The tracks open, but your going by bus

Thats whats passengers who travel on the first Barton Line service of the day look set to be told. As regular readers of this blog will know, I have expressed doubt that there will be an available train to operate the first Cleethorpes-Barton and return service of the day during the Scunthorpe-Doncaster rail blockade. After contacting the Friends of the Barton Line they have said it's looking likely the service will be operated by a bus.

This totally undermines efforts to develop the line - not the way to attract regular passengers when you have services being needlessly being replaced by buses.

The situation has to be looked at in a wider perspective. Transpennine Express operate the first service of the day with one of their Class 185 trains. During the Scunthorpe-Doncaster blockade this summer they will not operate any services to Cleethorpes - despite the Cleethorpes to Scunthorpe section of the line being open - and therefore have no train at Cleethorpes to operate the Barton service with.

Transpennine Express provide a train to Northern Rail, whose service it is. They do not have a spare unit it appears to operate one service a day with - understandable since it would be a waste of a train for it to operate for just two hours a day.

Having got my suspicions confirmed, time for a few emails to be sent. Not that I suspect it will acheive anything but my arrangements for passengers during the Scunthorpe to Doncaster rail blockade are being done on the cheap with very little regard being paid to what is best for passengers.