(27 Mar 2017, 3:37 pm)Tom Any idea on the timings of these journeys?

(27 Mar 2017, 3:47 pm)cbma06 Saturday only aswell.





Outbound, Saturday



X551 X551 X551



Stockton, High Street Stand S, S 07:16



Norton, Army Reserve Centre, A 07:22



Billingham, Town Centre - Asda, Stand E 07:31



Greatham, Bull and Dog, A 07:42 10:12 15:46



Rifthouse, Chaucer Avenue, B 07:50 10:20 15:54



Hartlepool, Victoria Road Stand H, Stand H 07:58 10:32 16:02



Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 08:21 10:55 16:25



1 Journey does not run New Year's Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day




Outbound, Saturday

X551 X551 X551

Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 08:22 10:56 16:26

Boldon, Newcastle Road-Testo's, W-Bound 08:36 11:10 16:40

Newcastle upon Tyne, Monument Pilgrim 08:54 11:28 16:58


Dalton Park - Newcastle, Pilgrim Street

Service operates from 20/05/2017 until further notice

Service operates Saturday

Inbound, Saturday

X551 X551 X551

Newcastle upon Tyne, Monument Pilgrim 09:00 14:30 17:15

Boldon, Newcastle Road-Testo's, E-Bound 09:13 14:43 17:28

Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 09:31 15:01 17:46


Stockton High Street - Dalton Park

Service operates from 20/05/2017 until further notice

Service operates Saturday

Inbound, Saturday

X551 X551 X551

Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 09:32 15:02 17:47

Hartlepool, Grand Hotel Stand K, Stand K 09:55 15:25 18:10

Rifthouse, Chaucer Avenue, A 10:02 15:32 18:17

Greatham, Bull and Dog, B 18:26

Greatham, Bull and Dog, A 10:11 15:41

Billingham, Town Centre - Asda, Stand B 18:36

Norton, Army Reserve Centre, B 18:45

Stockton, High Street Stand G, G 18:51

(27 Mar 2017, 3:47 pm)cbma06 Saturday only aswell.





Outbound, Saturday



X551 X551 X551



Stockton, High Street Stand S, S 07:16



Norton, Army Reserve Centre, A 07:22



Billingham, Town Centre - Asda, Stand E 07:31



Greatham, Bull and Dog, A 07:42 10:12 15:46



Rifthouse, Chaucer Avenue, B 07:50 10:20 15:54



Hartlepool, Victoria Road Stand H, Stand H 07:58 10:32 16:02



Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 08:21 10:55 16:25



1 Journey does not run New Year's Day, Christmas Day, Boxing Day




Outbound, Saturday

X551 X551 X551

Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 08:22 10:56 16:26

Boldon, Newcastle Road-Testo's, W-Bound 08:36 11:10 16:40

Newcastle upon Tyne, Monument Pilgrim 08:54 11:28 16:58


Dalton Park - Newcastle, Pilgrim Street

Service operates from 20/05/2017 until further notice

Service operates Saturday

Inbound, Saturday

X551 X551 X551

Newcastle upon Tyne, Monument Pilgrim 09:00 14:30 17:15

Boldon, Newcastle Road-Testo's, E-Bound 09:13 14:43 17:28

Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 09:31 15:01 17:46


Stockton High Street - Dalton Park

Service operates from 20/05/2017 until further notice

Service operates Saturday

Inbound, Saturday

X551 X551 X551

Dalton Park, Dalton Park Flats, NE-bound 09:32 15:02 17:47

Hartlepool, Grand Hotel Stand K, Stand K 09:55 15:25 18:10

Rifthouse, Chaucer Avenue, A 10:02 15:32 18:17

Greatham, Bull and Dog, B 18:26

Greatham, Bull and Dog, A 10:11 15:41

Billingham, Town Centre - Asda, Stand B 18:36

Norton, Army Reserve Centre, B 18:45

Stockton, High Street Stand G, G 18:51

(27 Mar 2017, 7:20 pm)Andreos1 So not direct competition to the X10 then. Interesting.
It may knock the 'Gold' idea on the head for the time being.

(27 Mar 2017, 11:10 pm)James101 I like the ambition from Stagecoach, could be a long way to go on a E300 though! It will be interesting how it fits in with the pricing structure, I doubt it'll automatically be included in the Megarider+ zone which already covers Teesside and Hartlepool - but it would be good if there was a discounted fare for megarider holders.  

Greatham is a rather obscure place to terminate, though I see why. For a small village it'll boast some impressive bus connections!

(28 Mar 2017, 6:53 am)Andreos1 If there was still a  major employer in the area, it would probably justify the impressive bus connections.
I haven't compared existing timetables, but I am wondering if there is some sort of interworking going on with an existing service. The arrival times in Greatham, don't really work too efficiently with departure times.

(28 Mar 2017, 9:40 am)James101 Of course the 527 used to terminate within the grounds of the Sharwoods factory. In the final years of the service, under Arriva operation, the factory had long since been abandoned & demolished but the route remained the same. Combined with the remains of the dissused Greatham train station the area certainly has a post apocalyptic feel to it and makes for an unusual bus terminus. I wonder if anyone got a photo of a bus there?

I presume the new X55 will terminate by way of a one way loop around the village/A689. It seems like a 1 bus operation, though the middle journey gets just a 1 minute layover.

(27 Mar 2017, 11:10 pm)James101 I like the ambition from Stagecoach, could be a long way to go on a E300 though! It will be interesting how it fits in with the pricing structure, I doubt it'll automatically be included in the Megarider+ zone which already covers Teesside and Hartlepool - but it would be good if there was a discounted fare for megarider holders.  

Greatham is a rather obscure place to terminate, though I see why. For a small village it'll boast some impressive bus connections!

(28 Mar 2017, 9:40 am)James101 Of course the 527 used to terminate within the grounds of the Sharwoods factory. In the final years of the service, under Arriva operation, the factory had long since been abandoned & demolished but the route remained the same. Combined with the remains of the dissused Greatham train station the area certainly has a post apocalyptic feel to it and makes for an unusual bus terminus. I wonder if anyone got a photo of a bus there?

I presume the new X55 will terminate by way of a one way loop around the village/A689. It seems like a 1 bus operation, though the middle journey gets just a 1 minute layover.

(28 Mar 2017, 1:44 pm)Cock Robin Won't be a E300 though?

---

When did the factory shut? Sure I have some photos of 527s there but not sure if the factory had shut. The last 527s were Arriva MPDs weren't they?

(28 Mar 2017, 1:54 pm)tyresmoke I expect it probably will be an E300 - makes up the majority of Stockton's fleet now.
There were rumours of it being a coach but one day a week won't make sense for that.
What is interesting is the PVR is not reduced on a weekend at Stockton... though there is a change to the 36/37/38 2 weeks prior to this starting, if they're possibly saving some resource there.

(28 Mar 2017, 1:54 pm)tyresmoke I expect it probably will be an E300 - makes up the majority of Stockton's fleet now.
There were rumours of it being a coach but one day a week won't make sense for that.
What is interesting is the PVR is not reduced on a weekend at Stockton... though there is a change to the 36/37/38 2 weeks prior to this starting, if they're possibly saving some resource there.

(28 Mar 2017, 6:54 pm)Andreos1 A variation to one of those services, such as the 36, could give opportunities for interworking or replacement in part. There's a lot of shadowing between the 36 and X55 between Greatham and Hartlepool otherwise.

(28 Mar 2017, 9:23 pm)johnwingate so this new service only runs saturdays would of  been nice if had came through wingate then back onto a19 at wellfield which of given us a newcastle bus we havent had for years when the old x27 ran

(29 Mar 2017, 9:31 pm)Andreos1 The counter argument could be, that an operator in the area still provides a link to Newcastle. It just means a change at Peterlee.

Not ideal if connections don't work mind.

(27 Mar 2017, 2:41 pm)cbma06 service X55 is only 3 journeys in each direction during the day with only 1 journey each way commencing and terminating at Stockton, with the other 2 journeys commencing and terminating at Greatham, bull and dog.

Stockton-Norton-Billingham-Greatham-Rifthouse-hartlepool-Hart- Dalton Park-Testos roundabout-pilgrim street

(29 Mar 2017, 9:42 pm)James101 It wasn't too long about (2012 maybe?) that GNE had a go at a Hartlepool - Newcastle service by way of the X11. It was the X35 route to Peterlee then the X9 to Newcastle. I guess it didn't work as it didn't offer anything new that wasn't available by making a change at Peterlee. When it was withdrawn there was separate timetable available online dedicated to X35/X9 connections as a replacement. 

Hopefully the X55 will hold more appeal due to to it's more direct route, established Stagecoach presence and the word going around about coach operation?

(29 Mar 2017, 10:30 pm)beefcake The X11 was a Saturday only service, leaving the interchange around 10 minutes after the train iirc. Unfortunately, I can see the X55 been as short lived due to the infrequency of it, and I can only see it been used as it's the first bus that arrives and people decide to use their concessionary pass to go somewhere different, which was the case the only time I used the X11. It's going to be a shame as, in my opinion if marketed properly, could've offered real competition to the train, as both will take around 50 minutes from Hartlepool, and adding WiFi could've been a clincher. It'd be interesting to see how the TTX compares to the train from Middlesbrough as an example, as they take a similar time to complete the route, with the bus being £19 a week cheaper, and offering onward connections with other services.