EYMS Christmas/New Year service 2009

It's that time of year again - Christmas and New Year service plans are being made public, and EYMS are first. More detail on this link, but a quick summary:

Christmas Eve - Normal Thursday service with early finish
Christmas Day - No services will operate
Boxing Day - Usual limited hourly daytime service on route 34 (Hull-Willerby), 56 (Hull-Longhill) and 64 (Hull-Cottingham-Willerby)
Sunday 27th - Normal Sunday service
Monday 28th (Bank Holiday) - A normal Sunday service

Now it starts to get a bit complicated, mainly due to Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday only shopper services ...

Tuesday 29th and Wednesday 30th - A Saturday service except:
106 and 107 (Nightbuses) - No service
182 (Beverley-Hessle) - the 1430 departure from Beverley shall not operate
196/198/199 in the Pocklington area shall run a normal Tuesday and Wednesday service
270 (Driffield-Beeford) shall operate a normal weekday service
350 (Humber Fastcat) - A normal weekday service shall operate (this is a Saturday service with an extra early morning journey)
700 and 701 (Hull Park and Ride) - A normal weekday service shall operate
747 (Pocklington to Hull) - A normal weekday service shall operate
X47 (Hull-York) - The Friday and Saturday only journeys shall not run

The following shall run on Tuesday as normal, but not on Wednesday:
134 Driffield-Skerne
S1/S2/S3 Market Weighton area services
Service 135 from Driffield to Sledmere shall not operate on Wednesday, and on Tuesday only the 0910 and 1140 departures from Driffield shall operate

The following shall run on Wednesday as normal, but not on Tuesday:
124 Driffield-Bridlington
143 Melton-Beverley
160/162 Goole area services
241 Aldbrough-Beverley

Onto New Years Eve (Thursday 31st) and a Saturday service with late finishes shall operate except:
Normal Thursday service on routes 124 and 134 in the Driffield area
Normal weekday service on routes 270 and 747
Normal weekday service on route 350 with early finish
Normal weekday service on park and ride routes 700 and 701
No services on nightbuses 106 and 107
No service on routes 143, 160 and 162
The Friday and Saturday only journeys on route X47 shall not operate, nor will the 2335 departure from Beverley
The 1430 departure from Beverley on route 182 shall not operate
Only the 0910 and 1140 departures from Driffield shall operate on service 135

New Years Day - No service
Saturday 2nd January - Back to normal!!!

Finally one odd thing about the Christmas Eve/New Years Eve early finishes. On the 350 (Humber Fastcat), the 2110 from Scunthorpe and 2125 shall not run. However the buses for these journeys will be in Scunthorpe/Hull respectively from working their previous journey, and will need to return 'home' to Hull/Scunthorpe. So why not run them 'home' in service?

New train service from Goole to London

With December's new rail timetable, First Hull Trains are moving their Sunday 10:12 departure forward to leave an hour earlier at 09:10. However instead of taking the normal route via Howden and Selby, this service will route via Goole, and call at the town's station. No services from London will be routed via Goole.

Wednesday's Yorkshire Post reported this was due a signal box not opening early enough for this service in the Selby area, and that talks are underway with Network Rail to open the signal box earlier to enable the service to take the normal route via Selby in the future. So the people of Goole better take advantage of their link to London while they can.

Deja Vu - Humber Flyer under threat again

Earlier this year, Stagecoach relaunched the Humber Flyer bus service between Hull, Humberside Airport, Grimsby and Cleethorpes. The New Waltham extension was dropped, a new route introduced between Grimsby and Cleethorpes, Volvo B10B's cascaded onto the service and a 'technical' break in the route introduced at Humberside Airport. Overall it seemed like a good set of changes, and from my observations of the Humber Flyer in Hull generally it gets good loadings.

Now though this politically sensitive route is under threat. Since Stagecoach originally planned to axe it in 2005/6, the service has been operated with financial support from North East Lincolnshire Council (£10,000 per year), North Lincolnshire Council, Humberside Airport and Hull City Council. However for 2009/10 no funding has been provided by the 4 partners.

Without this funding, Stagecoach is threatening to withdraw the service blaming high mileage and high bridge tolls. Despite 35% toll reductions it still pays £47,800 a year in tolls to the bridge board.

The Humber Flyer provides the only direct bus service between North East Lincolnshire and Hull. providing access to the Hull Royal Infirmary as well as Hull City Centre. Should the Humber Flyer be withdrawn, passengers will need to catch a bus or train to Barton, and change onto the other bus service over the Humber Bridge, the 350 Humber Fastcat service. In complete contrast to the Humber Flyer, this service saw a frequency increase and relaunch earlier this year.

The link to Hull Royal Infirmary is particularly sensitive with the transfer of many NHS services from the south bank to Hull, and the need for car travellers to pay bridge tolls to access them. For some at least, the bus is cheaper than the fuel, bridge toll and car parking costs of driving.

The Humber Flyer is also the only bus service to Humberside Airport, Great Limber and Keelby. Great Limber and Keelby do have access to Call Connect Plus and RuralLinc demand responsive services, but surely Keelby at least deserves a 'fixed' service into Grimsby. As for the airport, it would be very poor not to have any bus service calling at it.

Hopefully a solution will be found, almost certainly involving the 4 funding partners providing their share of the funding for 2009/10. Maybe Stagecoach could find ways to reduce the cost of the service, though their comments about high mileage do make sense. Between Laceby and Hull, the service only passes through three villages (Keelby, Great Limber and Melton Ross) plus Humberside Airport. For a large part of the route the dual carriageway A15 is used. This means there is very little opportunity to pick up passengers, and certainly doesn't help make 'the books balance'.

And this threat by Stagecoach also links into the bridge toll debate. There maybe a 25% reduction for buses, but if tolls were reduced to a nominal charge (£1 for cars), bus tolls would similarly reduce to a nominal level, a far bigger reduction than the current 35% discount. But should buses, as public transport, pay at all for bridge use?

This service is too important to loose. A solution needs to be found, and quickly.

Councils cut funding for Kirton evening service

As expected the evening service on service 353 between Scunthorpe, Scotter and Kirton on Fridays and Saturdays was withdrawn after last weekend when the service became route 103. North Lincolnshire Council decided to pull the funding, primarily due to the high cost per passenger (£6.61) of the subsidy they were paying operator Stagecoach. The average 9 passengers per trip were also travelling for reasons not considered as priority.

Lincolnshire County Council provided 25% of the funding for the evening service and they had no objections to the withdrawal.

You can read the detailed North Lincolnshire Council report recommending the withdrawal here.

Stagecoach 94/366 changes - details

The expected changes to service 94 and 366 between Scunthorpe, Brigg and Lime Sidings have now been made public by Stagecoach. From 2nd November, the 94 will be split into two services; the 95 between Scunthorpe and Brigg, and the 94 between Brigg and Lime Sidings (Glentham on Saturdays). Though unless it is to avoid confusion for passengers in Scawby, I'm not sure what this acheives.

Anyway the new 95 seems to be largely the current 365 route between Scunthorpe and Brigg, operating via Ashby, Lakeside and Scawby (not sure about Sturton). Currently the 94 operates directly between Scunthorpe and Brigg, via just Lakeside. The remaining 94 between Brigg and Lime Sidings via Scawby, Sturton, Hibaldstow and Redbourne does not appear to have a changed route. Overall this new 95 route maintain links from Scawby to Ashby and from North Greetwell to Ashby and Scunthorpe, as well as providing a direct Scawby to Scunthorpe service (as opposed to the current 94 route via Brigg).

The new timetable for the 94/95 still offers the same number of services from Lime Sidings, Redbourne, Hibalsdstow and Sturton to Scunthorpe, though there is one less service a day to/from Brigg on schooldays.

As for Scawby, there is an extra late afternoon return service (1625 from Brigg/1735 from Scunthorpe) on service 95 only. The 1735 from Scunthorpe provides a peak time link currently provided by service 365. The morning peak service is provided by a diversion to new service 909 that also caters for college students in Scunthorpe. There is also an afternoon return on service 909 for college students, but this runs in college holidays as well as college days.

If you've followed all that well done. Basically Scawby keeps the current basic daytime service on route 94/95, with some new peak time extras on the 95 and 909, and looses the roughly two hourly 365. Overall a big service reduction.

However, to further complicate matters, the above only applies on weekdays. On Saturdays the one journey each way, starting in Glentham rather than Lime Sidings continues, operating as service 94 to Brigg and service 95 between Brigg and Scunthorpe. However the Saturday 95 does not serve Scawby, running direct from Brigg to Lakeside, though additionally operating via Ashby unlike now (the new Saturday 95 route is the same as the new 909 route).

So Scawby passengers either have to go via Brigg on the 94/95, or catch the 366. But the 366 doesn't go via Scawby ... well it will be from November. This Saturday service from Goxhill and Ulceby to Brigg and Scunthorpe currently operates directly via Lakeside between Brigg and Scunthorpe. Though from November it will be diverted via Scawby, Sturton and North Greetwell between Brigg and Lakeside - though unlike the new 95 it will not serve Ashby. The 366 will provide two return journeys to partially replace the 4 services provided by service 365 on Saturdays. The weekday 909 journeys via Scawby also appear to run on Saturdays.

What a complicated mess. Nothing like simple, easy to understand services. And just add extra confusion as yet there is no news item on the Stagecoach website about the 366 change, nor any confirmation of the 365 ending. Only if you search for the timetables do you find out about these.

Stagecoach 94/366 Changes

With the introduction of new Stagecoach service 909 next month, and the associated withdrawal of service 365, the villages of Scawby, Sturton and Wrawby loose their main bus service to Scunthorpe. However there are some potentially interesting variations on the VOSA website today for services 94 (Scunthorpe-Brigg-Lime Sidings/Glentham) and 366 (Scunthorpe-Brigg-Ulceby-Goxhill):

PB0001484/132 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Gainsthorpe given service number 94/95 effective from 02-Nov-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.
PB0001484/143 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Scunthorpe and Goxhill given service number 366 effective from 02-Nov-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.

The changes could be minor, but these two services provide the only other daytime links from Wrawby (366, Saturdays Only), Scawby (94) and Sturton (94) to Scunthorpe. So maybe they will see an enhancement to compensate for the loss of the 365?

X62 October Changes

Following the July changes to Stagecoach service X62 between Hull, Brough, Goole and Leeds, that aimed to provide a better spread of journeys, further changes will occur from Monday 19th October. The Traveline East Midlands website has a new timetable that shows an extra weekday journey, 2 extra Saturday journeys, and timetable changes every day of the week.

Current weekday timetable
Hull D. 0640 0940 1140 1340 1640
Leeds D. 0830 1130 1330 1530 1830
New weekday timetable
Hull D. 0630 0830 1030 1230 1430 1630
Leeds D. 0830 1030 1230 1430 1630 1830

Current Saturday timetable
Hull D. 0640 0940 1140 1340 1540 1740
Leeds D. 0830 1130 1330 1530 1730 1930
New Saturday timetable
Hull D. 0630 0830 0930 1030 1230 1330 1430 1630
Leeds D. 0830 1030 1130 1230 1430 1530 1630 1830

Current Sunday timetable
Hull D. 1020 1445
Leeds D. 1205 1630
New Sunday timetable
Hull D. 1020 1520
Leeds D. 1210 1710

As can be seen the weekday service is now two hourly throughout the day. The Saturday service is the same, but with the addition of two extra round trips for Saturday shoppers. The late Saturday departure from Leeds at 1930 is brought forward an hour, but the early Hull commuter departure in the morning remains, despite the lack of an afternoon peak return service (1630 is early, 1830 is late).

Finally, maybe this timetable change will see the introduction of the coaches announced with the July change?

See also this post on the history off the X62.

The new 909 - Full Details

The timetable for the new Stagecoach service 909 between Doncaster, Scunthorpe and Brigg is now on the traveline east midlands website. The basics are an hourly service Monday to Saturday daytimes, with the Scunthorpe-Doncaster part of the route operating until mid-evening (last departure from Doncaster at 2035).

As for the route, the new 909 will operate from Doncaster Frenchgate Interchange via the Lakeside outlet shoping village before going up the M18, and then the A18 from Thorne. It will serve Gunness and Scunthorpe Tesco Extra before arriving in Scunthorpe. Towards Brigg the service will serve Ashby, Scunthorpe's Lakeside Retail Park before operating directly to Brigg via the A18 (except a college service that will serve Scawby).

Therefore Scawby and Sturton will loose their main bus service to Brigg and Scunthorpe. This is the 365 which is being withdrawn at the same time as the 909 starts in November. The 365 operates roughly two hourly with peak journeys, but Scawby and Sturton will be left with the rather basic service 94 that has no peak time journeys. (They also have a Dents Coaches Friday only service to Lincoln and a PC Coaches service 160 service to Brigg on a Thursday, plus some evening journeys on Hornsby Travel service 4 divert to Scawby and Sturton).

Wrawby also looses out - with the 365 being withdrawn, it only has a Scunthorpe link on a Saturday and college days from November, though the 68 Wolds Villager service plus the Stagecoach 450 retain frequent links into Brigg (plus the three day a week Hornsby Travel 91 service).

But what villages loose out on is Brigg's gain. The new 909 provides a much faster link into Scunthorpe than either the 365 offered, or Hornsby Travel's service 4, which operates via Broughton, offers. And the 909's hourly frequency is much better than the 365 it replaces. Indeed Hornsby will now have some serious competition to contend with.

While the Brigg end of the route looks to be an attempt to replace what was probably a marginal commercial service (the 365) into an attractive 'express' service, the Doncaster part of the route is new. It provides new links from Scunthorpe to Doncaster's Lakeside, while it will also compete with the train between Scunthorpe and Doncaster. Though as has been mentioned on the South Yorkshire Transport Forum, wouldn't the best time to have launched this service have been during the recent rail blockade when the train service between Scunthorpe and Doncaster was bustituted?

And for those wondering why the high route number, 909, well this new service isn't all that new. From 1994 to (i think) 2003, Stagecoach ran a 909 between Hull, Grimsby, Humberside Airport, Brigg, Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Meadowhall and Sheffield. The Hull to Grimsby sections survives, as the Humber Flyer, and now we have the Brigg to Doncaster section restored. However the old 909 didn't serve Ashby and it also used the M180 between Junctions 1 and 2, unlike the new 909 that will use the A18 instead.

If the new 909 is a success, would an extension to Humberside Airport, to link up with the Humber Flyer be out of the question?

And one question this does raise is, with the 909 not serving Kirmington, Melton Ross and Barnetby, will there be a replacement bus from these places to the Scunthorpe Colleges, a link currently provided by the 365?

Unless you live in Scawby, Sturton or Wrawby the new 909 is great news, and it is nice to see Stagecoach trying to provide a new Doncaster link, and a better Brigg service. Though as often can happen with service changes there are losers as well as winners.

New service 103 - more details

As a follow up to this previous post on the new 103 service between Scunthorpe, Kirton and Lincoln, replacing current service 353, the traveline east midlands website now has a map of the new route,which indicates services will operate directly from Messingham to Kirton, avoiding Scotter (apart from a college service). With the withdrawal of many service 101 journeys in November, this means Messingham retains two buses an hour to Scunthorpe (combined with hourly service 100) but Scotter will not.

The traveline east midlands timetable also does not show the current Friday and Saturday evening Scunthorpe to Kirton service, which therefore I guess is withdrawn?

Improved service 356

Details of the new timetable for Stagecoach service 356 between Scunthorpe, Crowle, Luddington and Garthorpe have been released on the traveline east midlands website. The current irregular service has been replaced with a more clockface two hourly service, though with some longer gaps. All journeys, except the Friday/Saturday evening service, now serve Garthorpe (currently many terminate at Luddington). Overall the new timetable seems to be an improvement and will hopefully attract extra passengers to this service.

Increased council subsidy for Normanby Enterprise Park Services

Back in July I posted about the renewal of the de minimis funding by North Lincolnshire Council for certain weekday daytime extensions of Hornsby Travel service 4 between Brigg to Scunthorpe up to the Normaby Enterprise Park. At the time it was noted these services were seeing declining use.

That decline is continuing, meaning falling revenue for Hornsby Travel. In addition they are also facing rising costs and as such have increased the price they will operate the journeys for from £41.55 to £60 a day from November. Hornsby also cite that the extensions prevent the operation of a clockface timetable between Scunthorpe and Brigg at certain times of the day as another reason for the price increase (Hornsby must think this looses them revenue).

Tendering these journeys in the open market has been dismissed by the council as unlikely to cite much operator interest, and the fact they operate through to/from Brigg via Broughton and Ashby and regarded as 'helpful to users'.

With the journeys regarded as important to provide access to jobs, North Lincolnshire Council have decided to accept Hornsby Travel's price increase to £60 a day and agreed to fund the journeys until March 2011, but with a review in March 2010. Extra publicity will also be carried out to try and attract extra users.

Click here to read the full council report.

Low Floor Buses on the 37/38 in Scunthorpe

Like many parts of Scunthorpe, the Foxhills, Berkeley and Crosby areas have seen many changes and reductions to their town services in recent years. Curently Stagecoach provide these areas with roughly hourly Monday to Saturday daytime services on routes 37 and 38, though with some afternoon gaps. These are operated on a commercial basis by Stagecoach, though they are marginal, and therefore operated with high floor double deckers and linked to school and college services that require double deck capacity.

This has led to local residents to call for low floor buses to be used on the services, though Stagecoach have been unable to regularly allocate such a vehicle due to there being no low floor double deckers being based at Scunthorpe, and the services not being able to financially support an investment in such a vehicle.

Now North Lincolnshire Council are to provide Section 106 Grant funding of £7500 to enable low floor operation of most journeys on services 37 and 38 (the exception being two services linked directly to schools/college services). This will involve the replacement of an older double deck bus in the Scunthorpe fleet with an additional low floor vehicle.

A full council report on the situation can be read by clicking here.

Nice to see a sensible solution being found to improve marginal services.

350 Humber Fastcat Qualifying Agreement

Not that it has stopped a co-ordinated timetable and relaunch back in March, but North Lincolnshire Council have agreed to a qualifying agreement which legally allows Stagecoach and EYMS to co-ordinate with each other to timetable their journeys on route 350 (Hull-Barton-Scunthorpe).

One interesting item in the report though is a 30% rise in passenger numbers on the 350 since the March relaunch.

The return of GNER

One of the first posts ever made on this blog, back in June last year, was titled 'The race to link South Humber with London'. It examined four proposals to link Grimsby, Cleethorpes, and in one case Scunthorpe as well, to London.

Since then the National Express East Coast proposal to provide a single daily return Cleethorpes to London service by extending a Lincoln to London service to start/finish up in North East Lincolnshire has been confirmed - even though by the time it starts National Express will no longer be running the franchise.

Meanwhile nothing has been heard about the other proposals from Humber Coast and City Railway, First Hull Trains and Grand Union. Either these proposals have been dropped, or put on the 'long term' pile. The Humber Coast and City proposal is no longer listed on it's promoters website (Renaissance Trains).

Just reminding you off that Grand Union proposal - it was for a Cleethorpes to Kings Cross service calling at Grimsby Town, Habrough, Scunthorpe, Thorne South and Doncaster. And the Managaing Director of Grand Union at the time was Ian Yeowart.

Now a new company called Alliance Rail Holidays has revealed plans to bring back the Great North Eastern Railways (GNER) name, last used by Sea Containers when they held the East Coast franchise, for a new Cleethorpes to London service, calling at Grimsby Town, Habrough, Scunthorpe, Thorne South, Doncaster ... and Retford. And guess who is a director of Alliance Rail - Ian Yeowart. The proposed service would operate four times a day.

However Mr Yeowart has done more than propose some off what he proposed while at Grand Union - he has unveiled plans for trains from across the North of England to London using the GNER brand on the East Coast, and the GNWR brand on the West Coast. More details are in this article, and map. Plus there is one service proposed that doesn't go to London ...

One of the GNER routes is planned to be a new Hull to Liverpool service calling at Brough, Howden, Selby, Leeds, Bradford, Halifax, Hebden Bridge, Rochdale, Manchester Victoria, Eccles, Newton Le Willows and St Helens Junction. The proposed frequency is unknown.

So are these plans a good idea? The Cleethorpes to London service would provide a higher frequency than the new service via Lincoln. It also serves Habrough, Scunthorpe and Thorne South, offering new London links from these stations. Oddly Barnetby is omitted from the proposals. Meanwhile the Hull to Liverpool service, provides new links from East Yorkshire, not just to Liverpool, but to Bradford and Halifax too.

However before you get too excited, the likely timescale for any service to start is 2013, and the plans have yet to be approved, and paths need to be found. There is a lot of competition proposed with franchised operations, so expect stiff objections from them, and from the Department for Transport should be expected.

And personally I doubt the whole proposed network would start at once - probably just one route initially. Trying to launch 3 GNER routes and 3 GNWR routes at once would probably be taking too much on at once. Mr Yeowart should know how hard it can be to launch one route from his time at Grand Central.

Another consideration as well is finance, especially with new trains proposed for the services. The backers of Alliance Rail are currently unknown. They will need deep pockets though to fund what is being proposed.

What is proposed is great, if it happens.

EYMS new 107 announced

EYMS have now officially announced their new 107 service from Hull University to Cottingham, and as expected it is an early Sunday morning (Saturday night) service for clubbers at the uni nightclub going back to university accomodation in Cottingham.

More Hull to Cottingham evening buses

From Monday 28th September, EYMS are increasing the Monday to Saturday evening frequency of service 105 between Hull City Centre, Hull University, Cottingham and The Lawns Halls of Residence to operate every 20 minutes, matching the daytime frequency. Currently the service operates half hourly in the evening. It seems this increase will apply all year round, not just in university semesters.

More improvements to evening services also coming soon with new route 107.

353 becomes a better 103

The VOSA registration indicated a change of number, and it looks like that will happen. The Lincolnshire County Council journey planner has the new timetable for Stagecoach service 103, from 2nd November.

The 103 is the current 353 service between Scunthorpe, Scotter, Kirton and Lincoln. It's very irregular and a number of journeys are part or wholly funded by either Lincolnshire County Council or North Lincolnshire Council.

The new timetable shows there will be Scunthorpe to Lincoln services every two hours Monday to Saturday with extra short Scunthorpe to Kirton services to give an hourly frequency on this section. No indication is given if the enhancement has received any council financial support.

It is also unclear if the new service will continue to operate via Scotter, or route via the Lakeside Retail Park instead. Scotter is only given as a timing point on Scunthorpe Colleges services, but the Burringham Road timing point given on all journeys may indicate all services will operate via Scotter. Furthermore all the short Scunthorpe to Scotter workings on service 101, designed to give Scunthorpe to Scotter a half hourly service combined with the 100 and 353, are to be withdrawn, meaning just a few Scunthorpe to Gainsborough journeys remain on the 101. This could mean the 103 is the replacement for these short workings, or it could mean Scunthorpe to Scotter is reduced to an hourly service.

Finally, the new timetable does not show the existing Friday and Saturday evening buses between Scunthorpe and Kirton. Have these been withdrawn, or just omitted since they run in North Lincolnshire only and it is a Lincolnshire County Council journey planner?

No doubt the Stagecoach timetable, when released, will reveal all.

Finally this is not the first time an hourly Scunthorpe to Kirton service has been tried. A few years ago Road Car tried an hourly service 358 via the Lakeside Retail Park. It didn't last long. Better luck this time Stagecoach.

More new low floor double deckers for EYMS

After buying 20 new low floor double deckers this year, EYMS have now ordered another 10 at a cost of £1.75 million to convert all of it's main Hull routes to low floor status. It will mean that around 75% of the EYMS group fleet will be low floor. The new vehicles will be Volvo B9B's with Wight Eclipse Gemini 2 bodywork.

The main services to benefit will be the 151/152 group to Anlaby, Kirk Ella and Willerby (the 153, also part of this group, is usually low floor operated already) and the Hull to Hornsea services, though from what I see off these services, they are sometimes low floor operated currently.

However I see there is no reference to the 60/60A/61/62/64 group of services between Hull, Setting Dyke and Cottingham in the press release. While the 64 went low floor earlier in the year, the other services in this group seem to be anything goes, and some 62's are worked by 'out of town' depots such as Elloughton and Beverley. So will this go low floor as well, or is it not regarded as a main group of services?

909 back to Doncaster

It looks like the new 909 will be more than a local service between Brigg and Scunthorpe, but will also be extending to Doncaster, on a separate VOSA registration:

PB0001484/165 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Scunthorpe
Finish Point: Doncaster
Via:
Service Number: 909
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 02-NOV-2009
Other Details: Monday to Saturday. Hourly. Hail and ride on sections where traffic and safety conditions allow

New EYMS Service 107

EYMS have applied to VOSA to start a new service 107 on Sunday mornings. Pure speculation by me, but it could be an early morning services taking clubbers from the University nightclub back to The Lawns halls of residence - the University nightclub is closer to Inglemire Lane than the main University bus stop on Cottingham Road.

PB0000328/357 - EAST YORKSHIRE MOTOR SERVICES LTD, 252 ANLABY ROAD, HULL, HU3 2RS
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Hull University
Finish Point: Cottingham (The Lawns Centre)
Via: Inglemire Lane & Cottingham Green
Service Number: 107
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 04-OCT-2009
Other Details: Sunday Morning - 2 Journeys from Hull University to The Lawns

It will be the only bus service down Inglemire Lane.

The 107 route number was last used for a Cottingham to Kingswood Monday to Saturday evening service that ended back in 2003.

Return of the 909

Something very interesting has appeared on VOSA today - the return of Stagecoach 909 from November, but only between Scunthorpe and Brigg:

11. PB0001484/166 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
o Registration Accepted
o Starting Point: Scunthorpe
o Finish Point: Brigg
o Via:
o Service Number: 909
o Service Type: Normal Stopping
o Effective Date: 02-NOV-2009
o Other Details: Monday to Saturday. Hourly. Hail and ride on sections where traffic and safety conditions allow

The previous 909 service ran from Hull and Grimsby to Sheffield via Humberside Airport, Brigg, Scunthorpe and Doncaster and was operated by Stagecoach Hull, Grimsby Cleethorpes and Chesterfield.

In what maybe a related move, the Stagecoach service 365 between Scunthorpe, Ashby, Scawby, Brigg and Wrawby is being cancelled, from 2nd November. The 365 operates roughly every two hours Monday to Saturday, with peak time extra services on weekdays.

Other Stagecoach Scunthorpe area changes due in November according to VOSA, are on service 356 to Crowle/Garthorpe, services 101/601 to Gainsborough, and Scunthorpe town services 33/34, which were reduced in frequency earlier this year.

And finally changes are due to service 103 between Scunthorpe and Lincoln - is the 353 getting renumbered?

PB0001484/5 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Lincoln given service number 103 effective from 02-Nov-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/65 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Hemswell given service number 103 effective from 02-Nov-2009. To amend Timetable.

A few bits and pieces

A few bits and pieces to tie up:

The latest EYMS newsletter says EYMS will no longer operate the Saturday services on routes 174/5 (Withernsea-Hull), as well as on route 173, which it was already known would be pasing to a new operator from this week. That new operator does appear to be Lords Coaches, and not Pearsons Coaches as had previously been mooted.

The new 933 service operated by East Coast Travel in Bridlington is a schools service taken over from EYMS according to a comment.

And in addition to the new 136 service, a new service 134 will operate twice a day on Tuesdays and Thursday from Skerne to Driffield. The operator will be EYMS, and replaces part of service 270. Thanks to a comment poster for this information.

An information request

A while ago I saw this on VOSA:

21. PB1073204/1 - CHRISTOPHER IAN WILKINSON T/A STUDLEY CARRIAGES / EAST COAST TRAVEL, FLAT 5, 17 FERNDALE TERRACE, BRIDLINGTON, YO15 3AU
o Registration Accepted by SN
o Starting Point: Bempton
o Finish Point: Bridlington
o Via: Buckton
o Service Number: 933
o Service Type: Normal Stopping
o Effective Date: 08-SEP-2009
o Other Details: Monday to Friday

I've not found this service on the traveline website. Does anyone know anymore about it? Is it a schools service or in competition with EYMS?

If you do have any information I would be grateful if you could post it as a comment on this blog post.

New Service 136: Bridlington-Skipsea-Driffield

Today (Monday 7th) sees a new service numbered 136 start between Bridlington and Driffield via Skipsea, Beeford and North Frodingham, operated by Phoenix Buses. There are 4 Driffield to Bridlington services, and three in the other direction, plus 1 Beeford to Driffield working, and two Bridlington to North Frodingham journeys. All journeys operate Monday to Saturdays and the timetable allows for shopping trips to both Bridlington and Driffield, plus commuting to/from Bridlington.

These links have most recently been provided by services 130 and 270, latterly operated by Manor Travel, and the new 136 service seems to provide a more simplier timetable. The EYMS 130 journeys between Hornsea, Skipsea and Bridlington continue unaltered, as does the remaining EYMS journey on service 270 from Driffield to Beeford at 1710 on weekdays.

I must admit this is not an area I am that familar with so if anyone has any further details or comments about these changes, please leave a comment.

Hessle Town Service Changes

From today (Monday 7th September), the Hessle Town Service, numbered 183 has a new route and timetable. It will now serve the Sainsbury's supermarket at Priory Park and the Acorn Way area of Hessle. The frequency remains half hourly Monday to Saturday mornings and early afternoons.

The 183 is operated by EYMS, and was inherited from Veolia earlier this year, though EYMS had operated it previously. As a side note the EYMS timetable front cover picture could maybe do with changing - the '183 Hessle Square' display looks to have been photoshopped on, and the location of the picture in Hull Cuty Centre isn't served by the 183.

EYMS loose the Priory Park Park and Ride

The Hull Daily Mail has published an article saying it expects the new contract to operate Hull's Priory Park Park and Ride service (numbered 701) to be awarded to London based social enterprise, Hackney Community Transport, which trades as CT Plus. (This news was also posted on the East Yorkshire Buses Yahoo Group last week).

The Priory Park scheme opened in 2003 and it has been operated by EYMS under tender to Hull City Council since then. Hull City Council also funded the Walton Street scheme in Hull until earlier this year when EYMS took over the operation commercially after the council pulled the funding.

There already seems to be some local anger as to why Hull City Council are not supporting local businesses in the recession, though the council point out the need to balance quality and value for money.

Hackney Community Transport (HCT) operates in London, and also in West Yorkshire where it provides schools and AccessBus services for WYPTE. Their move into Hull gives the city a third operator of sufficient size to provide some serious competition for EYMS and Stagecoach, something lost when Veolia sold their Hull operations to EYMS earlier this year. I would guess HCT will be looking to scale up their Hull operations over time, through either schools, mobility, social services and/or local bus contracts.

Major Changes to Grimsby-Immingham/Barton services

From Monday 7th September, Stagecoach are making some very big changes to services between Grimsby, Immingham and Barton. There are big improvements for some, and reductions for others. But first it's probably best to describe the current services.

The main Grimsby to Immingham service is the 45, which operates every 20 minutes Monday to Saturday daytimes. Most services start from Victoria Street Tesco in Grimsby, and some early morning services also serve Cleethorpes. There is a peak time service from Habrough and South Killingholme and a college day variant, the 45C that operates via Franklin College. Evening and Sunday services are provided by hourly route 46 from Immingham to Cleethorpes via the Willows Estate and Grimsby Town Centre, which seems to be unchanged in these changes.

Grimsby to Barton flows are handled by the 250 which operates every two hours or so Monday to Saturday via Immingham, South Killingholme, Ulceby and Barrow. This service is interworked with the 450 between Barton and Brigg, and is a former RoadCar route. The 250, combined with the 45 gives Immingham up to 4 buses an hour to Grimsby.

The changes from Stagecoach merge the 250 into the 45 service, which reduces from every 20 minutes to half hourly - almost halfing the number of buses between Grimby and Immingham. The 45 will no longer serve Victoria Street Tesco, but most journeys will extend to South Killingholme, increasing it's services from every 2 hours to half hourly.

From South Killingholme there are two variants - the 45b hourly to Barton, doubling the service frequency here, and the 45h to Habrough, giving it an hourly bus link to Grimsby, and a vast improvement from it's only current daytime bus service on route 150.

There is also a further variant however, the 45m. This does not serve South Killingholme, but instead serves Stallingborough MIC Plant, and the Queens Road area of Immingham, near to the former Loco Shed. However it does not go onto the dock estate, meaning the end of buses onto the docks, afacility the current 45 provides at peak times. The 45m generally only operates at weekday peak times, and some early morning journeys start back in Cleethorpes. Also the 45C College Service still operates, and there are occasional Grimsby to Immingham journeys numbered plain simple 45.

All sounds rather complicated, but the main Grimsby-Immingham-South Killingholme service is generally clockface, as are the Habrough and Barton services. The use of letter suffixes will also help identify where each service goes, though it makes the timetable very confusing to look at.

So is it a good move - if you live in Barton, Barrow, Thornton Curtis, Wootton, Ulceby, South Killingholme or Habrough, then yes. The new 45b Barton service for example enables the bus to be used for commuting to//from Grimsby, something not possible with the 250. But passengers in Immingham, Stallingborough and Healing will regretably see a major reduction in services.

Service 150 between Grimsby, Immingham, Habrough and East Halton will continue with two return journeys Wednesday and Friday plus an odd one way East Halton to Grimsby journey five days a week. However I wonder if the Habrough diversion is needed now with the new 45h?

Finally the 45b looks to be interowking still with the 450 on weekdays, and the new Stagecoach timetable lists connections onto this, and the 350 Humber Fastcat service at Barton. Well done to Stagecoach for doing this and trying to promote connections.

Revised times in Grimsby: Services 2, 13 and 14

Earlier this year service 2 was brought back in Grimsby to serve the Gilbey Road area and Europarc Industrial Estate and Business Park. However this also meant a reduction from a 6 day a week half hourly service to a limited hourly 5 day a week service with a large afternoon gap. From Monday 7th September the service shall have slightly revised times and a new 1605 departure from Europarc to Grimsby.

Also seeing revised times are services 13 and 14.

Better bus service to Franklin College

From Monday 7th September, Stagecoach are improving the bus service to Franklin College in Grimsby, diverting half hourly service 7 via the College as part off a revised route on the Grange Estate

Improved Laceby Peaktime service

From Monday 7th September, Stagecoach are improving the early morning and peaktime Laceby service with the extension of some journeys on service 7 between Grange Estate, Grimsby and North Sea Lane to the village. This will fill gaps in services 3 and HF that currently provide the main Laceby service.

This is not the first time service 7 has served Laceby. In the late 1980's (and maybe at other times too) a different service 7 between Bradley Crossroads, Central Parade and Grimsby was extended to Laceby in the evenings.

While this move improves the Laceby service at certain times off day, the daytime service from Laceby is very badly spaced - two buses within nine minutes then nothing for 51 minutes.

Service 173 - New Operator

Service 173 links Withernsea and Hull, operating via villages including Burton Pidsea, every Saturday. There are two services from Withernsea, and one from Hull. The service is operated by EYMS, and until last year was operated on a commercial basis. However in last year's bus cuts it was proposed for withdrawal until East Yorkshire Council stepped in to secure it's continuing operation.

Now the service looks to have a new operator. According to this VOSA entry, it is Lords Coaches:

PB0002148/19 - NIGEL LORD T/A LORDS COACHES, 5 HOLMES LANE, BILTON, HULL, HU11 4EX
Registration Accepted by SN
Starting Point: Withernsea
Finish Point: Hull
Via:
Service Number: 173
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 12-SEP-2009
Other Details: Operates on Saturdays only

This seems to contradict a comment on this blog last week that the new operator would be Pearsons Coaches. That comment also indicated that the Saturday peak time 174/175 services, which serve many off the same villages as the 173, would also be taken over by Pearsons Coaches. (The 174/5 also run on weekdays on a commercial basis by EYMS).

The VOSA entry is probably correct, though the 174/5 could have been included on the same registration as the 173. Whatever the situation though, the new operator will be the only independent operator operating a registered local bus service within Hull, which is currently a Stagecoach/EYMS only zone. And if it is Lords Coaches it will be their only registered local bus service.

If anyone can confirm the new operator, and if the Saturday 174/5 service is included in the new tender, please use the comment feature.

Two new EYMS routes

From 1st September, EYMS are introducing two new Monday to Saturday services.

The 34 will link Holme upon Spalding Moor to Market Weighton, with connections onto service X46 for Hull, Beverley and York. The services operates hourly in the morning/early afternoon, with later afternoon journeys on a Saturday. It is not the first time such a link has been tried - back in 2002, East Yorkshire Council funded a very similar weekday service, the 740, also operated by EYMS. Since that ended a Friday only service by Thornes Independent has been the only link from Holme to Market Weighton.

Meanwhile the new 242 service provides one journey into Beverley in the morning from Hedon, with a lunchtime return. The service also serves Preston, Sproatley, Bilton and Skirlaugh amongst other villages en-route. Between Skirlaugh and Beverley the new service is similar to Monday and Wednesday service 241 from Aldbrough, and the departures from Beverley are only 4 minutes apart.

No information is provided if the services are commercial or tendered, though I suspect the later.

X62 History Again

In June this blog attempted to give a recent history of the X62 service that links Hull, Goole, Freeport Castleford and Leeds, and there was some useful information posted by an anonymous commenter. What may have helped though was if I remembered the old timetables/maps I had that could help give some insight. So now I've gone through my collection to create this brief recent history.

Back in August 2002 the timetable had departures on Monday to Saturday at (operator in brackets):

Hull - 0625 (EY) 0905 (SH) 1010 (EY) 1230 (SH) 1340 (EY) 1550 (SH) 1710 (EY)
Leeds - 0825 (EY) 1050 (SH) 1155 (EY) 1410 (SH) 1525 (EY) 1740 (SH) 1855 (EY)

EY=EYMS
SH=Stagecoach Hull
Only the 0625, 0905 and 1710 from Hull and 1740 and 1855 from Leeds served Brough.

So departures throughout the day with EYMS carrying the commuters to Leeds and both operators carrying the shoppers to Leeds. Stagecoach had the main evening commuter departure from Leeds at 1740 and East Yorkshire the main return departure for shoppers at 1525. Overall EYMS had four return workings and Stagecoach three return workings.

Just over a year later, in September 2003, EYMS had diverted their journeys via Howden in an attempt to attract extra passengers. However the number of journeys stayed the same (sorry no timetable, this information is from a Hull Bus Map).

Moving onto March 2005 and the service was Stagecoach only. EYMS had dropped their services by now and Howden was no longer served, though all services now served Brough. Stagecoach had increased their services from 3 return journeys to 4 on weekdays and 6 on Saturdays. (again no timetable, information from a Hull Bus Map).

By September 2007 the Monday to Saturday frequencies had remained the same, though two Sunday and Bank Holiday journeys had been added. The timetable was very much Leeds shopper orientated, as can be seen below.

Monday to Friday
Hull - 0920 1020 1320 1630
Leeds - 1105 1235 1520 1815

Saturday
Hull - 0820 0920 1020 1320 1420 1630
Leeds - 1005 1105 1235 1520 1630 1815

Sunday and Bank Holidays
Hull - 1020 1445
Leeds - 1205 1630

November 2007 saw revised departure times Monday to Saturday, with all service from Hull departing at half past the hour and Leeds at twenty past the hour.

And that leads us back to the present, with the current timetable that reintroduces commuter services again (in the morning at least), and provides a better spread off journeys throughout the day. An extra weekday service has also been added, as can be seen below:

Monday to Friday
Hull - 0640 0940 1140 1340 1640
Leeds - 0830 1130 1330 1530 1830

Saturday
Hull - 0640 0940 1140 1340 1540 1740
Leeds - 0830 1130 1330 1530 1730 1930

Sunday and Bank Holiday services where not altered.

Only time will tell if the new timetable is a success. I personally wonder if providing a morning commuter service to Leeds, but no return service (1530 is too early, 1830 too late) will work. Finally the coaches meant to be used on the service since last month have yet to appear and the service is in the hands off Volvo/Paladin single deckers. Lovely .... not.

New Service 109

Last Monday (10th August), EYMS started a new hourly morning/early afternoon service 109 between the Bricknell Estate in Hull, Cottingham and Castle Hill Hospital. It also serves St Margaret's Road in Cottingham, which has had no bus service since the 115 was rerouted earlier this year.

The service is fairly well co-ordinated with new Stagecoach service 110 between Bricknell Estate and Castle Hill Hospital to restore a roughly half hourly service, lost when the 63 service was axed last month.

There seems to be no paper timetable or map available yet so I am unsure off how much of Bricknell Estate is served, or if the service is a tendered or commercial operation.

As a side note, this has got me thinking that maybe Stagecoach could consider routing the 110 via St Margaret's Road in Cottingham to restore a link to Hull. The 110 isn't the quickest Cottingham to Hull bus, but it would be better than nothing, and would not add more than a minute or two to the existing running time of the 110.

Yorkshire Coast Line Improvements

Northern Rail are proposing some enhancements on services on the Yorkshire Coast Line between Hull and Scarborough, according to the latest Rail magazine. Previously mentioned as being under 'serious consideration', plans to extend the Sunday Scarborough service to operate year round have been submitted for approval.

Meanwhile it is proposed to provide a half hourly evening peak service between Hull and Bridlington - this is the daytime frequency but in the evening peak there is a 52 and 38 minute gap between services, though supplemented by Hull to Beverley shuttles operating up to every 15 minutes.

More trains for Howden

The latest edition of Rail magazine reports plans by Northern Rail to stop all Hull to York trains at Howden from December 2009. Currently all services stop at Brough and Selby but Howden is only served by some trains. Howden has become an increasingly popular station, and is also served by First Hull Trains London services, plus peak time Transpennine Express services to Leeds.

Northern also propose starting the enhanced Summer Sunday Hull to York timetable at Easter in 2010, rather than the usual May start.

Scunthorpe Hospital Park and Ride Growing in Popularity

A staff park and ride from Glanford Park to Scunthorpe Hospital is growing in popularity since it started in April, with 144 staff signed up to use it on a regular basis.

http://www.thisisscunthorpe.co.uk/news/Hospital-park-ride-success/article-1238870-detail/article.html

Class 170's on South TransPennine Route

As previously mentioned as a possibility, two car class 170 'Turbostars' will be used on some services operated to Cleethorpes by Transpennine Express from September. The Grimsby Telegraph reports they will be used on 4 out of 16 Monday to Thursday services, and also on three weekend (2 Saturday/1 Sunday) services. However on weekends they will operate in multiple as four car units, providing a capacity increase compared to the current three car Class 185's. Cleethorpes drivers have been training on the Class 170's this summer, with special training journeys operating between Cleethorpes and Barton.

Also the at seat trolley service between Cleethorpes and Doncaster will be axed from September to try and reduce financial losses. The catering service will remain between Doncaster and Manchester.

Transpennine Express provide an hourly service from Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, Barnetby and Scunthorpe to Doncaster, Meadowhall, Sheffield, Stockport, Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Airport, with some services also serving Habrough. The service is referred to as the South TransPennine route.

First Hull Trains MD leaves

Mark Leving, the Managing Director of First Hull Trains (FHT) for the last six years left the company last week. James Adeshiyan has been appointed as General Manager as a partial replacement, with oversight from First Great Western Managing Director Mark Hopwood. No reason has been given for this sudden change at the top of FHT.

http://railwayeye.blogspot.com/2009/08/all-change-at-hull-trains.html

Updated 12th August with additional information from RAIL Magazine.

Speeding up Barton-Cleethorpes train services

The latest minutes from the Friends of the Barton Line (FoBL) rail user group report a proposal from the Barton-Cleethorpes Community Rail Partnership (BCCRP) to remove stops at Barrow Haven, Thornton Abbey and New Clee from the following Barton to Cleethorpes services: 0958/1158/1358/2158 from Barton and 1100/1300/1500/2100 from Cleethorpes. This would be on Mondays to Fridays for a six month trial period with an aim to increase passenger numbers.

FoBL are opposing this seeing it as the beginning of the end for the three stations. As posted earlier this month, they are three of the least used stations in Yorkshire and the Humber. The number of people affected by the change would be small.

However would the move be worth it? The journey time from Barton to Cleethorpes is about 51 minutes, and 48-49 minutes in the other direction. From Barton to Grimsby just over 40 minutes. You would struggle to travel significantly faster by car, and the bus is a lot longer at over an hour between Barton and Grimsby. So the train is relatively fast as it is.

Then how much time would you save omitting three stations? Currently trains omitting New Clee save one minute. So omitting Barrow Haven and Thornton Abbey as well might save 5 minutes at most. Is it worth inconviencing the few users of the three stations for a small time saving to an already fairly fast train service?

Perhaps a better move would be to try and promote the three stations, especially Thornton Abbey in the summer to serve Abbey that gives the station it's name, and New Clee for the adjacent Ramsdens superstore. If the change happens New Clee will only be served on weekdays by the 0900 from Cleethorpes and 0800 from Barton. Useless.

I can see why the idea would be proposed - it costs nothing. But there are other priorities for the Barton Line - better connections at Habrough, extended Sunday services.

Humber Bridge tolls will not go up

The government has announced it will not sanction the proposed increase of the Humber Bridge tolls, despite the Humber Bridge Board's request being recommended for approval by an inspector at a public inquiry earlier this year. The reason given for rejecting the increase is the current economic climate.

Very welcome news but is this just a one-off? The Bridge Board will propose further tolls increases in the future which will be opposed, and there is also the wish to write off some or all off the Bridge Board's debt to enable a reduction in the tolls. Does todays decision mean anything for these issues?

By using the reason of the economy for the decision to reject the tolls increase now, the government has not set a precedent to always oppose bridge tolls increase. By the time the Bridge Board next want to increase the tolls, the economy will have probably picked up and this reason to reject any increase will have gone.

Then there is the issue of the Humber Bridge Board finances. These will take a big 'hit' by not allowing this toll increase. Rejecting another increase could cause serious financial problems - there is provision for taxpayers locally, mainly in Hull, to make up the shortfall but that would just be a political mess, not one that any government would want to preside over. It would probably be better to sanction an increase in tolls.

As for the Bridge debt, it is very small in terms of the national debt, but that national debt will mean budget cuts in many areas, including front line services. In that context dealing with an issue that affects a tiny part of the country is hardly going to be a priority.

While the economic climate is the reason for the decision, is there politics being played here too? There is a general election due within the next year, and this decision will not do any harm to the chance of Labour being re-elected, especially when there are two fairly marginal seats in the area. The decision is a very good way to show concern over local issues without spending any money.

This could create future problems with the Bridge Board finances as described above, but that would come to a head early in the next parliament probably - the time when tough decisions can be made safe in the knowledge of no imminent election.

Today's decision is welcome. The new Department for Transport team has impressed me, especially in terms of the railways, and here too. I believe it is in part responding to local concerns. But don't get too excited medium to long term - it sounds like a one-off; there is nothing to suggest any future tolls increases would be rejected, and nothing to suggest the government would be open to reducing the debt. Add in any element off playing politics and I feel this is only good news short term.

Hull Bus Forum 3rd June

The minutes of the Hull Bus Forum on 3rd June 2009 are now available. Some of what was discussed on matters mentioned previously on here, but I've selected a few interesting points from the discussions.

The diversion of EYMS buses that route down Spring Bank away from Park Street in Hull was due to discussions with the Institute for the Death, so I presume is a safety issue. Fair enough, though in my experience it was slightly quicker that way versus the current route via Ferensway.

The provision of an early morning bus on EYMS route 1C from Kingswood into Hull has attracted reasonable loadings that covers the cost of operating the journey. Also doing well are Stagecoach's revised evening services, and the numbers using the Megabus Plus service to London are improving. Doing less well are the evening services on route 20 starting at the Guildhall.

The provision of buses along Chanterlands Avenue North was a hot topic, but there is no money from Hull City Council to fund a replacement when service 63 ends this Saturday. Also interesting is that when 63 operated via Beverley Road and Queens Road to Newland Avenue it only attracted three passengers a day.

Wroot to Doncaster ... again

You may remember in April the Wilfreda Beehive operated Monday to Saturday service 190 between Wroot and Doncaster ended, following the decision by SYPTE to withdraw it's funding. North Lincolnshire Council funded one return journey three days a week as a replacement for Wroot passengers but a VOSA entry back in May showed this service as ending last week.

From today Wroot passengers will now be served by an extension of First's Doncaster local service 59, which until last week operated between Doncaster, Cantley and Bessacarr Warning Tounge Lane Monday to Friday daytimes. Now two journeys start in Wroot at 0907 and 1407, with one departure from Doncaster Interchange extending to Wroot at 1315. The Wroot journeys also form part of a new limited Saturday service on route 59.

So an improvement on the service Wroot has had to Doncaster since April, with double the number of days there is a bus to Doncaster. Though the frequency is less than the three return journeys operated until April. However the new 59 service does still allow for a shopping trip to Doncaster, or a visit to the Dome leisure centre. Hopefully as a six day a week service, and being attached to a local service in Doncaster (rather than being a 'stand alone' service) the link will become more viable.

As a side note, I presume the extension to Wroot is being funded by North Lincolnshire Council?

Yorkshire and Humber RUS

Network Rail has released the final version of the Yorkshire and Humber RUS. There isn't that much planned for the Humber region beyond work to create extra capacity for freight going to/from Hull and Immingham Docks, including potential doubling of some or all of the single track section of the Brigg Line. The key points are set out in Network Rail's press release.

However the document does have a few interesting statistics and points relating to the region in it.

Out of Yorkshire and the Humber's 13 least used stations detailed in Table 3.1, 11 are in the Humber Region. Network Rail has taken the usage statistics and converted them into trips per day which takes into account the number of days each station has a service; particularly useful in the case off the Brigg Line served only on Saturdays.

Rawcliffe sees 3 trips per day, and Snaith 9. This stations are on the Goole to Leeds line which offers one main function only; commuting into Leeds. Therefore such figures are hardly surprising

Again hardly surprising is to see Kirton Lindsey (3 trips per day) and Brigg (13 trips per day) on the list, which each served three services each way Saturdays only.

Wressle and Eastrington, both served by Hull to York trains see only two and five passenger trips per day respectively, and only have a limited service. Broomfleet, which is on the same line, and also served by occasional Hull to Doncaster trains, sees 7 trips per day. All three stations are in sparsley populated areas. Also in East Yorkshire, Arram sees 7 trips per day; while close to Leconfield it is a fairly remote location and low usage in hardly a surprise.

Finally three stations served by the Barton to Cleethorpes service are on the list; New Clee with one trip per day, Thornton Abbey with two trips per day and Barrow Haven with nine trips per day. New Clee is a unusual situation - it is only served in daylight hours due to lack of lighting, and with such low usage, new lightling cannot be justified. It is also, unusally for this list, in an urban area and is rather handy for Aldi or Ramsdens supermarkets. Thornton Abbey serves ... Thornton Abbey, and not much else (Thornton Curtis village is fairly close however) while Barrow Haven too is a very small village.

Good news for all these stations though is that there are no plans for service cuts or closure as things stand.

Hornsby Service 4 Contract

Hornsby's service 4 is the main bus service between Brigg and Scunthorpe, operating via Broughton, Lakeside Reatil Park and Ashby. The main, roughly hourly, daytime service, Monday to Saturday, is commercially operated, though journeys at other times are subsidised by North Lincolnshire Council. The contract for these services has just been renewed for a further five years, and a North Lincolnshire Council report reveals some interesting details.

Firstly Hornsby Travel was the only bidder for the contract. Perhaps surprisingly Stagecoach do not even appear to have even submitted a bid, but keeping the tendered and commercial journeys with the same operator does avoid the need for passengers to purchase two tickets when travelling one way on a commercial journey and the other way on a subsidised journey.

Weekday early morning and evening subsidised journeys from Brigg extend beyond Scunthorpe Bus Station to Normanby Enterprise Park. However the use off these services have declined by 20% since last summer due to the recession and the cost per passenger is now £3.41, above the North Lincolnshire Council guideline off £3. Hoping the number of jobs increases, and recognising access to jobs is a key priority these services will continue for now, but the extension to the Enterprise Park will remain under review.

Similarly four weekday daytime services to Normanby Enterprise Park, operated under a de minimis basis (council funded, but not tendered) have also seen declining use, and these too remain under review.

It is a similar situation with the limited Saturday evening service between Brigg and Scunthorpe. Usage varies greatly and costs have risen by 29%. They are not regarded as a priority by the council and remain under review.

There is also currently a basic Sunday and Bank Holiday daytime service between Brigg and Scunthorpe which costs an 'acceptable' £2.31 per passenger. Hornsby Travel have proposed a more clockface and earlier timetable for these journeys that is better for Sunday shopping. This has been approved by North Lincolnshire Council and should start in September.

Overall cost of this package is £43,095 per year, up from the current £40,122. Per day the cost is:
Weekday: £135
Saturday: £60
Sunday: £110

New Bridlington-Scarborough evening service

Nothing on the EYMS website yet, but I have picked up a service 121 timetable today which shows a new Bridlington to Scarborough evening service on Monday to Saturdays from Monday 27th July. This will be acheived by extending existing Hunmanby to Scarborough evening journeys to start at Bridlington, and is thanks to financial support for East Riding of Yorkshire Council.

Departures from Bridlington will be at 2005, 2105, 2205 and 2325 (the last departure is a new service rather than an extension of a Hunmanby-Scarborough service). There is however a large gap between the existing last departure at 1710 and the new 2005 service. In the other direction departures from Scarborough will be at 1945, 2045, 2145 and 2310.

Market Weighton gains more York buses

From Sunday 19th July, EYMS are making changes to their York services. The main change is that many journeys on service 746 between Pocklington and York shall now start back at Market Weighton, also serving Hayton and Shiptonthorpe. Currently service 746 combines with service X46 from Hull to York to give a roughly half hourly Pocklington to York service, albeit with each service following slightly different routes. Now Market Weighton will get this half hourly frequency too. Lets hope this enhancement is well used.

Also EYMS will be making some changes to city centre routes in York, not just for services 746 and X46, but also for less frequent services 744, 747 and X47. See their timetable leaflets for details of the new routes.

Bridlington Town Service changes

EYMS are making some changes to two Bridlington Town Services on Monday 20th July. Service 503 will operate along Cardigan Road instead off South Marine Drive while service 504 to Bempton and Buckton will operate along Trinity Road instead of the Promenade. There shall also be a new departure on this service from Bridlington at 3.15pm, returning from Bempton at 3.38pm on Saturdays and School Holidays only.

Is North Lincs rail network adequate?

That is the question being asked by the Scunthorpe Telegraph. Hardly the best time to be doing it with a major line closure underway, when people's views are going to be affected by short term issues. However ignoring these issues, I would say the North Lincolnshire rail network is more than adequate, it is good.

There is an hourly service from Barnetby and Scunthorpe to Grimsby, Cleethorpes, Doncaster, Meadowhall, Sheffield, Manchester and Manchester Airport operated by modern trains and providing access to numerous connecting services along the way. Then there is a second hourly service between Scunthorpe, Doncaster and Sheffield that also gives Althorpe and Crowle an hourly service. In my opinion the service along this line is very good.

On top of that there is the two hourly Barton to Cleethorpes service to serve local needs - certainly adequate, if not good. The big disappointment is the Brigg line service, with just three Saturday only services between Cleethorpes and Sheffield.

Room for improvement - certainly. Year round and more frequent Sunday Barton Line service, hourly Monday to Saturday Barton Line service, weekday and improved Saturday Brigg Line service, services to London. Some of those are more realistic than others - but what there is currently, on the whole, is good.

Though is does not appear that thisisscunthorpe.co.uk users agree with me. Apparently 100% of respondents do not think North Lincolnshire has an adequate rail network. I would love to reduce that percentage, but sadly I can't find the poll to vote in on the website. Helpfully (not!) no link has been provided to it on the associated article ...

Grimsby and Cleethorpes Rail Services Westminster Hall Debate

Yesterday I posted about very late comments made my Shona McIssac MP (Cleethorpes) about the Scunthorpe-Doncaster rail blockade. The full text of the comments, and response from Chris Mole MP, under-secretary of state for transport, have been published on the Hansard website, Column 133WH onwards. They were made in a Westminster Hall debate. Having read the transcript there are a few points I wish to raise.

Cleethorpes-Scunthorpe rail services

Shona McIssac MP "Also, I have had no explanation of why there will be no train service between Scunthorpe, and Grimsby and Cleethorpes. These are the two biggest urban areas in northern Lincolnshire. I understand that no repair work is going on along that part of the line, so why can some sort of service not continue to link those two areas? Even at this late stage, I hope that that can be considered."
Response to this point from Chris Mole MP "TransPennine Express considered a shuttle service, but unfortunately it is not practical, as the rolling stock would be trapped and unable to return to its Manchester depot for the necessary regular central servicing and safety checks."

As I have posted before I agree there should be a shuttle between Cleethorpes and Scunthorpe, but it is far too late to arrange it now Shona. Just got to accept it will not happen now. But as for it being not practical, I disagree - Northern Rail are 'trapping' their stock for most of the week to operate the Barton Line Service. Cleethorpes has a fuelling point so a weekly or twice weekly empty coaching stock move would be all that would be needed. Not that hard? Or even better rotate it via a limited service along the Brigg line ...

Use of the Brigg Line for a replacement passenger service

Shona McIssac MP "I had hoped that it would be possible to retain a link with the east coast main line, perhaps using the Brigg and Gainsborough line, on to which all the freight traffic is being routed ... I appreciate that it is vital to keep that freight going, but originally I was told that some sort of passenger service may be retained on the line so that people could link in to the east coast main line if they have to go to London. However, I have now been told that there will not be any replacement passenger service on that line."
Response from Chris Mole MP " On the question of alternative routes, there is little opportunity to accommodate additional passenger trains on the alternative route via Brigg, as most of the spare capacity on that route will be taken by freight trains. That option was explored fully by TransPennine, but it was not possible to hire additional drivers from freight operating companies who had knowledge of the alternative route. Also, running via Brigg would take the trains to Sheffield but omit a call at Doncaster, which would affect passengers making journeys on that busy section of the network."

So there is some, limited capacity, on the Brigg Line for passenger services - and surely a little bit more could be created by moving a couple of extra freight services onto the Lincoln route? While driver training is hardly cheap, I don't see why Transpennine Express could not train a small number of their own drivers for the Brigg route - never know when it might come in useful after this summer. And as for the point about Doncaster - I think you have just got to accept it is a bus for Doncaster - but why remove all services, needlessly to Sheffield. Cross Country connection can still be made there, and East Coast Main Line connections en-route at Retford. Bizarre Comment to make.

On the driver issue, Shona McIssac MP replied with the following "On the drivers, my understanding is that TransPennine would not pay the rate, not that drivers were not available". Chris Mole MP said he would investigate. I hope this is not true as would really give the inidication that the replacement services are being done on the cheap.

General Comments

Shona McIssac MP makes some good points, but this all far too late, and even if it took time to secure the Westminster Hall debate, why not go public earlier? (and if you have done you can't have done it very loudly).

Chris Mole MP also made some very good justifcation of the timing of the blockade and hopefully he will be an effective member of the transport team.

Other Comments

Shona McIssac MP made some other points, not related to the summer blockade.
"Moreover, the new trains that have been in use on the trans-Pennine route are about to be withdrawn and replaced with 10-year-old rolling stock, which does not bode well for the future."

This must be refering to the rumours that TransPennine Express will replace Class 185's with Class 170's on some Cleethorpes services. Though to be honest I think the biggest issue with that is capacity between Sheffield and Manchester. For most of the time, east of Doncaster, I think a Class 170 would suffice, and there are demand for the Class 185's elsewhere. Shame if it happens though.

"Turning now to the frequency of the service, the nearest station to the port of Immingham is Habrough, yet that station has a very poor service, with few stopping trains. If we are to develop the port area, it makes more sense to increase the frequency of the trains serving the port of Immingham by having more stopping at Habrough station. I am always told that people should use Barnetby station. However, it is not the most successful station because it involves using bridges; Habrough does not. Therefore, we must consider having more trains stopping at Habrough if we are to serve the port."

Agree totally with that. Barnetby is great for many places, but not ideal for Immingham. And guess what station one of the main routes from Immingham to Barnetby goes past ... Habrough.

"The other service we must consider is the one to Humberside airport. At the moment, the line goes just past the airport—there is no station at the actual airport. If we are to have an integrated transport network serving this growing industrial area, we need to consider having a rail service into the airport."

Rail service into the airport - cloud cuckoo land. And yes I do run the Air Humberside website. But the airport could never support a dedicated rail station. A dedicated mini bus link to Barnetby is far more realistic.