(23 Sep 2025, 7:22 pm)DaveFromUpNorth wrote BSIP funding or even Nexus Funding for 6-12 month
Works service 91 although it is a one journey wonder from Verne Road around 440am to Team Valley it is an interesting route which imo could be adapted into a service route and give great connections that are not actually present.
Hear me out... it fundamentally a works service with having Cobalt at one end and Team Valley at the other so early morning and rush hour is covered during the day you create meaningful links for residents aswell creating cross links between metro stations and open new links.
I would make it a 30 min service
instead of starting at Verne Road (maybe for the first service of the day to incorporate the route into an early morning route... but say a general service of
Northumberland Park Rail Hub - Cobalt - Hadrian Park- (Wiltshire Drive ) Down to Wallsend Metro over to Walkergate Metro- Walker bus terminal St Anthonys - Byker Metro and Byker Morrisons- then Monument /Market St Central Station Direct to Team Valley with a strong emphasis of driving around the Northside and then Southside not the central drag in a Anti or clockwise direction even possibly stopping at Sainsbury as a terminus ( so drivers can have a pee)
I do think it will have an interesting link and link many communities and businesses as well as shift workers etc
Open for debate (but Wiltshire Drive is negotiable )
It's an interesting idea but I'm not sure. It duplicates the 12/18/22/Q3 depending on which bit is so unsure you'll pick people many up.
I respect that you'd reduce the Northumberland Park links (you could double back by it but unsure whether it's worth it) but personally I'd go further and try and create some loop at the Eastern side, something like this:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/54.97090...?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDkyMS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
At the same time, the 350/351 being curtailed at Northumberland Park. The other side of the loop is the old Arriva 337 pretty much and would open up links for Marden to anywhere bar Tynemouth / Whitley Bay with loads of new connections to Cobalt which don't exist and Silverlink which is difficult to get to, unless you live on the 308 route.
The 350/351 currently are pretty much dead East of Northumberland Park, so why not try something different?