(29 Mar 2026, 8:06 pm)PH - BQA wrote Hearing that more cuts are on the way in Northumberland, in direct opposition to the "frequency increases" that were floated in one of the recent Arriva statements.

It’s increases where they’re needed and decreases where the Northumberland line has absorbed some of the passengers. The 35 is supposedly going back up to every 15 and X21/22 dropping back down to every 15 combined, which fits about right with the rumours of the X22 being extended up to Newbiggin. The biggest draw with routes around that way now is links to Northumberland Line stations, so expect similar changes in the future with Blyth routes

and everyone said I was talking nonsense that the Northumberland Line was going to affect the Newcastle expresses...

It was always going to happen, only a complete idiot would use the Arriva buses if they live near the railway line (nearby being, at least, a 10 minute walk)

It's just a shame the railway has it's own problems with capacity issues which could be fun tomorrow with Bedlington now being open.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:19 pm)Storx wrote and everyone said I was talking nonsense that the Northumberland Line was going to affect the Newcastle expresses...

It was always going to happen, only a complete idiot would use the Arriva buses if they live near the railway line (nearby being, at least, a 10 minute walk)

It's just a shame the railway has it's own problems with capacity issues which could be fun tomorrow with Bedlington now being open.

I always thought there would be changes, but the posts you made always read as if it would finish Arriva in the area which is where I, and I suspect others disagreed with you. It's sensible now that Arriva have data on how the line is going, to make adaptions to the network to suit it. There's potential for growth for them if they do it right.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:26 pm)Shrek wrote I always thought there would be changes, but the posts you made always read as if it would finish Arriva in the area which is where I, and I suspect others disagreed with you. It's sensible now that Arriva have data on how the line is going, to make adaptions to the network to suit it. There's potential for growth for them if they do it right.

The issue is that, as per previous, the people running this operation don't know how to get it right. 

The cut to the X22 is expected, they've barely ran for the best part of a year, the X21 is the surprise - and they've made that decision without any data from Bedlington Station. 

Ultimately they've only themselves to blame, the complete mismanagement of drivers and vehicles has put the writing on the wall. The Northumberland Line will, obviously, have taken people away from both services - but I'd think an equal (or larger) amount of people have binned off the bus given the shocking reliability of it.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:26 pm)Shrek wrote I always thought there would be changes, but the posts you made always read as if it would finish Arriva in the area which is where I, and I suspect others disagreed with you. It's sensible now that Arriva have data on how the line is going, to make adaptions to the network to suit it. There's potential for growth for them if they do it right.

Ah no, must've overread my posts, never thought it would kill them completely, even known it might've come across like that. 

I've always said the X21/X22 would end up half hourly, always made sense as if you interworked the 1/2 into the routes they'd effectively be every 15 minutes anyway on the important bits rather than them duplicating each other.

Still surprised the 43 isn't going to Blyth yet mind, to deal with the driver changeovers miles away from the depot, even more so with the X30 existing now or some of the expresses being somehow merged into the 43/44/45 corridor.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:07 pm)220631612 wrote It’s increases where they’re needed and decreases where the Northumberland line has absorbed some of the passengers. The 35 is supposedly going back up to every 15 and X21/22 dropping back down to every 15 combined, which fits about right with the rumours of the X22 being extended up to Newbiggin. The biggest draw with routes around that way now is links to Northumberland Line stations, so expect similar changes in the future with Blyth routes

35 is just back to where it was 10 years ago though, and they're not doing it properly (insisting on looping Newbiggin, which was a disaster in 2021 when they tried it last time). 

The cuts are also to the 1/2 (route related) if comments from drivers a few weeks ago are anything to go by. 

If you don't live on the 35 route these changes are overwhelmingly negative - and even for 35 passengers they're not great.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:50 pm)PH - BQA wrote 35 is just back to where it was 10 years ago though, and they're not doing it properly (insisting on looping Newbiggin, which was a disaster in 2021 when they tried it last time). 

The cuts are also to the 1/2 (route related) if comments from drivers a few weeks ago are anything to go by. 

If you don't live on the 35 route these changes are overwhelmingly negative - and even for 35 passengers they're not great.

The cuts to the 1&2 route wise aren’t as scathing as you might think. It’s just to make operations easier for reliability. If it does happen, the 2 will be coming out of Kirkhill replaced with the X16 again (which is arguably a win) and the 1’s cut back to Wansbeck hospital with an unknown replacement to the estate (although rumours have previously suggested the X22 which is poised to be extended to Newbiggin). Until full details are released it’s pretty much all speculation. However I do think the changes overall will be positive in respect to where the current passenger flows are following the Northumberland Line.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:44 pm)PH - BQA wrote The issue is that, as per previous, the people running this operation don't know how to get it right. 

The cut to the X22 is expected, they've barely ran for the best part of a year, the X21 is the surprise - and they've made that decision without any data from Bedlington Station. 

Ultimately they've only themselves to blame, the complete mismanagement of drivers and vehicles has put the writing on the wall. The Northumberland Line will, obviously, have taken people away from both services - but I'd think an equal (or larger) amount of people have binned off the bus given the shocking reliability of it.

I can't comment on the management up there, but I would be shocked if they haven't got good enough modelling to make informed decisions regarding Bedlington Station on what they've got from the stations that are currently open. Whether they use that in the right way is another matter, but they'll have enough data to work with.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:44 pm)PH - BQA wrote The issue is that, as per previous, the people running this operation don't know how to get it right. 

The cut to the X22 is expected, they've barely ran for the best part of a year, the X21 is the surprise - and they've made that decision without any data from Bedlington Station. 

Ultimately they've only themselves to blame, the complete mismanagement of drivers and vehicles has put the writing on the wall. The Northumberland Line will, obviously, have taken people away from both services - but I'd think an equal (or larger) amount of people have binned off the bus given the shocking reliability of it.

See I don't think the X21 should exist going forward; it's obvious what's going to happen around Bedlington Station so get rid and replace it with a slow service like the 43 in Stobhill (same issues). 

Something like that:


Would be much more beneficial for a Newcastle Express as it stays away from the areas where the train is, giving a much better service to South Ashington and Newbiggin which is a huge area and is way too slow right now (or non existent evenings / Sundays). There's no need for express buses from Bedlington Station or Ashington Town Centre now.

(29 Mar 2026, 9:26 pm)Shrek wrote I always thought there would be changes, but the posts you made always read as if it would finish Arriva in the area which is where I, and I suspect others disagreed with you. It's sensible now that Arriva have data on how the line is going, to make adaptions to the network to suit it. There's potential for growth for them if they do it right.

As myself and others have said many times. 
If you have the choice of the two, the mode of transport will depend on where you're wanting to end up. 
Haymarket or Northern part of the town - bus.
Central Station or the bottom part of the town - train.

ANE need to adapt to ensure those wanting the bus, can get the bus. 
And for those wanting the train, offer a solution to those people.

Quite why they've waited until now to make the changes, baffles me.
If they had been proactive and been ready for the line opening...

(30 Mar 2026, 2:05 pm)Andreos1 wrote As myself and others have said many times. 
If you have the choice of the two, the mode of transport will depend on where you're wanting to end up. 
Haymarket or Northern part of the town - bus.
Central Station or the bottom part of the town - train.

ANE need to adapt to ensure those wanting the bus, can get the bus. 
And for those wanting the train, offer a solution to those people.

Quite why they've waited until now to make the changes, baffles me.
If they had been proactive and been ready for the line opening...

Tbf there is no changes they're just cutting the frequency and that's it. Nothing positive about that. 

Sadly people in places like Nedderton and Stakeford are suffering as a result as they don't have a train nearby for the benefits of slogging a bus via Bedlington Station where they have a choice and there's huge housing developments in the areas aswell. 

The routes need split imo. There's very little in common with them anyway bar Ashington Bus Station so the priority should be on the X21 between Newcastle and Bedlington, the X22 between Bedlington and Stakeford and the X21 between there and Ashington especially with the level of housing building around Choppington running every 20 minutes which is attractive unlike every 30 minutes. 

The rest can be covered by something else which is slower ideally joining the 40's so they have a choice if they want. The X9 also joining them for similar reasons.

Northumbria timetables from the 10th May are now up on Arriva's site (if that can be believed):

1:
-Will terminate at Ashington and interwork with 57/57A

X14:
-09:27 from Longframlington will begin from Thropton

X20:
-New AM peak journey from Ashington to Newcastle at 07:05
-New term time only PM peak journey from Newcastle to Ashington at 17:14

2:
-Revised timetable
-Afternoon peak frequency to Kirkhill reduced to hourly

43:
-06:45 and 14:00 from Newcastle to Bedlington revised to terminate at Cramlington in term time
-15:46 from Bedlington to Newcastle revised to begin from Cramlington in term time

35:
-Increased to every 15 minutes
-As current route to North Seaton, then direct via A189 to Woodhorn and back down through Newbiggin towards Ashington (clockwise loop).

X21/22:
-X21 as current to Wansbeck Hospital then via A189 to Spital and back up through Newbiggin towards Ashington (anticlockwise loop).
-X22 extended to Wansbeck Hospital and Widdrington Station in place of the 1
-X21/22 each revised to half hourly, every 15 minutes combined.

Well I don't live in Blyth anymore, but when I did I know the direct link to Wansbeck Hospital was useful and popular. Don't know if people are not making those journeys now.

I hope this improves the reliability of the 57 and 57A, as they are still always really impacted by late running. Even when good quality vehicles are allocated this still happens, possibly due to very tight timings (especially at Whitley bay end, almost no layover), and also because these routes don't have as much of a peak time as such, they are popular all day and can be making loads of stops all day.

(06 Apr 2026, 3:08 pm)peter wrote Northumbria timetables from the 10th May are now up on Arriva's site (if that can be believed):

1:
-Will terminate at Ashington and interwork with 57/57A

X14:
-09:27 from Longframlington will begin from Thropton

X20:
-New term time only journey from Newcastle to Ashington at 17:14

2:
-Revised timetable
-Afternoon peak frequency to Kirkhill reduced to hourly

43:
-06:45 and 14:00 from Newcastle to Bedlington revised to terminate at Cramlington in term time
-15:46 from Bedlington to Newcastle revised to begin from Cramlington in term time

35:
-Increased to every 15 minutes
-As current route to North Seaton, then direct via A189 to Woodhorn and back down through Newbiggin towards Ashington (clockwise loop).

X21/22:
-X21 as current to Wansbeck Hospital then via A189 to Spital and back up through Newbiggin towards Ashington (anticlockwise loop).
-X22 extended to Wansbeck Hospital and Widdrington Station in place of the 1
-X21/22 each revised to half hourly, every 15 minutes combined.

There is also an additional AM peak X20, which isn’t term time. Assuming this means the PM peak will utilise the school bus, with the AM peak running dead to Thropton to form the 0904. 

Running time has actually been taken out of the 2, despite it being notorious for delays as it stands. 

Interworking the 1 and 57 with delay hotspots of Bebside and Moor Farm is a recipe for disaster too.

(07 Apr 2026, 9:08 am)PH - BQA wrote Interworking the 1 and 57 with delay hotspots of Bebside and Moor Farm is a recipe for disaster too.

To be fair, it can't be any worse than it is. The 57/57A doesn't work currently at all; it badly needs the extra 8 minutes or so each board is getting now and both routes are getting the extra running time from the 1 doing Ashington to Wansbeck Hospital which is no longer used.

Like in an ideal world, I'd say add an extra bus and extend them all to Wansbeck Hospital since it's an important destination and would link the vast majority of SE Northumberland to the hospital, including an interconnecting hospital link between Wansbeck and Northumbria aswell but that's another discussion.

57 and 57A total joke today. 11:46 57 from Whitley Bay, dosen't arrive into Whitley until 12:16 from Ashington so it is cancelled and then the 57A 12:16 does not leave until 12:35.

Given 7635 arrived at 12:16, could they not then have put that on the 57A so that left on time? Then the late 1497 could have been the one gone out of service to catch up at other end of route.

This type of thing is typical, and so I do hope these May changes improve it, but not so sure. But if it happens that the arrival journey is so late that it ends up being the time of the next departure, and the next departure is also late, I would rather they use the late bus to form the on time next departure, as could have happened today. 7635 would have been an on time 57A, so at least that journey would be on time. I guess the cancellation of the 11:46 57 was unavoidable, but they could have ran the next one on time!

(16 Apr 2026, 11:47 am)Arriva7446 wrote 57 and 57A total joke today. 11:46 57 from Whitley Bay, dosen't arrive into Whitley until 12:16 from Ashington so it is cancelled and then the 57A 12:16 does not leave until 12:35.

Given 7635 arrived at 12:16, could they not then have put that on the 57A so that left on time? Then the late 1497 could have been the one gone out of service to catch up at other end of route.

This type of thing is typical, and so I do hope these May changes improve it, but not so sure. But if it happens that the arrival journey is so late that it ends up being the time of the next departure, and the next departure is also late, I would rather they use the late bus to form the on time next departure, as could have happened today. 7635 would have been an on time 57A, so at least that journey would be on time. I guess the cancellation of the 11:46 57 was unavoidable, but they could have ran the next one on time!

Northrumbra for ya  obviously don't think for  solutions  that would benefit  the public if there's a late running  and a bus in  logical to swrap the vechale around so the late one could do the one that left on time with the delay sevice arriving 

Another logical  is pick up only  and then drop off where passengers required to get off  that's what there do down at Redcar Whitby when one of their sevice running late  and it actually works and the sevice is nealy back on schedule

https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/service-chan...r-may-2026

(Yesterday, 5:08 pm)Nerd4321 wrote https://www.arrivabus.co.uk/service-chan...r-may-2026

Buses getting stuck in traffic at Bebside, presumably because of all the cars driving to and from the station, going to places the buses don't. 

The answer? Reduce services to/from Bebside.

Meanwhile down south... https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew7wy55qk2o

(Yesterday, 9:28 pm)Andreos1 wrote Buses getting stuck in traffic at Bebside, presumably because of all the cars driving to and from the station, going to places the buses don't. 

The answer? Reduce services to/from Bebside.

Meanwhile down south... https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew7wy55qk2o

Where are they reducing the number of buses to and from Bebside?

(Today, 5:52 am)PH - BQA wrote Where are they reducing the number of buses to and from Bebside?

They aren't - they are giving both the 1 and 2 additional running time between Bebside and Blyth on an afternoon (at the expense of Kirkhill going to hourly around 4pm - although it would appear there's an additional bus dropping in on the 2 around that time).

(Yesterday, 9:28 pm)Andreos1 wrote Buses getting stuck in traffic at Bebside, presumably because of all the cars driving to and from the station, going to places the buses don't. 

The answer? Reduce services to/from Bebside.

Meanwhile down south... https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cew7wy55qk2o

I dont see how that is the problem or even make use of the station. Bebside area has always been horrible for traffic even before the station opened. The way Bebside is designed is just horrible in a lot of regards with the way the traffic lights & roundabout and going from two lanes to 1 lane its just a mess

(Today, 9:12 am)Nerd4321 wrote I dont see how that is the problem or even make use of the station. Bebside area has always been horrible for traffic even before the station opened. The way Bebside is designed is just horrible in a lot of regards with the way the traffic lights & roundabout and going from two lanes to 1 lane its just a mess

In fairness with proper integration there's an argument the 1 shouldn't really exist. All the local links in the Bomersund area (bar Blyth) are covered by the X21 and the Blyth to Bedlington links are covered with the 2. Everyone else should be changing onto the train since it's just duplicating it.

Imo in a proper integrated world, you'd have buses waiting for the train to pull in to take you to your final destination doing the last mile in Blyrh - even the yanks do this. If the fares were integrated can't see many people really complaining about it since you can't stick a railway to everyone's front door. ]

It's a way to reduce cars as people can travel via bus to the station rather than driving there (like now) which causes traffic in Bebside. Right now you've got a fantastic rail service but you can't connect to it because there's no last mile links.

Ironically the 434, 'Northumberland Line Connect', leaves 2 minutes before the train arrives which is just moronic at both Ashington and Bedlington Station, knock the thing back by about 12 minutes and it would connect perfectly in both directions at both stations so there's not exactly much hope.

(Today, 8:53 am)Kuyoyo wrote They aren't - they are giving both the 1 and 2 additional running time between Bebside and Blyth on an afternoon (at the expense of Kirkhill going to hourly around 4pm - although it would appear there's an additional bus dropping in on the 2 around that time).

Which was exactly my point… 

That said, some of the small decisions in these changes are baffling. The cut to Kirkhill in the peaks (you know, when people are finishing work and school) a prime example of running things for operational efficiency rather than passenger benefit.

---

(11 hours ago)Storx wrote [snip]

Ironically the 434, 'Northumberland Line Connect', leaves 2 minutes before the train arrives which is just moronic at both Ashington and Bedlington Station, knock the thing back by about 12 minutes and it would connect perfectly in both directions at both stations so there's not exactly much hope.

Is it known why the "connections" are so peculialy loose? 
Someone must have thought about the timetable, but it seems (at best) extremely cautious about the time needed to move between bus stop and the platform, and about the timekeeping of the bus and train. Perhaps desperate to avoid criticism about say a delayed incoming bus missing a train, and vice versa; but if so that feels very weak thinking, basically designing for failure. Or is punctuality really that bad?

[Edit] To Newcastle, morning connections from bus to train are 22 mins at both Ashington and Bedlington. Afternoon return connections are 17 and 18 mins. So AM buses better if about 12 mins later, and PM buses about 12 mins earlier (and wait for trains, within reason.) Or are the 434 timings constrained by also serving school travel?

(7 hours ago)Busadvocate wrote Is it known why the "connections" are so peculialy loose? 
Someone must have thought about the timetable, but it seems (at best) extremely cautious about the time needed to move between bus stop and the platform, and about the timekeeping of the bus and train. Perhaps desperate to avoid criticism about say a delayed incoming bus missing a train, and vice versa; but if so that feels very weak thinking, basically designing for failure. Or is punctuality really that bad?

[Edit] To Newcastle, morning connections from bus to train are 22 mins at both Ashington and Bedlington. Afternoon return connections are 17 and 18 mins. So AM buses better if about 12 mins later, and PM buses about 12 mins earlier (and wait for trains, within reason.) Or are the 434 timings constrained by also serving school travel?

Don't believe it's intentional, if I'm right.

The Northumberland Line changed it's times quite a bit back in December, believe the whole line got pushed back by 10 minutes or so (if I remember right) and they just haven't bothered to change the bus timetable.

Didn't help they slashed the frequency before Bedlington Station even opened which was a bit of an own goal as let's be honest no-one wants a bus to there without the railway station.