On Trains & Buses

​

Changes to Arriva bus services around Darlington

Posted on October 28, 2013

Reading time: 4 minutes.

​

Since yesterday, Arriva has set in place quite a reorganisation of bus services around Darlington. This was an operation acquired from Stagecoach and I was travelling some of the buses transferred during the transaction on a visit to Teesdale during the Mayday Bank Holiday weekend of 2008. The seats still retained the covering patterns or moquette favoured by their former owner while many if not all had gained Arriva corporate paintwork by that time.

1, 1B Darlington - Bishop Auckland - Crook - Tow Law

All of these will depart now from Stand I on Tubwell Row in Darlington. The X1 sees an extra service from West Auckland at 07:44 that follows the route of service 6 as far as Tindale Crescent before continuing along the usual X1 route to Darlington with an arrival time of 08:25.

2 Darlington - Branksome

Also departs from Stand I on Tubwell Row in Darlington.

3 Darlington - Mowden

Also departs from Stand I on Tubwell Row in Darlington.

4 Darlington - Minors Crescent - Darlington

Now departs from Stand J on Tubwell Row in Darlington.

5, 5A Bishop Auckland - Shildon - Newton Aycliffe - Aycliffe Industrial Estate - Darlington

This now departs from Stand H on Tubwell Row in Darlington with no change in timetable. However, evening and Sunday services no longer interwork with those on service 7 and the Sunday service interwork with the X66 instead.

7 Darlington - Newton Aycliffe - Woodham - Chilton - Ferryhill - Durham

It is the addition of Thinford’s DurhamGate development to the route that has meant the breaking of any interworking with service 5A. The required additional running time between Ferryhill and Durham is the cause of both of this and changes in timings. There is one journey that has been removed from the service and added to another: an early morning one commencing from Coxhoe to Durham. Buses now depart from Stand H on Darlington’s Tubwell Row.

8 Darlington - Aycliffe - Ferryhill - Spennymoor8A Ferryhill - Spennymoor

Service 8 remains unaltered apart from a change to departure stand (now H) on Darlington’s Tubwell Row that also affects the 8A. It is the latter that sees route changes to take in the southern section of Thinford’s DurhamGate development while an opportunity to standardise route timings also gets taken.

9 Darlington - Haughton Road - Springfield

10 Darlington - Haughton Road - Whinfield

An extra vehicle is added to the roster for this service to improve timekeeping and it now uses Stand F on Prebend Row in Darlington as its departure point.

11 Red Hall - Darlington

No change.

12, 12A Hurworth - Darlington Town Centre - Trees Park Village

No change.

13A, 13B Darlington - Firth Moor - Darlington

Now departs from Stand G on Prebend Row in Darlington.

14 Darlington - Skerne Park

14A Harrowgate Hill - Darlington - Skerne Park

14B Springfield - Darlington - Skerne Park

Because of the withdrawal of services 6 and 6A, this route gets quite an overhaul with even different stands being used for each service. All do use Stand J on Tubwell Row for services to Skerne Park. Services 14 and 14A see revised timetables with former long journeys on the 14 as far as Morrison’s supermarket being extended as far as Whinbush to serve former customers of the 6 and 6A using the number 14B. On the way to Whinbush, the 14B uses Stand K on Tubwell Row. The 14A will depart from Stand H on Tubwell Row for Harrogate Farm.

19 Darlington - Faverdale - West Park

No change.

21 Darlington - Sedgefield - Trimdon Village - Peterlee

21A Middlesbrough - Sedgefield - Trimdon Village - Peterlee

Service 21 now departs from Stand H on Tubwell Row in Darlington.

59 Askrigg - Hawes - Leyburn

X59 Askrigg - Hawes - Leyburn - Darlington

No change.

75 Darlington - Staindrop - Barnard Castle

76 Darlington - Winston - Barnard Castle

No change.

X26, 26A Darlington - Richmond -

Colburn - Catterick Garrison

X27 Darlington - Richmond - Marne

No change.

X66/X67 Darlington - Harrowgate Hill - Stockton - Middlesbrough

The only change is to the Sunday timetable when journeys run thirty minutes later to interwork with services 5 and 5A. Otherwise, the Darlington departure point or the rest of the timetable is untouched.