains with 2000 tonnes or more trailing load. 6M77 does not appear to have blocked the junction as a movement from Bletchley CS to Tring departed Bletchley P5 at 0621

 

[DarloRich]

Hopefully this is a typo?

correct -good spot!

 

[Bletchleyite]

From a glance it appears to have knackered getting the Bletchley starters off the depot/carriage sidings which has meant a bit of disruption to the Tring semifasts and by extension the MKC stoppers which interwork with them (good job I didn't go to London today, I was going to!) but it seems not to have massively affected the Birmingham/Crewes or Avanti? There do seem to be some Avanti delays but I don't see how they could be related.

I wonder did they later get the units out for the Trings by sending them north to MKC and reversing rather than the usual south through P5? There don't seem to be many cancellations.

 

[zwk500]

From a glance it appears to have knackered getting the Bletchley starters off the depot/carriage sidings which has meant a bit of disruption to the Tring semifasts and by extension the MKC stoppers which interwork with them (good job I didn't go to London today, I was going to!) but it seems not to have massively affected the Birmingham/Crewes or Avanti? There do seem to be some Avanti delays but I don't see how they could be related.

RTT suggests there was not a significant impact on getting trains out of Bletchley CS.

Realtime Trains | Departures from Bletchley C.S. all day on 14/08/2025

Train information at Bletchley C.S. all day on 14/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

I wonder did they later get the units out for the Trings by sending them north to MKC and reversing rather than the usual south through P5? There don't seem to be many cancellations.

5T00 reported at Bletchley P5 as normal.

Realtime Trains | 5T00 0615 Bletchley C.S. to Tring | 14/08/2025

Real-time train running information for 5T00 0615 departure from Bletchley C.S. to Tring on 14/08/2025. From Realtime Trains, an independent source of train running info for Great Britain.

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

6M77 appears to have been routed via P6 (as booked) hence leaving the route from the CS to P5 open, although potentially blocking the TMD sidings. There was only 1 Tring ECS that ran late, and that appears to have got caught up more in the late-running freight afterwards than the operational incident itself.

 

[87015]

6M77 appears to have been routed via P6 (as booked) hence leaving the route from the CS to P5 open, although potentially blocking the TMD sidings. There was only 1 Tring ECS that ran late, and that appears to have got caught up more in the late-running freight afterwards than the operational incident itself.

And in doing so blocking the route for 6Z76 through p6, which had already been run early into the single line…

 

[DarloRich]

To clarify @87015 :

Stone train from the Bedford direction allowed to pass Bow Birckhill and enter the single line section with another train heading for Bedford blocking it's path south in P6.

I assume the trains were therefore to long to pass on the double track section outside the depot and the NR MOM had to come to help move the trains to a position that allowed the system to be freed up?

 

[Bletchleyite]

6M77 appears to have been routed via P6 (as booked) hence leaving the route from the CS to P5 open, although potentially blocking the TMD sidings. There was only 1 Tring ECS that ran late, and that appears to have got caught up more in the late-running freight afterwards than the operational incident itself.

It does however appear that the 0656 Bletchley-Euston, which is a pair of 730/2s run from the depot rather than the CS, was cancelled as a result.

As an aside it's a real pain that when that happens (as it has a fair bit of late due to 730 problems) the 0650 ECS to Tring isn't run in service as a substitute as I can see no reason it couldn't be, unless the guard on that (which it does have) is considered to be on a break and it would otherwise take them over their hours to do so. While it wasn't strictly necessary in terms of the overall service when things were running properly those trains were all in service under the pre-2018 timetable rather than only some of them, particularly as in this case the 0705 Bletchley starter was also canned, meaning no slow until the "regular interval" stopper at 0735.

 

[800001]

Comment below from a LNWR guard at Bletchley, who was on duty this morning.

Signaller messed up and got 2 freights stuck over each other's sets of points that they needed to use

 

[richieb1971]

I'm guessing the freight from Bedford should have been held at Bow Brickhill on the Marston Vale double track section until Bletchley station was clear?

A freight train south of Bletchley on the down slow was held for a long time blocking the down services?