(19 May 2014, 12:44 am)Andreos Constantopolous wrote Between Shiney Row and Easington Lane, I guesstimate there are roughly 19/20 stops.
Round it to 20 for ease at an average of 30secs per stop.
Roughly half of those stops were used on the x5.
The 62mins from Easington Lane is optimistic at the best of times.
Many a time I have done Houghton - Newcastle (or vice versa) and it has taken an hour just for that stretch.
Is your guestimate based upon stops in one or both directions?
The stops used for service X5 between Shiney Row and Easington Lane were as follows: Herrington Burn; Philadelphia Depot; Newbottle Jolly Potter; Houghton-le-Spring Church; and Hetton-le-Hole Colliery Inn.
If it's based on one direction, then the X5 stopped at only a quarter of the stops used by service X1 today.
Are all the stops well used on this route? - Drawing upon my own observations travelling from Rowlands Gill to Metrocentre or Newcastle, there are at least three stops which are rarely used (Thornley Woodlands Centre; Swalwell Juniors and Swalwell Cricket/Tennis Clubs. If I were a scheduler then I'd might not assign as much time to these stops as I would to others.