(27 Jul 2021, 6:21 pm)Storx wrote I know what your trying to say and can't really disagree but it sounds rather expensive building bridges etc to force a hub in a place which might not work.
Imo you'd be better off spending the money on reopening the Leamside Line which means you can have quick efficient trains taking traffic away from the roads and also trains from the ECML so you could potentially run a railway service between Durham and Newcastle with stations at Newton Hall, CLS, Birtley, Team Valley (P&R), Lobley Hill (P&R), Newcastle. Then the same at Follingsby (P&R), Washington, Penshaw (Bus to Doxford Park), Fencehouses (Bus to Rainton) and just end it there.
With a good bus service to the railway station and decent connections ticketing and timings in Birtley you'd take much more traffic away from the roads.
Obviously neither will happen though since there's no money for them.
I genuinely think that now (more than ever before) is the time to restart and do things differently.
The world has changed so much in the last 18months and rather than traditional P&R sites or bus priority measures - operators, local authorities and (through gritted teeth) possibly private companies such as Moto need to get together and do something different. Pool resources in to one location that ticks several boxes, rather than the plans for Eighton Banks which won't achieve much imo and won't solve any of the issues people have, getting to TVTE, Newcastle Business Park or wherever else.
I agree that the Leamside Line should be re-opened, but as I said the other day when we were chatting about North Tyneside - it's a lot easier for bus operators to adapt to a changing world than it is for train operators.
It just appears bus operators prefer the same old, with a few cuts and route mergers along the way.
Interesting you mention the railway connecting to the bus network in Penshaw and Fencehouses to two of their closest major sites of employment. Bizarrely, you can't get a direct bus between those points now meaning commuters drive in, delaying buses at various points en-route.
As we keep hearing and seeing... But... But... Bus priority measures... Bus lanes and traffic lights
Absolutely bonkers.