Campaign urges Universal to back reopening Northampton–Bedford line

A transport campaign group wants Universal to support reopening the former Northampton–Bedford railway. Personally, I think it’s a daft idea, and I can’t see it happening.

The British Regional Transport Association (BRTA) has written to Universal arguing that the resort could attract even more visitors than current projections suggest, putting extra pressure on surrounding roads.

Better rail connections would certainly benefit visitors and employees. But before talking about reopening an entire former route, surely we should properly investigate connecting the railways we already have?

Northampton already has a rail connection to Bletchley. Bletchley already has a railway towards Bedford, passing through the area where Universal is being built. What’s missing is a connection allowing trains from the Northampton direction to turn towards Bedford without reversing.

That connecting curve is called a railway chord — specifically, the Bletchley north‑east chord.

Without it, a through train using this route would need to reverse direction at Bletchley, with the driver changing ends before continuing towards Bedford.

This isn’t a new suggestion, either. The East West Main Line Partnership has already called for the chord to be developed, alongside additional track and station capacity.

Of course, it wouldn’t simply be a case of putting a bend in the track. Space is constrained, and previous feasibility work has identified limited options and potentially very high costs. It would need proper assessment, enough capacity and a workable timetable.

Even so, I would expect connecting two existing railways to cost substantially less than reinstating the entire former Northampton–Bedford route. A proper comparison would need to establish that, but it seems the obvious place to start.

The former route isn’t sitting there ready for trains to return. Reopening it would require track to be reinstated and the infrastructure needed to operate a modern railway.

Then there’s the timescale.

Universal is targeting a 2031 opening, leaving roughly five years. Personally, I find it very difficult to believe that the former Northampton–Bedford line could be planned, funded, approved, rebuilt and carrying passengers within that window.

The Bletchley chord would also need design work, funding and approvals, so there’s no guarantee that it could be ready by 2031 either. But to me, connecting existing railways looks a more realistic starting point than reopening an entire former route.

Going via Bletchley would be a longer journey than using a restored direct line. That matters, but so do cost and delivery time.

My view is that spending vast sums reopening the former route would be an irresponsible waste of money if the Bletchley connection could provide the services needed. We should establish whether that alternative works before pursuing a much bigger undertaking.

Would you investigate the Bletchley chord first, or do you think restoring the direct Northampton–Bedford line would justify the investment?