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Rail replacement bus to Bletchley

I was hoping to go to Bletchley Park from Euston on Easter Monday, 6 April.

It seems that the normal trains are not operating, I think due to track work. There is a mention of rail replacement buses, but when I search some of the train booking sites like London Northwestern Railways, they suggest a series of buses and trains taking many hours.

Would there be likely to be a rail replacement bus that follows the normal train route and goes relatively directly to Bletchley?
Or any suggestions for alternative routes? Or should I give up on the idea :(

Thanks

Posted by
657 posts

Bletchley is very special. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer here you might email them directly.

Posted by
11222 posts

Yes, rail engineering work. No trains at all running - even the slow overground lines from Euston, or the trains from St Albans- this will be a major bus replacement operation.

Traditionally there is no bus replacement from Euston to Watford Junction, except on overnight services, due to alternative London bus routes existing, but that will take a very long time.

So the arrangement is to take Thameslink from St Pancras to Potters Bar, for a RR bus which runs to Watford Junction then follows the railway all the way north, calling all stations. It takes 2 1/2 hours from Potters Bar to Bletchley because the local roads don't follow the railway, so the bus keeps zigzagging to get to all the stations.

I think the most obvious route is the hourly National Express bus from London Victoria to Milton Keynes Coachway (journey time 90 minutes), then a 20 minute/8 mile taxi ride- no direct bus runs from the Coachway to Bletchley.

The other option (faster and more frequent) is Thameslink or East Midlands Trains from St Pancras to Bedford (40 minutes on a fast train), for a 40 minute RRB ride to Milton Keynes Central, then taxi or the Potters Bar bound RRB 1 stop south (13 minute ride) to Bletchley.

That is the ticketed route - taking 1 hour 49 minutes - 15 minutes past the hour from St Pancras 7 minute change at Bedford and 7 minute change at Milton Keynes Central, northbound, 9 minutes past the hour returning with a 17 minute change at Milton Keynes Central and a 14 minute change at Bedford.

Posted by
136 posts

Thank you so much isn31c. I would never have worked that out myself :)

It sounds like all of the options are quite lengthy, so I may need to reconsider my planned day trip. I’m also imagining buses being held up with Easter traffic, if that’s an issue around London.