London Northwestern Railway honours Bedford's bell-ringing heritage with train name

Monday, 27 July 2026

London Northwestern Railway (LNR) has named a train on the Marston Vale Line following a partnership with a local college.

The train, which operates between Bletchley and Bedford, has been named ‘Bedford Belle’ in honour of the bell tower within Bedford’s historic St Paul’s Church. The first record of bell ringing at St Paul’s was written in 1582, and this historic practice is still active today.

The competition was held in partnership with Bedford College. Students with identified learning difficulties and/or disabilities from the college’s ‘Steps To Independence' programme were invited to submit name ideas to be judged by an expert panel from LNR.

This marks the third train on the Marston Vale Line to be given a name, with the other two trains serving the line already officially titled “Bletchley Codebreakers” and “Brickfield Breeze”.

Cara Higgs, community strategy manager at LNR, said: “We were pleased to work with Bedford College to name the third train on our popular Marston Vale Line. The students came up with fantastic ideas linked with the local heritage of the area and we felt Bedford Belle had a particularly nice ring to it.”

Diana Stammers, lecturer at Bedford College, said: “It was a fantastic opportunity for our students to be involved in choosing the name for a train running on the Marston Vale Line. The students involved often travel on this train as part of their course and will now be able to say their college had a hand in creating the Bedford Belle."

The Class 150 train – unit number 150139 for Bedford Belle - was formally named during a special ceremony at Bletchley station with attendees from Bedford College and LNR.

About London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway

For further information on this release, email [email protected]

• London Northwestern Railway services operate between Liverpool and Birmingham, and on the West Coast Main Line to and from London Euston.

• West Midlands Railway services operate to destinations across the West Midlands via Birmingham New Street and Birmingham Snow Hill.

For more information on these services visit westmidlandsrailway.co.uk or londonnorthwesternrailway.co.uk

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