Oxford Mail first reported renewed calls for the roughly £7bn East West Rail project to make a stop at Universal United Kingdom Resort near Bedford. The issue matters because East West Rail is already being planned with the resort in mind, and access by rail will help shape how visitors and staff reach the site when it opens in 2031.
East West Rail’s Bedfordshire guidance says the resort will be served by a new station at Stewartby, while government has said the line will help serve the upcoming Universal theme park and support wider regional growth across the Oxford to Cambridge corridor.
Stewartby is already built into the plans
The railway’s latest consultation says it is proposing four fully accessible stations on the Marston Vale line, including Stewartby, and that the station’s proposed location has already been moved further north to improve access to the resort while reducing impacts elsewhere. East West Rail says the route between Bletchley and Bedford will be upgraded as part of that work.
Those plans have also been adjusted around expected demand from Universal UK. East West Rail says that is one reason it is considering longer trains and a possible fifth service in the busiest hours, and why some parts of the Marston Vale work and the new Stewartby station would be brought forward so the railway can support the resort as soon as it opens.
Westminster is already watching the access question
The resort’s transport link has already reached Parliament. In January, a minister said that, when it comes to the new Universal theme park, the government is investing in rail networks such as East West Rail at Stewartby. That underlines how closely the railway and the Bedford site are now tied together.
The next formal milestone is East West Rail’s Development Consent Order application, which the company says it plans to submit in 2027. Until then, the detailed shape of the Bedford-side route — and whether more pressure builds for a direct stop at the resort itself — remains open.
