On Trains & Buses

In June, First Potteries announced that they were consolidating their operations in the Stoke-on-Trent area to just one depot at Adderley Green. The one at Newcastle is to close and a widespread network overhaul is to come. There is a summary on the website dating from July along with a service by service change summary. A few existing services are being withdrawn while others see route changes and there are frequency improvements. There is one new route and another two being introduced on trial following feedback from local communities. Let’s hope that things remain steady after all this change that comes not so long after a previous attempt to reinvigorate the First Potteries bus network.

Spring Bank Holiday bus service level in Cheshire is that of a Sunday.

Procession of Witness in Manchester tomorrow some bus services disrupted between 09:00 and 12:00. Journeys between Blackburn and Manchester are among these.

First York has published its Spring Bank Holiday arrangements. Park and ride services are as normal with Sunday timetables for others and some not operating at all.

Three Queens event in Merseyside (part of the seven-week One Magnificent City still ongoing so tomorrow could be another busy day. In fact, it looks like the crescendo so many may be travelling to see the sight of three big liners in the Mersey at the same time. Visit Wirral and Sefton Council have more information.

Nottingham City Transport is operating a Sunday bus service on Spring Bank Holiday, apart from W4 that serves Boots factory. First Glasgow is operating a Saturday service on the bank holiday and there there are diversions around Motherwell for a cycle race on Tuesday.

Sunday service on buses and trains in South Yorkshire for Spring Bank Holiday. Trains running as per normal Monday timetable now that strike has been suspended.

With the threat of strike action out of the way, East Midlands Trains’ Spring Bank Holiday weekend timetable has been reinstated.

Last September we lost Cheap Evening Return train tickets around Greater Manchester but their summertime counterpart on the Derwent Valley line has returned for 2015. The price for a return fare is £3 for anyone starting from Derby, £4 for anyone starting from Long Eaton and £6 for anyone starting from Nottingham, Beeston or Attenborough. The line is operated by East Midlands Trains so that may explain why such a venture survives while Northern Rail dropped theirs about my neck of the woods. Let’s hope those sunny summer evenings coax folk out to this southeastern corner of the Peak District National Park.

One of the useful features of the Arriva bus services app (not the ticketing one and that is clunky anyway) is the provision of live bus running information. With how volatile traffic can be around south Manchester, this is useful when it comes to cutting down on waiting times at bus stops, an especially good thing in the winter season. There is an online version too for when you like to check things with a computer. For whatever reason, you can do the same thing graphically or just watch buses go around your town, a minority interest in the eyes of many.

East Midlands Trains has introduced several service improvements for the line between Nottingham, Newark and Lincoln. Here is a summary of the changes in the timetable:

• 25 additional trains every weekday between Newark Castle and Nottingham

• Faster journey times on 17 Nottingham to Lincoln services

• 14 additional daily stops at Hykeham

Saturday week sees new early morning journeys between Oban and Glasgow from the weekend after next, that of the Spring Bank Holiday as it happens. There is to be departure from Glasgow Queen Street at 05:20 and one leaving Oban at 05:20. The latter allows the next departure from Oban to be 08:57 like what is the case for Monday to Friday services. That change makes a day walking trip from Oban more convenient while some early starters may feel the same about the early morning Glasgow service, be they either walkers, island hoppers or both.