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.

"Thoughtless" timing for rail blockade?

As has been well reported here, there is a blockade on the rail line between Scunthorpe and Thorne this summer. Not the best time for the tourist traffic to Cleethorpes, though so far there hasn't been any really vocal complaints about this - until this week - less than a week before the blockade. Shona McIssac, the MP for Cleethorpes has called the planning "thoughtless" and questioned why the work could not happen at another time of the year.

No, it is not ideal for Cleethorpes, but the line is more than just a passenger line - it's a key freight route, and this is the quietest time for such traffic. The timing is not thoughtless, it has been timed on purpose. A decision has been made that the freight traffic is more important than the rail-transported Cleethorpes tourist traffic. And considering the lack of really vocal complaints or campaign from Cleethorpes businesses, I would tend to agree that the timing is the best possible. Obviously there can't be that many vistors coming in by rail, otherwise there would have been more complaints. No time is ideal, but the work is essential and needs doing at some point, and urgently.

As a follow up to last weeks post on the blockade and TransPennine Express's replacement bus services, Northern Rail have their bus replacement timetable online. Roughly hourly Scunthorpe to Hatfield and Stainforth as expected. Will serve the station car parks in Scunthorpe and Hatfield and Stainforth, the main road outside Althorpe Station, Wharf Road in Crowle and the Miller Lane/Ellison Street junction in Thorne.

Not the end for Megabus Plus?

Again the comment feature on this blog has provided some new information, this time on Megabus Plus. Last week the Doncaster Star reported the service would no longer serve Doncaster, and doing a quick check on the Megabus Plus website, I couldn't find availability from Hull on a random date. This led me to conclude that the Hull-Scunthorpe-Doncaster Megabus Plus service could be withdrawn.

Now an anonymous poster says the reason for the withdrawal of the Doncaster service is the unsuitability of the stop at the Lakeside Retail Park, and that an alternative Doncaster stop is being looked for. Following on from this I have checked the Megabus Plus website for a random date in July, and this time I have found availability for Hull. So it looks like the service is staying.

X62 History

When I posted about the forthcoming proposed X62 (Hull-Leeds) changes in July I attempted to produce a brief recent history of the service; now a comment has been added to the post from an anonymous reader who appears to know a bit more about it than me, and the reasons why EYMS withdrew their journey's on the route. So thank you very much for your insight and if anyone else has more to add, please do so.

Don't forget you are always welcome to write a comment on any post, and I will attempt to moderate them as soon as possible. The only reason for moderation is to avoid any spam or offensive comments being made.

Major Stagecoach changes in Greatfield and Bilton Grange

From 27th July Stagecoach are proposing to make major changes to their Greatfield and Bilton Grange services, as explained in great depth on their website, something which I commend them for.

In summary the changes are as follows:

The 43 to Greatfield and 54 to Bilton Grange will link up. The 54 will have a new route. It will continue to serve Holderness Road, but only as far as Portobello Street. It will then follow the current service 42 route down Portobello Street before returning to the current service 54 route along Staveley Road, Barham Road and Amethyst Road. Finally it will then continue to Grange Road and change to service number 43 to return into Hull via Preston Road, The current service 43 route shall be unchanged.

The frequency on both services shall be every 10 minutes on weekdays, every 15 minutes on Saturdays and every 30 minutes on Sundays. Both routes shall become frequento services, and be operated by low floor buses - currently only service 54 has such a status.

Service 40 which largely duplicates the 43, apart from a diversion down Newbridge Road, shall be withdrawn. Newbridge Road is also served by EYMS service 41, which is unchanged.

The 40 also served Falkland Road in Greatfield, which shall in future be served solely by service 42. This service shall also see a new route; instead of operating via Portobello Street it shall operate along Southcoates Lane, Preston Road, Marfleet Lane and Staveley Road before picking up the current route at Wingfield Road. The frequency shall be every 10 minutes weekday peaks, very 12 minutes weekday daytime, every 15 minutes Saturdays, every half hour Sunday and every hour in the evenings daily.

Stagecoach say the changes are an attempt to combat falling usage and are an attempt to simplify the network, as well as improving reliability. Lets hope it works.

Bricknell Avenue Estate Changes

Last Saturday I posted some VOSA entries indicating the cancellation by Stagecoach Hull of the 63, and the registration of new service 110 from 27th July. Stagecoach have now released full details of their proposed changes.

The 63 operating from Hull Interchange to Castle Hill Hospital via Newland Avenue, the University, Chanterlands Avenue North, Bricknell Avenue Estate and Cottingham is indeed axed. It currently operates half hourly on weekdays and hourly on Saturdays. And there is a new hourly service 110 from Hull Interchange to Castle Hill operating via Spring Bank, Chanterlands Avenue, Bricknell Avenue Estate and Cottingham.

However what the VOSA entries didn't indicate is the diversion of service 10 (the Circular) via Bricknell Avenue Estate to maintain a half hourly weekday service into Central Hull (combined with the 110), and to restore the half hourly Saturday frequency.

These changes will give the Bricknell Avenue Estate a more direct route into Hull, and new links to areas such as Kingswood via service 10. Hopefully this will increase usage of bus services on the estate, which is currently declining according to Stagecoach.

However there are some downsides; the link to Cottingham is reduced to hourly - probably not a huge issue since Stagcoach will have struggled to attract much Cottingham-Hull traffic with the old 63 route, and the 110 should suffice for local needs. And the Bricknell Avenue Estate looses it's link to Newland Avenue. But perhaps most significantly Chanterlands Avenue North will be left without a bus service - last Autumn it had four buses an hour on the 10/11/63. It's not the most densley populated road and is near to other frequent bus routes, but it is a big change in the space of a year.

X62 Hull-Leeds Changes

Once upon a time EYMS and Stagecoach Hull ran a joint service between Hull and Leeds via Brough, Goole and Freeport Castleford (the X62). Then EYMS gave up their share (6 years ago or so I think) and Stagecoach introduced a revised timetable. Out went the morning peak service and in came a timetable designed for shoppers going to Leeds and Freeport Castleford. One that has seen some minor improvements over time and a Sunday/Bank Holiday service introduced.

Well from 27th July, Stagecoach are proposing to go back to how it was to a certain extent. A morning peak time journey will be reintroduced, and the timetable will be more evenly spread throughout the day, approxiamtely every two hours. An extra weekday journey will be operated. Below is a comparison of the current and proposed new times.

Monday to Friday

Current Hull departures: 0930 1030 1330 1630
Proposed new Hull departures: 0640 0940 1140 1340 1640

Current Leeds departures: 1120 1220 1520 1820
Proposed new Leeds departures: 0830 1130 1330 1530 1830

Saturday

Current Hull departures: 0830 0930 1030 1330 1430 1630
Proposed new Hull departures: 0640 0940 1140 1340 1540 1740

Current Leeds departures: 1020 1120 1220 1520 1620 1820
Proposed new Leeds departures: 0830 1130 1330 1530 1730 1930

There are no changes proposed to Sunday/Bank Holiday times.

Will this new timetable be a success? One of the reasons EYMS dropped their share of the route was apparently because they had the peak time journeys as part of their share, and these weren't performing particularly well. So can Stagecoach make a success of them? The evening return time of 1830 from Leeds on weekdays is a bit late for commuters. We shall see what happens. Also of note is a new late Saturday departure from Leeds at 1930.

Finally the service shall be operated by coaches instead off the current ex-RoadCar Volvo double deckers.

End of Megabus Plus?

The Doncaster Star newspaper is reporting that the MegabusPlus service from Doncaster will be axed around the end of the month. The Doncaster service is provided as a stop in the Hull-Scunthorpe-Doncaster-East Midlands Parkway route, and checking dates in July on the megabus website brought up no availability from travel from Hull. So while no officially confirmed, it looks as if the Hull-East Midlands Parkway MegabusPlus route will be axed.

MegabusPlus was started in March to connect various towns and cities in Yorkshire, plus Scunthorpe, to London via East Midlands Parkway. There are three routes - one each from Hull, Harrogate and Huddersfield, that connect to East Midlands Trains services to London St Pancras. Both MegabusPlus and East Midlands Trains are operated by Stagecoach, and Stagecoach's Hull depot operates the Megabus Plus service.

If the Hull/Scunthorpe/Doncaster service is axed, then it's a shame but with competition from First Hull Trains, National Express East Coast and National Express's coach service then it was always going to be hard to make it work. Nice to see it was tried though.

Scunthorpe-Doncaster Rail Blockade Update

Later this month the Scunthorpe to Doncaster rail line is closed for major engineering works, affecting the Cleethorpes-Manchester Airport Transpennine Express service and the Scunthorpe-Sheffield Northern Rail local service.

Transpennine Express have released the timetable (on their website) for the replacement bus services. Oddly enough the all stations replacement bus service will always serve Habrough, despite some trains not calling there. Otherwise it is as expected with a replacement bus serving Scunthorpe, Barnetby, Habrough and Grimsby Town with another just calling at Grimsby Town en-route from Doncaster to Cleethorpes. Waiting times from bus to train are about 15-20 minutes which seems reasonable.

Generally the replacement bus services will call at the station forecourt or car park, though in Habrough eastbound the bus stop will be outside 'The Station' public house while in Barnetby buses will stop on Kings Road. Stands C5 and C6 will be used in Doncaster Interchange, next to the railway station.

No timetable that I can find for Northern's replacement bus services between Scunthorpe and Hatfield and Stainforth yet. Though it is expected just to be an hourly service calling at Althorpe, Crowle and Thorne South en-route.

As you may remember I had concerns that the first service of the day between Barton and Cleethorpes would be cancelled during the blockade due to no train being available to operate it. Well posts on the Northern Railways Forum indicate the Northern Rail will keep two Class 153 units at Cleethorpes during the blockade - one to operate the main all day service and the other to operate the early morning service and then act as a spare. If this does happen then it is great the Barton Line will not have to suffer but it does seem an ineffcient use of a train to have it left idle at Cleethorpes from 8am onwards.

The way to avoid the above situation would have been to operate a Cleethorpes to Scunthorpe shuttle service, as previosuly discussed, and a train from that service could also operate the early morning Barton Line service. Now Network Rail have given a reason why such a shuttle service will not be possible - operating restrictions. Make of that what you will.

Network Rail's press release also mentions that at the end of the blockade (29th August to 6th September), Goole to Doncaster services will also be replaced by buses. This shall impact on Hull to South Yorkshire services. Will they be diverted via Selby or replaced by buses?

Bye Bye 63, Hello 110

From entries on the VOSA website this week it looks like Stagecoach are withdrawing the 63 service and replacing it with a new service 110 route.

PB0001987/235 - CLEVELAND TRANSIT LTD T/A STAGECOACH NORTHEAST, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH BRIDGE STREET, SUNDERLAND, SR5 1AQ
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Hull Interchange and Cottingham Castle Hill given service number 63 effective from 27-Jul-2009.
PB0001987/265 - CLEVELAND TRANSIT LTD T/A STAGECOACH NORTHEAST, ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, NORTH BRIDGE STREET, SUNDERLAND, SR5 1AQ
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Hull Interchange
Finish Point: Cottingham Castle Hill
Via:
Service Number: 110
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 27-JUL-2009
Other Details: Monday to Saturday hourly direct via Chanterlands Avenue

The 63 currently operates half hourly on weekdays and hourly on Saturdays from Hull Interchange via Princes Avenue, Newland Avenue, Hull University, Chanterlands Avenue North and Bricknell Avenue to Cottingham. It is the only bus service to serve the Bricknell Avenue Estate and Chanterlands Avenue North.

The new 110 appears to indicate a weekday frequency cut, and route change. The new number 110, fits in between the two main Hull to Cottingham bus services, the 105 and 115.

Changes will also affect Greatfield services, Service 10 (Circular) and the X62 Hull-Leeds service.

Less buses for Ellerker

From Sunday 14th June 2009, EYMS will reduce services to Ellerker, which is served by the 155 route from Hull to Gilberdyke. All Sunday services will be withdrawn, and the Monday to Saturday service will be reduced to a two hourly daytime only service. EYMS say this is due to congestion and comments from residents.

http://www.eyms.co.uk/content/busservices/newsitem.aspx?action=view&id=336

Stagecoach Scunthorpe area changes

Stagecoach are making many changes in the Scunthorpe area from 25th May. Many are relatively minor retimings but Scunthorpe Town Services 33/34 see frequency cuts from every 20 to every 30 minutes. The Saturday journey on service 94 is also extended to Glentham.

Service 6 (Scunthorpe-Ashby, Monday to Saturday):
There are some intermediate timing changes while the 1750 from Scunthorpe shall now operate 10 minutes later at 1800, providing a later last journey.

Service 11 (Monday to Saturday):
There is a new 1430 departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station on this circular service to Bottesford and return via Ashby.

Service 17:
There is a new departure from Hilton Avenue at 1208 on this service which links Hilton Avenue in Scunthorpe to the town's Bus Station every Monday and Wednesday. This new journey appears to be a positioning journey operated 'in service' since there is either a 2 or 5 day wait until the next return journey from Scunthorpe Bus Station!

Service 30:
This new college day only service provides departures at 1455 and 1525 from John Leggott Colege to Scunthorpe Bus Station for early college finishers.

Service 31 (Monday to Saturday):
All journeys on this circular town service in Scunthorpe shall operate 5 minutes earlier. In Frodingham the service shall now no longer serve Lilac Avenue and Sandhouse Crescent, which are still served by service 10.

Service 32 (Monday to Saturday)
All journeys on this circular Scunthorpe town service shall operate 5 minutes earlier, while the 1520 and 1540 departures from Scunthorpe Bus Station shall be combined into a 1525 service. In Frodingham the service shall no longer service Lilac Avenue and Sandhouse Crescent.

Services 33/34 (Monday to Saturday)
In Bottesford these Scunthorpe town services shall no longer serve Caistor Avenue, Timberland, Queenswood Road and Holme Hall Avenue. Frequencies are reduced from every 20 to every 30 minutes while the first journeys of the day are slightly later than at present.

Service 38 (Scunthorpe-Crosby, Monday to Saturday):
The 0730 departure from Scunthorpe Bus Station shall operate 10 minutes earlier at 0720 and the 1720 departure shall run 5 minutes earlier at 1715.

Service 60:
The 0840 Scunthorpe-Whitton, Monday to Saturday, shall operate 5 minutes later at 0845.
The 1745 Scunthorpe-Whitton and 1825 return, Monday to Friday, shall both operate 5 minutes later at 1750 and 1830 respectively. The Saturday journey shall not change ... so much for simple timetables (though there could be an operational reason for this).

Service 94:
The Saturday service shall start at Glentham at 0925 before continuing as normal from Bishop Norton to Scunthorpe via Brigg. The return service at 1230 shall also extend to Glentham. This gives Glentham a new link to Scunthorpe, and the only suitable bus link for shopping in Brigg.

Service 101:
The 0655 schooldays only Scunthorpe to Gainsborough shall no longer operate.

Service 353:
The 0650 school and college days only journey from Scunthorpe to Hemswell Cliff shall operate 5 minutes earlier at 0645.

Service 365 (all changes are Monday to Friday only):
The 0645 Scunthorpe-Brigg-Wrawby shall operate 5 minutes earlier at 0640.
The 1715 Scunthorpe-Wrawby at 1759 return shall operate 20 minutes later at 1735 and 1819 providing a later last departure for Scunthorpe commuters.

Connect 51 Grimsby-Louth changes

For the third time this year, service 51 between Grimsby and Louth will see alterations from 25th May. No alteration to the basic half hourly Monday to Saturday frequency, but changes at peak times and in the evenings. There is an extra journey each way in the evening peak, and some retimings to create a more standard pattern evening service. From studying the current and new timetables, the changes seem to be as follows (all Monday to Saturday):

• 0555 Grimsby to Louth operates 5 minutes earlier at 0550
• 0640 Grimsby to Louth operates 10 minutes later at 0650
• 0735 Louth to Grimsby operates 5 minutes later at 0740
• 1620 Grimsby to Louth on Saturdays and school holidays only operates 10 minutes later at 1630 - this means it will operate at the same times as the equivalent schooldays journey from Grimsby Hospital onwards
• 1715 Louth to Grimsby operates 5 minutes earlier at 5 minutes later at 1710
• 1720 Grimsby to Louth operates 10 minutes earlier at 1710
• There is a new 1740 Grimsby to Louth
• There is a new 1740 Louth to Grimsby
• The 1800 Louth to Cleethorpes operates 20 minutes later at 1800
• The 1850 from Louth to Grimsby is cancelled
• 2020 Cleethorpes to Louth operates 10 minutes earlier at 2010 (2020 from Grimsby)
• The 2130 Louth to Cleethorpes operates 10 minutes earlier at 2120
• 2305 Cleethorpes to Louth operates 5 minutes later at 2310 (2320 from Grimsby)

Service 190 again

Last month the 190 between Wroot and Doncaster was saved from the axed, albeit being reduced from 6 to 3 days a week, and from 3 to 1 journeys a day on the days it operates. Now the operator, Wilfreda Beehive, has informed VOSA it will be terminated in July.

PB0000595/63 - WILFREDA LUXURY COACHES LTD T/A WILFREDA BEEHIVE, APEX HOUSE, CHURCH LA, ADWICK-LE-STREET, DONCASTER, DN6 7AY
Cancellation Accepted: Operating between Wroot and Doncaster given service number 190 effective from 19-Jul-2009.

Did Wilfreda only get a short term tender, and then lost the long term tender? Or has the reduced service put passengers off and made it unviable?

Connect 3 changes

From Monday 25th May, some minor changes will be made to the Connect 3 service between Grimsby and Lincoln, operated by Stagecoach. On Mondays to Saturdays the 0640 from Grimsby shall operate 5 minutes earlier and the 1640 from Lincoln 10 minutes later. Sunday services shall follow the weekday route in Grimsby via Hainton Avenue and therefore depart Cleethorpes 10 minutes earlier.

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/grimsbycleethorpes/serviceinformation_6766.html

KC Stadium Rail Halt ruled out

Last year a study was commissioned into the feasibility of a new railway station to serve the KC Stadium and Hull Royal Infirmary.

That study has now reported back, and the answer is that it would be unlikely to get public funding and should not be pursued. The cost was put at £5.5 million with annual running costs of between £100,000 and £200,000. Even if it was built the study questionned how many services would be able to call at it due to timetable constraints.

Instead the report recommends any available money should be spent on bus improvements, such as match day shuttles to Paragon Interchange, improved bus priorities, and bizarelly more direct buses between Hull Royal Infirmary and the Interchange. By my calculations there are the following buses between the hospital and interchange (based on Monday to Saturday daytime) that are available for local travel:

1C (EYMS) - 1 bus per hour (buses from Hull operate from Carr Lane and not the Interchange however)
2 (Stagecoach Hull) - 6 buses per hour
35 (EYMS) - 2 buses per hour
57 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour (buses from Hull operate from Carr Lane and not the Interchange however)
60/60A/6264 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour
66 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour
151/152/153 (EYMS) - 3 buses per hour
154 (EYMS) - 3 buses per hour
155 (EYMS) - 1 bus per hour
350 (EYMS/Stagecoach) - 2 buses per hour
(Plus the 1A which is less than hourly)

So thats 35 buses an hour from the Infirmary to the Interchange, and 28 buses an hour from the Interchange. And while many go via the city centre, especially when departing the Interchange, its still only about a 10 minute journey time. So theres already plenty of buses, and they are fairly direct. Why a need for more?

Finally the report has also ruled out new stations at Priory Park and the Bricknell Estate.

EYMS Possible Fare Increase

The Humber Business website reports EYMS are considering a modest fare rise. Stagecoach increased some of it's fares back in March.

190 Saved

Service 190 between Wroot and Doncaster has been saved.

Back in March this blog reported that the registration for the service had been cancelled. Currently funded by South Yorkshire PTE and North Lincolnshire Council it operates three times a day, Monday to Saturday. From next week however it will only operate once each way on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturday, and have a new route avoiding Amthorpe. Yesterday's Yorkshire Post said this was after North Lincolnshire Council stepped in to save the service, which looks like it was planned to be axed completely.

195 Changes

From Monday 27th April, certain journeys on EYMS service 195 between Pocklington and York will be withdrawn, following funding being pulled by City of York Council. Withdrawn journeys are:

0902 Bielby to York (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
1200 Newton to York (Monday, Thursday)
1300 Newton to York (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday)
1015 York to Pocklington (Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday)
1230 York to Pocklington (Monday, Thursday)

A partial replacement is provided by new service 36 operated by York Pullman. The City of York Council website also reports that some Saturday services on this route will be extended to Aughton at the request of East Riding of Yorkshire Council. Aughton Saturday journeys will depart York at 1120 and 1520, and Aughton at 0850, 1220 and 1620. A full timetable is on the York Pullman website.

EYMS increase Willerby Evening Buses

Monday to Saturday evening services between Hull and Willerby via Spring Bank will be increased to half hourly from Monday 27th April. Current evening services are numbered 47 because they continue as route 64 to Castle Hill Hospital. I suspect the extra services will be short workings to Willerby only and therefore be numbered as service 44.

Also, from Sunday 26th, the 33/34/44/45/47 group of services between Hull, Spring Bank, Wold Road and Willerby, as well as the 115/215/315 to the University, Endike Lane and Cottingham, will operate via Ferensway instead of Park Street when departing from Hull Interchange. As a regular user of the 115/215/315, the Park Street route is quicker so I wonder why the change?

More Scunthorpe area service changes

Following on from last weeks post about service changes planned by Stagecoach in Scunthorpe from 25th May, two more have appeared on the VOSA website today:

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 353 effective from 03-Jun-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.
PB0001484/80 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Gainsborough given service number 101/601 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.

Service between Grimsby and Lincoln will also see changes:

PB0001484/34 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted by SN: Operating between Lincoln and Grimsby given service number 3/3A/3B effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.

Humber Flyer NEW Mini-website

Last week I posted about the new Humber Flyer service, replacing the X1 between Hull, Humberside Airport, Grimsby and Cleethorpes. This week, Stagecoach have introduced a new mini-website for the service, as they have done with the Humber Fastcat (350).

http://www.stagecoachbus.com/grimsbycleethorpes/humberflyer.html

Nice to see some effort being put into the route launch. However the website reveals some mistakes and oddities.

Firstly the route in Hull. The route map shows it using Clive Sullivan Way, but the timetable has a timing point at Fiveways, which is definetly not on Clive Sullivan Way. How many passengers will study the route map in such detail is questionable, but anyone who does will end up rather confused.

Secondly the single fare from the Humber Bridge to Humberside Airport is £2.75 but the return is £6.00. Mistake, or is it really cheaper to but two singles rather than a return?

And finally the return fare from Humberside Airport to Hull is £6.00, yet the Stagecoach fare from Barton to Hull on the 350 Humber Fastcat is 30p more, despite it being a shorter journey in terms of time and distance.

Walton Street Park and Ride Saved

Earlier in the year we reported that Hull City Council proposed to cut the Walton Street Park and Ride. Today's Yorkshire Post reports EYMS, who recently inherited the service with their takeover of Veolia's Hull operation, will continue to operate it on a commercial basis for a trial period.

The site is unusually close to the city centre for a park and ride site, but it appears to have some loyal users who became very vocal about it's threatened closure. If EYMS can make it work commercially, without affecting the Priory Park site, or the other new ones planned by Hull City Council on the edge of the city, then it's a win win for everyone.

The Walton Street Park and Ride is service number 700.

Another 51 (Grimsby-Louth) change

More changes are on the way for service 51 between Grimsby and Louth from May, according to this entry from VOSA:

PB0001484/160 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Grimsby and Louth given service number 51/51A/51B/51C/51X effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Route and Timetable.

The change may be related to the cancellation of service 41 (Louth Town Service), also reported by VOSA today, which is interworked with the 51.

Changes to the 51 have already taken in place in January and March this year.

Scunthorpe area Stagecoach Changes

Advance notice of changes by Stagecoach coming up in Scunthorpe and the surrounding area in May. Taken from VOSA:

PB0001484/2 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Wrawby given service number 365 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/129 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Flixborough given service number 60 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/136 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Ashby given service number 6 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/155 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Bus Station given service number 31/31A/32/32A effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/156 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Scunthorpe Bus Station given service number 33/34 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/158 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Variation Accepted: Operating between Scunthorpe Bus Station and Crosby given service number 38 effective from 25-May-2009. To amend Timetable.
PB0001484/164 - LINCOLNSHIRE ROAD CAR CO LTD, PO BOX 15, DEACON ROAD, LINCOLN, LN2 4JB
Registration Accepted
Starting Point: Scunthorpe Glover Road
Finish Point: Scunthorpe Bus Station
Via:
Service Number: 30
Service Type: Normal Stopping
Effective Date: 25-MAY-2009
Other Details: College Days only. Hail and ride on sections where traffic and safety conditions allow

Stagecoach Hull Saturday Frequency Cuts

Stagecoach Hull will be cutting the frequency of some service on Saturdays from 25th April 2009.

Service 13 (Hull-Orchard Park) goes from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes
Service 14 (Hull-Orchard Park) goes from every 10 minutes to every 12 minutes
Service 15 (Hull-Orchard Park-Kingswood) goes from every 7/8 minutes to every 10 minutes
Service 28 (Hull-Sutton Park-Branshome) goes from every 12 minutes to every 15 minutes
Service 30 (Hull-Bransholme-North Bransholme) goes from every 10 minutes every 15 minutes
Service 51 (Hull-Bransholme-Kingswood) goes from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes
Service 54 (Hull-Bilton Grange) goes from every 10 minutes to every 15 minutes

Stagecoach Hull Service 52/53 enhancements

From 20th April, Stagecoach services 52 to 53 from Hull to Salthouse Road will be increased from hourly to half hourly, Monday to Saturday daytime. Service 53 operates via the Garden Village and Ings Road areas, and the 52 via Holderness Road. Service 52 is also diverted via Marfleet Lane and Bilton Grange with the new timetable to partially replace service 11.

Evening service 52C will now only operate on Friday and Saturday nights, with a revised route and times, serving Savoy Road.

Stagecoach Hull Evening and Nightbus Changes

From 20th April, Stagecoach Hull will be making various changes to evening and night buses.

Services 13 and 14 to Orchard Park will have more journeys while service 15 will operate every 15 minutes in the early evening. Services 30, 32, 51 and 54 in North and East Hull will operates half hourly all evening (currently hourly after about 8pm), though the 20 minute early evening frequency on the 54 (Hull-Bilton Grange) on Friday and Saturday nights is reduced to every 30 minutes.

Service 52C to Salthouse Road will now only operate on Friday and Saturday nights (currently operates daily) and will be diverted to serve Savoy Road with revised times.

As far as nightbuses go, the big news is the all night services on the N2 (Hull-Hessle Square) and N51 (Hull-Kingswood) on Friday and Saturday nights, introduced last September, have been axed. The 0400, 0500 and 0600 departures from Hull, and the 0325, 0425, 0525 and 0625 from Hessle Square on the N2 go, as do the 0400, 0500 and 0600 departures from Hull on the N51, and all nightbuses in the opposite direction from Kingswood are axed.

Service N32 to Bransholme has revised times, and now operates on Friday as well as Saturday nights. The N55 to Ings Estate, Longhill and Bilton is axed. It was the only nightbus not to follow a daytime route, and ran on Saturday nights only.

Hull City Circle Changes

The Hull City Circular service, taken on commercially by Stagecoach last September, shall see changes from 20th April.

Back in September the major innovation was a half hourly frequency on the Hull-Orchard Park-Bransholme section on weekdays with hourly services 10 and 11 being co-ordinated to provide this. However the service 11 will be axed, bringing this to an end. The remaining service 10 shall also be diverted away from Chanterlands Avenue North to Bricknell and Fairfax Avenues (service 13 route).

In part the service 11 shall be replaced by an enhanced service 52.

Servicee 10 will continue to provide an hourly city circle service, Monday to Saturday daytimes.

Stagecoach Hull route renumberings and minor changes

From 20th April service 29 (North Bransholme-Bransholme-Sutton Park-Hull) shall be renumbered service 28A. Unlike service 28, it does a full city centre loop. Service 51N (North Bransholme-Bransholme-Holderness Road-Hull) shall be renumbered 51A.

Another renumbering is the peak time only 36 (Hull-Leads Road-Bransholme-Kingswood) which becomes the 38A. There is a new 1715 departure on the 38A from Hull Interchange and a new 0810 service 38 on Saturdays from Bransholme to Hull. Other time changes affect other journeys on both the 38 and 38A.

The 63 (Hull-Newland Avenue-University-Bricknell Avenue Estate-Cottingham) has a revised peak timetable to improve reliability. Service 20 (Hull-Kingswood-North Bransholme-Wawne) also has a revised peak timetable. Evening and Sunday journeys on the 20 also have slightly revised times and the 2310 departure from Hull Monday to Saturday moves to 2305 and only operates on Fridays and Saturdays.

Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes 13/14 change

One more minor change from Stagecoach Grimsby Cleethorpes on April 20th, service 13/14 (Bradley/Laceby Acres-Grimsby-Cleethorpes) will now terminate in Alexandra Road in Cleethorpes, rather than Sea Road during the day, as they currently do in the evening.

Wybers Wood goes LoZone

Changes by Stagecoach in Grimsby and Cleethorpes this April seem to be a mix of good and bad, and this one seems to be a good one. Service 16 between Wybers Wood, the Willows Estate, Grimsby Town Centre and the Asda superstore is being upgraded with low floor buses from 20th April. The weekday daytime frequency will also improve from every 15 to every 12 minutes, though the Saturday service remains quarter hourly.

Return of Service 2 and 12 in Grimsby, Bye Bye Service 5

Services to Bradley Park, Grange Estate, Gilbey Road and parts of Cleethorpes and New Waltham are set to see changes with the axing of services 5 and X1 and their replacement with the 2 and 12 on 20th April.

Service 5 currently links Europarc (weekdays only) and the Gilbey Road area of Grimsby with the Grange Estate and Bradley Park via Grimsby's Riverhead Bus Station. Services presently run half hourly Monday to Saturday daytimes. It will be replaced by new service 2 (or rather the return of the previous service) and new service 12 (or rather the return of the previous service with a changed route).

The 2 will continue to link Europarc and Gilbey Road with Grimsby Town Centre via Corporation Road; however there will be no Saturday service and the weekday service is cut in half to hourly, with a large gap in the afternoon. Or in other words a morning/early afternoon shopping service with a couple of evening peak journeys. Existing early morning/evening service 20 between Cleethorpes, Grimsby and Europarc provides some extra journeys along part of the route but this is a major cutback for the Gilbey Road part of Grimsby.

Many years ago Corporation Road had a tram service, now a rather basic bus service. How times change.

Bradley Park will also see a frequency cut; it's replacement service 12 is also just hourly rather than half hourly with another large afternoon gap. Though unlike the 2, it does run on Saturday's.

While the new 12 will serve Grange Estate, service 7 (Grimsby-Pleasure Island) will once again be extended from Grimsby Bus Station to the Estate to provide an enhanced service of 3 (as opposed to the current 2) buses an hour. As a result of the changes to service 7, interworked service 8 (Grimsby-New Waltham-Pleasure Island) and 9/9A (Waltham-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-Pleasure Island) have revised timings.

With the axe of service X1 (Hull-Humberside Airport-Laceby-Grimsby-Cleethorpes-New Waltham), new route 12 shall replace it between Grimsby and New Waltham. When service 12 last ran it linked Laceby with New Waltham, but on the Western end now serves Bradley Park and Grange Estate instead of Laceby, as mentioned above. The 12 is the same core frequency as the X1, hourly, except for a very poor morning peak service and the already mentioned large gap in the weekday afternoon service.

The current peak journeys extending to Waltham on the X1 continue on the new service 12. As well as service 12, the Humber Flyer also replaces route X1.

Humber Flyer

Stagecoach have released details of the new Humber Flyer service that will replace the current X1 from 20th April.

The new Humber Flyer (HF) service will run from Cleethorpes North Sea Lane (Pleasure Island) via the Pier and the High Street in Cleethorpes before joining Clee Road. It then operates via Weelsby Road and Hainton Avenue into Grimsby. Parts of Weelsby Road and Clee Road do not currently have a bus service so this is a welcome new link, while still being a direct route between Cleethorpes and Grimsby.

From Grimsby it follows the existing X1 route through Laceby and Keelby to Humberside Airport. There is then a guarenteed connection to a separate Humberside Airport-Hull service. Or is this the same service registered in two parts to get around what your author thinks are some well intentioned but practically stupid EU rules on driver hours and the use of tachographs? The timetable seems to indicate the service will be a through service rather than two separate ones. Separate service or not, through fares are available.

The wait at the airport is only two minutes (so no big issue) before the service departs to Barnetby Top and goes up the A15 and over the Humber Bridge. In Hull it will operate down Boothferry Road and Anlaby Road instead of Clive Sullivan Way as the X1 currently does. Hull Royal Infirmary is still served before terminating in Hull Interchange at coach stand D.

The basic daytime frequency is hourly Monday to Saturday with peak journeys being off pattern. First departure from Grimsby is 0620 and the last departure from Hull is 1900.

Overall the new service looks good, serving Pleasure Island and being less of a local service in Grimsby. Hopefully passengers can remain onboard the bus at the airport though.

Stagecoach Easter Services

Stagecoach have announced their service provision this Easter. Good Friday sees Sunday services operated by Stagecoach in Hull and Stagecoach in Grimsby Cleethorpes. Stagecoach Lincolnshire shall operate a Friday service. The X1 and 350 Humber Fastcat shall operate a normal Friday service.

Normal service on Easter Saturday and Sunday, with a Sunday service on all routes on Easter Monday.

Cross Country connections

While the Cross Country rail network does not serve either bank of the Humber region, many local passengers access the network at Doncaster. However Arriva Cross Country, operators of the network wish to divert their Doncaster service via Leeds, isolating Doncaster from the cross country network.

As well as the impact on Doncaster, it would make connections less convienent for passengers from the Humber region. Passengers could still access the network at Sheffield or Leeds (North Bank passengers only). However this would be a significant detour for passengers from the South Bank going North, to York, the North East and Scotland, considering National Express East Coast's patchy Scottish service from Doncaster.

Leeds may need more Cross Country services, but not at the expense of Doncaster.

EYMS Invest in new buses

EYMS have bought another 20 new double decker buses, with 10 entering service this weekend. They are Volvo B9TL's with Wright Eclipse Gemini bodywork, and will be used on services from Hull to Hornsea, Withernsea and Brough/Elloughton/Howden/Goole (the 155/156 corridor). Vehicles currently used on these services will be cascaded to shorter journeys within Hull, enabling more services to be operated with low floor vehicles.

http://www.eyms.co.uk/content/busservices/newsitempr.aspx?action=view&id=308

Always good to see investment.

Bye Bye Veolia in Hull update

An update to our previous post; EYMS have posted on their website that they are taking over Veolia's Hull bus operation. The full list of affected routes is:

Service 78 7am & 4pm Hull Interchange to Hedon, & 7.35am Hedon to Hull Interchange (Monday to Friday)
Service 124 Driffield – Bridlington via Burton Fleming (Wednesday, Thursday and Saturda)
Service 183 Hessle Town Service (Monday to Saturday)
Service 277 4.35pm Hedon to Hull Interchange (Monday to Friday)
Service 358 Holme on Spalding Moor - Goole via Bubwith and Howden (Tuesdays)
Service 700 Walton Street Park & Ride – Hull City Centre (Monday to Saturday)

EYMS Easter Bus Services

EYMS will operate a Sunday service on Good Friday and Easter Monday, except the Humber Fastcat (350) shall operate a normal service on Good Friday. Moorbus M14 shall run on Good Friday, Easter Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Summer service 120 between Bridlington, Filey and Scarborough operated by EYMS owned Scarborough and District shall start on Saturday 4th April ready for the Easter Holidays.

Hull Service 1C change

From 26th March (yesterday), the 0739 Hull Carr Lane to Sibelius Road journey on EYMS service 1C has started from Kingswood Retail Park at 0710.

http://www.eyms.co.uk/content/busservices/newsitem.aspx?action=view&id=302