Service X78 - Consett Bus Station - Stanley Bus Station - Chester-le-Street South Burns - Washington The Galleries Bus Station - Sunderland Park Lane Interchange
A bit of a long shot... To offer direct and fast links between some of the key places the current ''Coast & Country'' 8/78 services serve, I've devised the X78. I admit it's chances of being are success are pretty slim, but it could always be given a trial. The proposed route is from Consett Bus Station, it would head down Medomsley Road and onto the A692. After following that, the service would take the A693 to Stanley Bus Station; omitting any villages that the 78 serves, to offer a fast journey time, roughly around fifteen minutes. After leaving Stanley Bus Station, the service would follow the A693 all the way down to the Pelton/Ouston junction, before heading down to the town centre through South Pelaw, as the 8 and 78 do. From Chester-le-Street; the service would head for the A1(M), crossing onto the Western Highway and into the Galleries Bus Station; from here, the A1231 to the North Hylton roundabout; the A19 to the Offerton area, then the A183 through to Sunderland City Centre. Estimated journey time: 15 minutes between each stopping point, roughly an hour in total. Frequency: hourly.

(26 Jul 2015, 5:42 pm)R852 PRG wrote Service X78 - Consett Bus Station - Stanley Bus Station - Chester-le-Street South Burns - Washington The Galleries Bus Station - Sunderland Park Lane Interchange
A bit of a long shot... To offer direct and fast links between some of the key places the current ''Coast & Country'' 8/78 services serve, I've devised the X78. I admit it's chances of being are success are pretty slim, but it could always be given a trial. The proposed route is from Consett Bus Station, it would head down Medomsley Road and onto the A692. After following that, the service would take the A693 to Stanley Bus Station; omitting any villages that the 78 serves, to offer a fast journey time, roughly around fifteen minutes. After leaving Stanley Bus Station, the service would follow the A693 all the way down to the Pelton/Ouston junction, before heading down to the town centre through South Pelaw, as the 8 and 78 do. From Chester-le-Street; the service would head for the A1(M), crossing onto the Western Highway and into the Galleries Bus Station; from here, the A1231 to the North Hylton roundabout; the A19 to the Offerton area, then the A183 through to Sunderland City Centre. Estimated journey time: 15 minutes. Frequency: hourly.

15 minute journey time, that's a quick express service.

(26 Jul 2015, 5:46 pm)cbma06 wrote 15 minute journey time, that's a quick express service.

Faster than the car, that is! 

(26 Jul 2015, 5:46 pm)cbma06 wrote 15 minute journey time, that's a quick express service.

Sorry, forgot to add the extra detail. It would be 15 minutes journey time between Consett and Stanley, then Chester-le-Street and the Galleries, etc. Overall, roughly an hour.

(26 Jul 2015, 5:42 pm)R852 PRG wrote Service X78 - Consett Bus Station - Stanley Bus Station - Chester-le-Street South Burns - Washington The Galleries Bus Station - Sunderland Park Lane Interchange
A bit of a long shot... To offer direct and fast links between some of the key places the current ''Coast & Country'' 8/78 services serve, I've devised the X78. I admit it's chances of being are success are pretty slim, but it could always be given a trial. The proposed route is from Consett Bus Station, it would head down Medomsley Road and onto the A692. After following that, the service would take the A693 to Stanley Bus Station; omitting any villages that the 78 serves, to offer a fast journey time, roughly around fifteen minutes. After leaving Stanley Bus Station, the service would follow the A693 all the way down to the Pelton/Ouston junction, before heading down to the town centre through South Pelaw, as the 8 and 78 do. From Chester-le-Street; the service would head for the A1(M), crossing onto the Western Highway and into the Galleries Bus Station; from here, the A1231 to the North Hylton roundabout; the A19 to the Offerton area, then the A183 through to Sunderland City Centre. Estimated journey time: 15 minutes. Frequency: hourly.

(26 Jul 2015, 5:46 pm)cbma06 wrote 15 minute journey time, that's a quick express service.

Aside from the point cbma06 makes, it would probably more fruitful if your suggestion served Annfield Plain (only stopping at Tesco) between Consett and Stanley; and Pelton between Consett and Chester.

Old-school express services didn't always travel via the quickest route from A to B. Most simply stopped at timing points only with, maybe, an additional stop here and there. 

Here's an example (if it's legible):

(26 Jul 2015, 6:12 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Aside from the point cbma06 makes, it would probably more fruitful if your suggestion served Annfield Plain (only stopping at Tesco) between Consett and Stanley; and Pelton between Consett and Chester.

Old-school express services didn't always travel via the quickest route from A to B. Most simply stopped at timing points only with, maybe, an additional stop here and there. 

Here's an example (if it's legible):

Used the X4 a lot to my nana's when she lived in Castletown

The current X78 (Derwentside College - Consett - Stanley) gets hardly anybody on. Mainly because it only stops at the 3 places shown. Most people use the bus to get from say Consett to Leadgate and other places which the X78 does not stop at. People will therefore be less likely to use it making the service pretty useless.

(26 Jul 2015, 6:18 pm)Michael wrote Used the X4 a lot to my nana's when she lived in Castletown

Prior to when the timetable posted was printed, you would not have been allowed to travel between Park Lane and Castletown as passengers were not permitted to travel locally between those two points.

That would have been a strange rule for the driver to enforce. If you're stopping to pick up passengers then it's nigh on impossible to prevent passengers from alighting.

(26 Jul 2015, 6:23 pm)S813 FVK wrote The current X78 (Derwentside College - Consett - Stanley) gets hardly anybody on. Mainly because it only stops at the 3 places shown. Most people use the bus to get from say Consett to Leadgate and other places which the X78 does not stop at. People will therefore be less likely to use it making the service pretty useless.

On the contrary, the X78 we currently have is a peak-time schooldays-only service. I know from experience that quite a few passengers board the 78 in Consett, and alight in Stanley, and the same with the 8 from Stanley to Chester-le-Street. Likewise from Chester-le-Street to the Galleries (although the 50 provides a faster service, the 8 is seen as the next best thing), and from there to Sunderland (beating the 2/2A in terms of speed). Granted, there are a lot of local links that are served, but if people use the services between the key locations as it is, I think it's fair an express service is trialed to see just how much custom it could bring. Although I think it should omit Stanley. I'm surprised Go North East sent the brand new Streetlites through there to begin with.

(26 Jul 2015, 6:27 pm)R852 PRG wrote On the contrary, the X78 we currently have is a peak-time schooldays-only service. I know from experience that quite a few passengers board the 78 in Consett, and alight in Stanley, and the same with the 8 from Stanley to Chester-le-Street. Likewise from Chester-le-Street to the Galleries (although the 50 provides a faster service, the 8 is seen as the next best thing), and from there to Sunderland (beating the 2/2A in terms of speed). Granted, there are a lot of local links that are served, but if people use the services between the key locations as it is, I think it's fair an express service is trialed to see just how much custom it could bring. Although I think it should omit Stanley. I'm surprised Go North East sent the brand new Streetlites through there to begin with.

Even more surprised they sent them to Chester-le-Street. Especially with 5409 being allocated to the 34/34A on a regular basis - wonder how long it is before you smash one of its windows.

Yeah, the X78 is only 1 journey per day in each direction during school term times. I'd say Stanley is a key point on the 8/78 routes so i would possibly make the X78 serve there too and the only reason the 50 is quicker than the 8 between Chester-le-Street to Washington Galleries is because it uses the A1(M). I assume the 8 and 50A are pretty similar with the latter taking a much longer route serving all the villages rather than taken a chunk out by using the motorway.

(26 Jul 2015, 6:41 pm)S813 FVK wrote Even more surprised they sent them to Chester-le-Street. Especially with 5409 being allocated to the 34/34A on a regular basis - wonder how long it is before you smash one of its windows.

Yeah, the X78 is only 1 journey per day in each direction during school term times. I'd say Stanley is a key point on the 8/78 routes so i would possibly make the X78 serve there too and the only reason the 50 is quicker than the 8 between Chester-le-Street to Washington Galleries is because it uses the A1(M). I assume the 8 and 50A are pretty similar with the latter taking a much longer route serving all the villages rather than taken a chunk out by using the motorway.

I'm quite a walk away from a bus stop that the 34/34A serve.  Although I can take a good guess at which section of the route the window was smashed on...

Yes, the 50 is quicker between Chester-le-Street and the Galleries than the 8, and it's evenings and Sundays counterpart, the 50A. It's quite a popular link, hence why it's not uncommon to see a 50 leaving for South Shields with a decent load, and likewise coming back it can be very busy. I'd say the X78 should be given a chance, it could prove to be popular if put on a trial for a month or two.

(26 Jul 2015, 5:42 pm)R852 PRG wrote Service X78 - Consett Bus Station - Stanley Bus Station - Chester-le-Street South Burns - Washington The Galleries Bus Station - Sunderland Park Lane Interchange
A bit of a long shot... To offer direct and fast links between some of the key places the current ''Coast & Country'' 8/78 services serve, I've devised the X78. I admit it's chances of being are success are pretty slim, but it could always be given a trial. The proposed route is from Consett Bus Station, it would head down Medomsley Road and onto the A692. After following that, the service would take the A693 to Stanley Bus Station; omitting any villages that the 78 serves, to offer a fast journey time, roughly around fifteen minutes. After leaving Stanley Bus Station, the service would follow the A693 all the way down to the Pelton/Ouston junction, before heading down to the town centre through South Pelaw, as the 8 and 78 do. From Chester-le-Street; the service would head for the A1(M), crossing onto the Western Highway and into the Galleries Bus Station; from here, the A1231 to the North Hylton roundabout; the A19 to the Offerton area, then the A183 through to Sunderland City Centre. Estimated journey time: 15 minutes between each stopping point, roughly an hour in total. Frequency: hourly.

Howay man Marcus, you could of atleast come up with something more creative, rather than coming up with something that has already been suggested by myself months ago

(26 Jul 2015, 7:17 pm)Malarkey wrote Howay man Marcus, you could of atleast come up with something more creative, rather than coming up with something that has already been suggested by myself months ago

[Image: http://www.troll.me/images/arnold-disgus...urt-me.jpg]

(26 Jul 2015, 7:19 pm)R852 PRG wrote [Image: http://www.troll.me/images/arnold-disgus...urt-me.jpg]

Suggest you dont ever step foot into Washington then.

(26 Jul 2015, 6:26 pm)MurdnunoC wrote Prior to when the timetable posted was printed, you would not have been allowed to travel between Park Lane and Castletown as passengers were not permitted to travel locally between those two points.

That would have been a strange rule for the driver to enforce. If you're stopping to pick up passengers then it's nigh on impossible to prevent passengers from alighting.

I still remember the X6 in the 80's, passengers were not able to alight from park Lane until Hastings Hill, The X6 used to go to Consett from Sunderland via Shiney Row, Bournmoor then Chester-Le-Street, used to take an Hour (not these days), then the X6 was curtailed via Washington Galleries, Chester-Le-Street and terminate at Langley Park.

X66 - Gateshead - MetroCentre - MetroCentre Circular - MetroCentre - Gateshead

Operating via its current frequency between Gateshead & MetroCentre, then Every 15 Minutes it will interwork with Service S1 before returning back to Gateshead, S1 would be Withdrawn.


96/96A - Newcastle - Gateshead - Bensham Bank - Malvern Gardens - Chiltern Gardens - Team Valley North (Maingate) - Lobley Hill- Knightside Gardens - Dunston - MetroCentre - Swalwell Estate - Whickham - Fellside Park - Knightside Gardens - Dunston - Newcastle


97/97A - Newcastle - Gateshead - Bensham Bank - Team Valley North (Maingate) Lobley Hill - Whickham - Fellside Park - Swalwell Estate - MetroCentre - Dunston - Knightside Gardens - Lobley Hill - Team Valley North (Maingate) - Beechwood Gardens - Graigside Gardens -Bensham Bank - Gateshead - Newcastle

Operating on a Combined Frequency of Every 7/8 Minutes, Revised Services 96/96A/97/97A replace the existing 95/96/96A/97/98/98A which are to merged together following the above Routes, Revised Service 96 would Interwork with Revised Service 97, likewise with the 96A/97A.

(28 Jul 2015, 1:34 pm)Malarkey wrote X66 - Gateshead - MetroCentre - MetroCentre Circular - MetroCentre - Gateshead

Operating via its current frequency between Gateshead & MetroCentre, then Every 15 Minutes it will interwork with Service S1 before returning back to Gateshead, S1 would be Withdrawn.


96/96A - Newcastle - Gateshead - Bensham Bank - Malvern Gardens - Chiltern Gardens - Team Valley North (Maingate) - Lobley Hill- Knightside Gardens - Dunston - MetroCentre - Swalwell Estate - Whickham - Fellside Park - Knightside Gardens - Dunston - Newcastle


97/97A - Newcastle - Gateshead - Bensham Bank - Team Valley North (Maingate) Lobley Hill - Whickham - Fellside Park - Swalwell Estate - MetroCentre - Dunston - Knightside Gardens - Lobley Hill - Team Valley North (Maingate) - Beechwood Gardens - Graigside Gardens -Bensham Bank - Gateshead - Newcastle

Operating on a Combined Frequency of Every 7/8 Minutes, Revised Services 96/96A/97/97A replace the existing 95/96/96A/97/98/98A which are to merged together following the above Routes, Revised Service 96 would Interwork with Revised Service 97, likewise with the 96A/97A.

How can the X66 operate as it is now on a 10 min frequency, then linked to a service on a 15 minute frequency?

(28 Jul 2015, 1:37 pm)citaro5284 wrote How can the X66 operate as it is now on a 10 min frequency, then linked to a service on a 15 minute frequency?

The X66 is every 7.5 mins though.

(28 Jul 2015, 1:38 pm)danpick wrote The X66 is every 7.5 mins though.

Exactly so therefore four X66s an Hour would do the loop of the MetroCentre on an Increased PVR of 6, meaning 2 Streetlite Micro-Hybrids would need to be ordered.

(28 Jul 2015, 2:43 pm)Malarkey wrote Exactly so therefore four X66s an Hour would do the loop of the MetroCentre on an Increased PVR of 6, meaning 2 Streetlite Micro-Hybrids would need to be ordered.

I'm not sure if Go North East would buy two vehicles to extend a service (and replace one), when the service being replaced manages fine with one bus.

(28 Jul 2015, 2:43 pm)Malarkey wrote Exactly so therefore four X66s an Hour would do the loop of the MetroCentre on an Increased PVR of 6, meaning 2 Streetlite Micro-Hybrids would need to be ordered.

Best get to work on that business plan to justify buying two new vehicles (costing in excess of £300,000) for what would be the current S1, then, Malarkey...

Good luck!

(28 Jul 2015, 2:51 pm)Dan wrote Best get to work on that business plan to justify buying two new vehicles (costing in excess of £300,000) for what would be the current S1, then, Malarkey...

Good luck!

Especially when they haven't got the money as they are in debt.

(28 Jul 2015, 2:43 pm)Malarkey wrote Exactly so therefore four X66s an Hour would do the loop of the MetroCentre on an Increased PVR of 6, meaning 2 Streetlite Micro-Hybrids would need to be ordered.

If that did happen, wouldn't they just use 2 spare e.g 5332 and 4944?

(28 Jul 2015, 3:01 pm)Davie wrote If that did happen, wouldn't they just use 2 spare e.g 5332 and 4944?

I imagine, if this extension was to be incorporated into the X66 brand, that the two other vehicles would be branded to just tie it all in. Even though 5332 is the dedicated extra vehicle on a Saturday, I'd have thought this would be all week and the case with every single service. If you owned a shop with six employees, would you want two of them going around casually clothed and not in uniform?

(28 Jul 2015, 2:57 pm)danpick wrote Especially when they haven't got the money as they are in debt.

How is that when the Vehicles purchased in the last financial year were purchased using there own Profits.

(28 Jul 2015, 2:57 pm)danpick wrote Especially when they haven't got the money as they are in debt.

Have you got the figures which show this?

(28 Jul 2015, 3:34 pm)S813 FVK wrote Have you got the figures which show this?

[Image: http://jaysbrickblog.com/wp-content/uplo...es-111.jpg]

(28 Jul 2015, 2:57 pm)danpick wrote Especially when they haven't got the money as they are in debt.

(28 Jul 2015, 3:34 pm)S813 FVK wrote Have you got the figures which show this?

I've got the figures that show they aren't. I hear it's a reliable source too?
http://www.go-ahead.com/ir/results-centre.aspx

X35 Sunderland - East Herrington - Hetton Le Hole - Easington - Peterlee - Blackhall - Hartlepool
Now Runs Hourly,the other trip per hour replaced by revised X36 & new service X37,New PVR 7 (Interworks with X37),Sunday Service`s now run as X36

X36 Peterlee - Easington - South Hetton - Hetton Le Hole - East Herrington - Sunderland - Downhill - Boldon - Heworth - Gateshead - Newcastle (- Cobalt)
Extended to Peterlee to partly replace 1 X35 an Hour,then At Peak Times,Extended to Cobalt From Newcastle to replace X39.
Runs Hourly M-Sat with a new Hourly Sunday Service replacing Sunday X35 Service,New PVR 5

X37 Downhill - Sunderland - Seaham - Peterlee - Hartlepool
New Service replacing the short X36 between Downhill & Sunderland,then running Via X7 route to Peterlee & then To Hartlepool replacing 1 X35 an Hour,
Running Hourly M-Sat,PVR 7 (Interworks with X35)

The X35/6/7 Changes will mean
- Better Links to Cobalt,for what i think will be the first time a bus straight from Peterlee & Sunderland without having to Change
- Improved Sunday Service,with buses running straight from Peterlee to Newcastle
- Faster Hartlepool Services,plus now a Half Hour Fast Peterlee - Sunderland frequency (X7/X37)

If GNE could split the Percy Main to Ashington section of the 19 in Cramlington, do you not think a cross county service would work linking Wansbeck, Blyth Valley, Cobalt, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Jarrow? Something like this:

- 9 every 60 minutes Monday to Saturday serving currrent 19 route to Percy Main then 9 route to Sunderland. Registration would be split in Cramlington.

- 9A every 60 minutes serving Blyth, Newsham (Good for people who find it hard to get to Renwick Rd for the 309), Shankhouse roundabout down towards High Pit then from New Hospital, would operate the same route as the 9.

- 9B every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday serving same route as the current 9. Evening and Sunday buses would operate every 30 minutes and timed to connect with the 19 in Percy Main.

- Option 1 = 19 every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday serving current 19 route to Northumberland Park then via A186 to Holystone then same route as Arriva's 53 to Cramlington. Evening and Sunday journeys would operate every 30 minutes to Northumberland Park and continue hourly to Cramlington. Some journeys termimating at Northumberland Park would also continue as service 9 to Cramlington and perhaps Ashington.

- Option 2 = 19 every 30 minutes Monday to Saturday serving current route to Northumberland Park then via A186 to Holystone then to Four Lane Ends via Forest Hall, West Moor, Quorum, BT and West Farm Avenue. Evening and Sunday journeys would operate half hourly to Northumberland Park but with some 9 journeys like option 1.