Interesting discussion about depot mergers and closures

A vital piece of information you all missed

CLS houses National Express division of GNE

Reflecting on the thoughts

Merging Washington and CLS would be the better theory but with modern depots these days it is outdoor depots rather than indoors

Sites like Follingsby Park for road connections onto A195 to Washington A194 to A1 to CLS junction seems quite a plausible suggestion

National Holidays had a depot in washington before they went bust but rebranded

If not Follingsby as a location Drum Industrial Estate A693 straight onto A1

Personally that a little more difficult to navigate to get to Washington really

Modern technology these days and timetable planning when mentioned about Seaham and Peterlee services can be quite clever if you change the method so it doesn't run empty or light run a service back so it's closer to a depot

Having indoor depots these days are major risk hazards in terms of if there is a fire the whole fleet could be lost if it is outside you can manouve and move vehicles easily

You also have too take into account special deals and business rates that local authorities are providing deals meaning landowners if you sign a 20yr deal etc so location is very important when planning for a new building

But remember the STAGECOACH and National Express merger is not going ahead so National Express more than likely will stay with GNE