Serious damage occurred during World War II when a bomb destroyed the booking hall's glass ceiling.

The current station was built to replace it and was opened by Sir Peter Parker (chairman of BR) on 9 October 1978.

[4] Although the intention was for what remained of the old awnings to be transferred to the Midland Railway at Butterley in Derbyshire it proved impossible to save them.

By 1983, Midland Main Line electrification under British Rail reached Bedford, and Class 317 electric multiple units began running to Moorgate.

The Luton Airport Express is run by East Midlands Railway, and became an official separate brand for their "Connect" service in 2023.

Occasional “EMR Intercity” services do call at Bedford during the peak hours and on Sunday mornings to Nottingham and Leicester without requiring a connection at Kettering.

[8] London Northwestern Railway operates local services to Bletchley via the Marston Vale line using Class 150[9] units.

The station will be the eastern terminus for Phase 2 of East West Rail, a plan to reopen the railway from Oxford and Aylesbury.

As of November 2020[update], extension to Cambridge and East Anglia via "a new station in the Tempsford area" is planned but not scheduled.