(08 Sep 2013, 5:29 pm)gtomlinson wrote I can't see GNE taking on Arriva and more importantly, Stagecoach in the Cumbria region
GNE go roughly half way down that corridor between Hexham and Carlisle to Haltwhistle, and from my findingS which could be wrong, currently only the 685 operated by Arriva/Stagecoach serves that entire corridor.
And GNE wouldn't be competing, they'd be simply improving services along that corridor so to speak, as it would be daft to compete with Stagecoach/Reays in Carlisle. If they have a few services that go into Carlisle Town Centre and no further they should be fine.
I wouldn't expect them to go into direct competition and have a Service themselves from Carlisle to Penrith as they'd find they'll have the same problem as they did with the OK1 and plus they'd be further duplicating an already existing Service and also wasting a lot of money in doing so.