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Herts and Beds

We are an integral part of Railfuture's London and South East regional branch. We aim to be the leading independent advocate for the rail industry and rail users in Hertfordshire & Bedfordshire, working closely and co-operatively with Rail User Groups, Community Rail Partnerships and other stakeholders in the area.

Activities


Meetings are held approximately monthly. For 2023, our plan is that each quarter we will have two Zoom meetings (each for 60 to 75 minutes) and one in-person meeting (which will alternate between in Hertfordshire/Bedfordshire and near Kings Cross / Euston in Central London (for around 90 minutes or so. Our next meetings will be:
  • Saturday 27th April at 11:00 - in person, St Paul's Church, Hatfield Road, St Albans, AL1 4JP (What3Words).
  • Wednesday 29th May at 19:30 on Zoom.
  • Thursday 27th June at 19:30 on Zoom.
Zoom has been working well as a means of keeping in touch and abreast of developments on the railway, with GTR, Herts CC & Luton BC representatives and colleagues from neighbouring East Anglia, East Midlands and Thames Valley branches regularly participating. Email the Herts & Beds Division Convener Neil Middleton - neil.middleton@railfuture.org.uk - for an invite and to be added to the local email distribution list.

Topics for our meetings have ranged over new timetables, ticketing issues, engineering works, performance, thoughts about aspirations for the post-GTR era, reactions to the prospect of Great Northern Metro (ie Moorgate) services being devolved by the DfT to TfL, ticketing, and fares.

Area


Within our Herts & Beds Division there are seven Rail User Groups affiliated to Railfuture:


The local Community Rail Partnerships in our area, under the auspices of the Bedfordshire Rural Communities Charity, are:


Our Local Government interactions are mainly with Hertfordshire County Council and the three unitary authorities in Bedfordshire: Bedford Borough, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton.  But we interact with all levels of local Government as needed and also lobby England’s Economic Heartland – the local Sub National Transport Authority.

Campaigns & Consultations


  • Marston Vale Line's missing trains - read our Press Release, issued 16 February 2023.
  • The East Coast Mainline Timetable - awaiting the next timetable consultation; in the meantime, see Railfuture's response to GTR for the May 2022 ECML Timetable: see the subsequent national Press Release and the Railfuture submission (a single reply, with TOC specific content) ~ August 2021.*Hertfordshire Essex Rapid Transit (HERT) “will be a new, sustainable passenger transport network. It will carry more people than a car but will be more convenient and reliable than a traditional bus” ~ Our Submission: view; download ~ January 2022
  • Luton Borough Council's consultation on its draft Local Transport Plan – their presentation to us and our consultation response ~ November 2020.
  • Read An open letter from Railfuture Herts and Beds Division on Passenger and Taxpayer needs regarding the possible move of Great Northern 'Inner' Services to TfL ~ September 2020).
  • Hertfordshire County Council Rail Strategy: We submitted a response on this ~ March 2020.

The wider perspective


Stay up-to-date with all Railfuture and other events here and other key rail dates here.

Catch up with other London & South East rail development campaigning news in the regional branch newsletter railse here. Also subscribe there to the branch's monthly e-newsletter inter-railse.
 

Take Part


We campaign for sustainable growth in market share for rail transport. Therefore we support initiatives which will improve the attraction of rail and create a successful, financially secure rail industry: sufficient capacity, efficient customer service, simpler fares, improved connectivity, faster schedules, network enhancements and improved competitiveness with other modes of transport. If you share these ideals please contact us. We welcome new members, and people to share practical ideas and to help put plans into action.
 

Some History


 The Division was formed in 2014 and used to meet in person in St. Albans approximately quarterly.
 

Contact


Email Herts & Beds Division Convener Neil Middleton: neil.middleton at railfuture.org.uk

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