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 -
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.