255 New Year Changes

Last time Wren Kitchens changed their shift arrangements at their Barton HQ, I said that there were positives and negatives for other travellers between Barton and Hull, and from Sunday 2nd January it will be the same again as service 255 between Barton and Hull is revised. There are also some positives for travel within the City of Hull.

However first of all, the 255 gained three extra Monday to Friday journeys from Monday 8th November; they never made it to the Stagecoach pdf timetable or got a formal announcement on the Stagecoach website, but did get onto bustimes.org. Journeys added were at 1325 from Hull Interchange (temporarily restoring the 15 minute frequency from Hull to Barton for 90 minutes between 1240 and 1410) and at 1450 and 2320 from Wren Kitchens in Barton.

Returning to the 2nd January changes, and Monday to Saturday they are as follows:

• The Tuesday to Friday only 0345 from Barton Wren Kitchens to the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction in Hull is extended to North Bransholme and operates daily.
• The 0550 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Barton Wren Kitchens now starts back in North Bransholme at 0520, serving North Point at 0535. This somewhat fills the gap between the 0435 255 from North Point via Sutton Park to Paragon Interchange (and beyond to Barton) and the 0553 first service 8 of the day from North Point via Sutton Park.
• The 0620 from Barton Wren Kitchens to the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction is retimed to 0545 and extended to North Bransholme. The current 0620 does get some use from Barton, so these passengers will have to either travel 35 minutes earlier or use slightly later 250 or 350 journeys.
• The 0805 from Hull Paragon Interchange to Barton Wren Kitchens now starts in North Bransholme at 0720.
• The Monday to Friday only 1325 from Paragon Interchange to Barton Wren Kitchens now departs at 1335 - no doubt better for a 1430 start at Wren, but creates an unfortunate 25-5 minute interval in the Hull to Barton timetable.
• The Monday to Friday only 1450 from Barton Wren Kitchens is extended to North Bransholme.
• The Monday to Friday only 1530 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Barton Wren Kitchens will also operate on Saturdays.
• The 1645 from the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction to Barton Wren Kitchens will start at Paragon Interchange at 1705 instead; this does remove the current situation of a 1700 250 and 1700 255 leaving the Interchange at the same time.
• The Monday to Friday only 1710 from Barton Wren Kitchens to the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction in Hull is extended to North Bransholme and also operates on Saturdays.
• The 1750 from Barton Wren Kitchens to the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction in Hull is extended to North Bransholme. The last service 7 from Hull Paragon Interchange is at 1747, whereas the 255 departs at 1830 so this could be a useful slightly later link from Beverley Road to Bransholme and North Bransholme. It also fits is relatively well between the 1810 and 1910 service 8's from Paragon Interchange to Sutton Park.
• The 1830 from Hull Paragon Interchange to Barton Wren Kitchens is withdrawn; there is a 1835 service 350 as an alternative. 
• The 1920 from Barton Wren Kitchens to the Beverley Road/Clough Road junction in Hull is withdrawn.
• There is a new Monday to Saturday 2235 from Hull Paragon Interchange to Barton Wren Kitchens - this is very welcome as the current last service from Hull to Barton is at 2020.
• The Monday to Friday only 2320 from Barton Wren Kitchens is extended to North Bransholme and also operates on Saturdays. Probably not the intention, but this journey is the closest service to a nightbus in Hull now, and departs Hull Truck Theatre at 0000.

A more general side-effect of these changes are more services between Hull Royal Infirmary, Beverley Road, Sutton Park, Bransholme and North Bransholme - again probably not intentional but welcome.

On Sundays the 255 is withdrawn entirely apart from a new 0345 from Barton Wren Kitchens to North Bransholme. This means there is now no arrival from Barton into Hull between 0425 and 1025, and the return of the three hour gap in departures from Hull to Barton between 1530 and 1830.