Just picking up on this, it is strange that GNE
have never been able to crack the Sunderland -
Newcastle express route. Apart from the X2
and before that the X4, which both ran via The
Galleries, anything direct via Newcastle Road/
Heworth has only seemed to last a short while and it is left for a while or renumbered - even
before the metro was extended. With this in mind, would it be worth extending
the express further south? There used to be
services which ran to Seaham, which obviously
attracted passengers between Sunderland and
Seaham plus anyone to/from Sunderland and
Newcastle, but it would need to be quicker than the metro.
Potential passengers faced with the choice of a
metro from Sunderland or a trip around the
estates of Sunderland on a not so frequent bus,
will probably choose the more frequent,
quicker option, even if it is a few quid extra. It will be the same for people in Fulwell, the
Boldons etc.
If there was something like an X56 which
followed a similar route to the 56 in
Sunderland, Southwick etc but used the A19 to
Heworth, I reckon they might have more joy.