(22 Feb 2023, 12:29 pm)Unber43 wrote Does it really need 8 stands tho? I've only been to Bishop maybe 4-6 times however its never been that busy

(22 Feb 2023, 1:01 pm)Rob44 wrote Surely better to have more stands than needed than too few.  When everyone starts using the bus again sure the extra stands could be put into use then?

(22 Feb 2023, 12:50 pm)Drifter60 wrote Lots of the comments I’ve seen are that there’s no buses to use it, through various cut backs etc. I’m surprised 6 stands wasn’t thought to be adequate, but then again Stanley and Peterlee have 8 stands so. And I suppose it’s like for like replacement. And to be fair, I don’t Bishop has done *too* bad through cuts to service when compared to some areas.

(22 Feb 2023, 12:29 pm)Unber43 wrote Does it really need 8 stands tho? I've only been to Bishop maybe 4-6 times however its never been that busy

(22 Feb 2023, 1:07 pm)V514DFT wrote Like the colossal waste of money the one in North Shields is gonna be

(22 Feb 2023, 12:50 pm)Drifter60 wrote Lots of the comments I’ve seen are that there’s no buses to use it, through various cut backs etc. I’m surprised 6 stands wasn’t thought to be adequate, but then again Stanley and Peterlee have 8 stands so. And I suppose it’s like for like replacement. And to be fair, I don’t Bishop has done *too* bad through cuts to service when compared to some areas.

(22 Feb 2023, 1:06 pm)Storx wrote Don't see the point personally, they should build the bus station in the 'centre' of the town aka Tindale Crescent. No-one wants to go to Bishop Auckland as there's nothing there.

The council can't play the 'we care' card either as they've approved a cinema and bowling alley and more retail units, no doubt one B&M, at Tindale to put the final nail in the coffin.

(22 Feb 2023, 1:19 pm)Adrian wrote I believe it forms part of the Bishop Auckland Town Masterplan to regenerate their Town Centre, so maybe they're forecasting extra footfall once regeneration is complete? Whether that happens or not, like most other regeneration projects, remains to be seen.

As with a lot of infrastructure projects like this, it becomes difficult to add capacity after completion, so you'd be daft not to future-proof it.

(22 Feb 2023, 1:24 pm)Unber43 wrote That is true. 

Stand A - 6
Stand B - 6/Weardale Services
Stand C - X21/X1
Stand D - X21/X1
Stand E - 7 
Stand F - 7/5/5A
Stand G - 56/86
Stand H - Weardale Services

That would be good to spread services out to stands

(22 Feb 2023, 2:10 pm)Adrian wrote I imagine they would. Park Lane do similar, and that's really too big for what currently serves it.

(22 Feb 2023, 6:38 pm)deanmachine wrote Is it just me that finds turning half of a bus station into a car park completely absurd? Encouraging yet more private car use over public transport just shouldn't be a thing that should be happening in the 2020s, but that's what happens when you let private companies run public transport into the ground.

(22 Feb 2023, 7:13 pm)Storx wrote I personally don't understand the obsession with bus stations either. Are they really needed? It's a waste of space or would a few bus stops like most other towns and cities have be enough. That space should've been used, including the abandoned shopping centre pretty much, for the cinema, restaurants and bowling alley but no we'll open that at Tindale instead.

It's the exact sort of thing which would revive the centre. Instead we've got a bus station serving a Saver's, Wilko and Greggs as there's really nothing else there while everyone else is driving and jamming into the car parks at Tindale.

(22 Feb 2023, 8:22 pm)Jimmi wrote Seems to be a thing local councillors and MPs seem to think we want right now, our local MP tried to get Newton Aycliffe a "Bus Interchange" in the levelling up fund but was unsuccessful, stupid idea anyway considering no-one wants to shop here and no company wants to open any shops here because the company which owns the town centre are practically charging London rates on rent and it wasn't like you could interchange between services anyway when they all run in tandem more or less to/from Darlington. Thing we actually want is more car parking as since the multistorey got condemned (which is where the "interchange" was planned to be) parking spaces have been hard to come by since.

With regards to replacing much of Bishop Auckland Bus Station with car parking, considering car usage is on the rise, may as well use the excess space as its mostly just wasted with space between some stands and others barely in use anymore.

(22 Feb 2023, 9:06 pm)Storx wrote Yeah totally agreed, like I could understand if it's actually places you could interchange with other models but like Newton Aycliffe is anyone really going to be changing there most services are direct now.

North Shields bus station is questionable aswell, I'm not really sure who's going to use that. I know they'll use the Metro reference but I can't think of anyone where it would actually make sense to interchange there for it without doubling back or using a bus to do the whole journey instead and no-one goes to North Shields as there's nothing there either.

Didn't realise the rents were that bad at Aycliffe, but it isn't half dead that place aswell tbh. Sad sight all of them really. Mind I'm not sure Bishop Auckland needs parking either, there's plenty of it and most of it carries fresh air. I know it would be quite a walk to the centre but it's a shame no-one though it might have been a good idea to have the interchange with the railway so it actually has a purpose but then again buses and rail aren't meant to be used together in England.

(22 Feb 2023, 9:14 pm)streetdeckfan wrote While there is technically plenty of parking in Bishop, a lot of it isn't really practical for the reasons I mentioned above.

Regarding the train station, it's pointless! You might as well just take the X1, it's almost as fast and more convenient!

(22 Feb 2023, 9:50 pm)Jimmi wrote It depends what your use for the train service is really, if you want to travel between Bishop and Darlington Town Centre's then you're better off with the X1 when you factor in the times for walking to/from the stations, but if you're connecting with a Mainline service at Darlington, then you're better off with the train, it's also much quicker and more convenient to get to other areas along the line, for example on the first Saltburn bound train from Bishop Auckland on weekday mornings, you often get people who work on Aycliffe Industrial Estate and the UTC students alighting at Heighington Station.

ecml-bishop.png (Size 5.09 MB | Downloads 29)

(22 Feb 2023, 9:50 pm)Jimmi wrote It depends what your use for the train service is really, if you want to travel between Bishop and Darlington Town Centre's then you're better off with the X1 when you factor in the times for walking to/from the stations, but if you're connecting with a Mainline service at Darlington, then you're better off with the train, it's also much quicker and more convenient to get to other areas along the line, for example on the first Saltburn bound train from Bishop Auckland on weekday mornings, you often get people who work on Aycliffe Industrial Estate and the UTC students alighting at Heighington Station.

(22 Feb 2023, 10:09 pm)Storx wrote Yeah totally agreed. It's also something that's been discussed on another forum lately but if you connected the ECML / Bishop Auckland lines together at Newton Aycliffe you could give a direct service upto Newcastle in around 40 minutes aswell from both places which would be a massive benefit.

It's a piss easy one to do aswell in comparison to other bonker ideas lately (Consett Line). It's the sort of connectivity the region needs, not to mention linking the work places at Aycliffe. It's bonkers the ECML just passes Newton Aycliffe the size of the place.

See:


It's a really underutilised line imo, could even open an extra station right in the heart of the town.

nz2520-aycliffe.jpg (Size 60.96 KB | Downloads 22)

(22 Feb 2023, 11:25 pm)Jimmi wrote Would be nice but we're never that lucky, up until 2017, the service between Darlington and Bishop Auckland was every 2 hours which was hopelessly impracticable. In 2021 there was supposedly plans to try and up the service to half hourly in 2023 but doubt that's going to materialise any time soon...

The orange line above was actually originally a railway line in the past, now its essentially just somewhere to walk along.

(22 Feb 2023, 9:06 pm)Storx wrote Yeah totally agreed, like I could understand if it's actually places you could interchange with other models but like Newton Aycliffe is anyone really going to be changing there most services are direct now.

North Shields bus station is questionable aswell, I'm not really sure who's going to use that. I know they'll use the Metro reference but I can't think of anyone where it would actually make sense to interchange there for it without doubling back or using a bus to do the whole journey instead and no-one goes to North Shields as there's nothing there either.

Didn't realise the rents were that bad at Aycliffe, but it isn't half dead that place aswell tbh. Sad sight all of them really. Mind I'm not sure Bishop Auckland needs parking either, there's plenty of it and most of it carries fresh air. I know it would be quite a walk to the centre but it's a shame no-one though it might have been a good idea to have the interchange with the railway so it actually has a purpose but then again buses and rail aren't meant to be used together in England.

(22 Feb 2023, 11:25 pm)Jimmi wrote Would be nice but we're never that lucky, up until 2017, the service between Darlington and Bishop Auckland was every 2 hours which was hopelessly impracticable. In 2021 there was supposedly plans to try and up the service to half hourly in 2023 but doubt that's going to materialise any time soon...

The orange line above was actually originally a railway line in the past, now its essentially just somewhere to walk along.

(23 Feb 2023, 8:37 am)V514DFT wrote Personally i thought Wallsend would of been the better choice to build the bus station, not North Shields