Fleet Changes
Fleet Changes
For the most part - even pre-COVID most X84/684 journeys could comfortably be allocated a solo without any issues - sure, sometimes they would have been fuller - but is that a bad thing?
Pre-COVID you had 3 what I would call TWIRLY expresses - the 9.40 & 10.40 from Hexham, X85 and the 2-ish X84/X85 from Newcastle (TWIRLYs wanting to get home before the schools kicked out). Patronage disappeared at these times and never really came back after this. There was a bit of a return, and some sort of loyalty when the deckers were on, but nowhere near the numbers they used to get. Could sometimes leave Hexham and be full and standing by Corbridge - especially if the 685 was missing.
Passengers from Newcastle varied - moreso when an X82 was missing - and too be honest a fair few got the X84 as it was cheaper to Throckley than both the X82 or the 685.
Again the school time x84s had more of a load, but this again varied year on year and as term goes on the numbers get less. 684 still connected Ovington/Ovingham/Wylam both ways, but the more senior passengers just don't travel the same way they did pre-COVID. Peak afternoon X85s used to be busy, but again post covid - people worked from home and never returned in the same numbers.
This time of year there's usually more teenagers travelling down to wylam/Ovingham to go down the river for the day from NCL way - they can often travel in groups of a dozen or more, but asides that there's little difference otherwise.