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suzyscottdotcomFirstly, no, the Cambridgeshire (Mis)Guided Busway isn’t open yet. Still. No sight of route registrations. I’m not really paying attention to the various council press releases for now (we’re not opening/we are opening/we’re thinking about opening/ignore the last two we sent out, we’re still not opening/etc.) The southern section is now beginning to resemble a finished track, so who knows? Roadworks between Trumpington and the M11 are being done to allow the Addenbrooke’s access road, which is not connected with the above. No, instead of getting a dedicated lane on a new road for The Busway, Cambs CC decided they’d dig UNDER Trumpington Road/Hauxton Road, thus rendering that side of The Busway single-deck only. As for the proposed smartcards… not heard a peep since.
Further to the Cambridge Bus Developments post, Stagecoach Service 18 to/from Caxton is also seeing Volvo Olympians during the day – including one still in an advertisement for Peterborough Greyhounds!. The route is operated by the Stagecoach in the Fens Ltd. depot at Fenstanton.
London, and the East London Line (now part of London Overground) has opened between Dalston and New Cross or New Cross Gate, running a trial service on weekday 0700-2000 until 23rd May, when full service between Dalston and New Cross, Crystal Palace or West Croydon, is due to start. I will come to the May National Rail changes below.
Into Hertfordshire, and following the expansion of Tiger Line’s Service T2 in April to include a Saturday service (and more peak journeys), Arriva have reacted by adding further buses to the Hemel Hempstead – Watford corridor, which currently has 4 Arriva buses an hour – two 500’s via Cassiobury Estate and Apsley, and two 550’s via Nash Mills and Watford Junction. Well, the through 500’s (weekday daytimes) will not serve Cassiobury Estate, and will run up and down Hempstead Road. There will then be extra short 500’s between Hemel and Watford, which will serve Cassiobury. As a result, the 550 has been tweaked by a few minutes, to provide a bus every 10 minutes between Hemel Hempstead and Watford via Kings Langley. These start on 10th May 2010.
Scotland, and bus operators across the country are to see a small cut in their Entitlement Card revenue (paid to operators for taking free concession passes). In addition, the Scottish Government has not increased the level of fuel duty rebate paid back to bus operators (now termed Bus Service Operator Grant), which has been done in the rest of the UK. This is going to create somewhat of a shortfall in operator revenue.
Woes aside, it would be easier to list the operators not called up by the Traffic Commissioner for public enquiries (or as someone said on Facebook, “tea & biscuits”). National Express Dundee have been called up on various issues, and have just registered a large package of service changes for June.
Elsewhere in Dundee and surrounds, Stagecoach Strathtay are making a package of commercial and subsidised service changes across Angus, from 29th May 2010. Further details to follow. This is also the date for various cuts being made by the council, following budget pressures and a new way of interpreting cost/benefit analysis.
Outside of Dundee City, and from the 4th of May (tomorrow), Stagecoach Bluebird’s 107/109/117/X7 (Aberdeen – Stonehaven – Montrose) is having a reduced timetable. This follows the end of the Bus Route Development Grant subsidy (and matters above). Basically, 106 is being used for (southbound only) buses going a different way around Portlethen. Portlethen will still be 4 buses an hour, but Stonehaven will revert to two buses an hour. The section of route between Stonehaven, Inverbervie, Gourdoun, Johnshaven, St Cyrus, Charleton Road and Montrose, is reverting to the 101 number, with buses running only between these points, to change for Aberdeen. While having to change, it will resolve the issue that Montrose-bound buses have had for the last little while, of running through all the estates of Stonehaven, before leaving town. Nicoll’s Service 113 (Stonehaven - Montrose) is unchanged.
South a bit now to Edinburgh. Lothian Buses have decided to drop the harlequin, and from 1st April, have got a streamlined version of the traditional madder and white. Apparently, the story goes that, now every bus is low floor, there is no need to highlight low floor buses. Mind you, I would have had this up before, but I was a little wary of being caught out with that date!
National Rail Summer Timetable
The new timetable PDF was published online last week, and the main summary of changes is as follows;
Chiltern Railways
From May 2010 we will once again be introducing a regular summer Sunday service between London Marylebone
and Stratford-upon-Avon. We have no other major timetable changes in May 2010. However, the major Evergreen
3 investment being made this year will result in a much improved Chiltern Mainline timetable with reduced
journey times to London to be introduced in December 2010 and May 2011. As part of this work our late night
and weekend services will be subject to major disruption in 2010, so please check before you travel.
East Coast
Our timetable is broadly similar to that which operated in December 2009. A few minor alterations have been
made to calling points, however, these are limited to weekday afternoons and Sunday mornings. On weekends
from 17 July to 5 September there is engineering work taking place in the Stevenage area meaning services are
timed to depart London Kings Cross earlier than normal.
East Midlands Trains
The London to Corby services and vice versa will have a reduced journey time as the long layovers at Kettering
have been removed. Additional stops at Chesterfield have been added to the majority of the southbound xx.47
Sheffield to St Pancras services on weekdays and Saturdays. The SO St Pancras to York and return service has
been extended to Scarborough until 4 September.
Grand Central
Brand new intercity services introduced between London Kings Cross and Bradford, calling at Halifax, Brighouse,
Wakefield, Pontefract and Doncaster. Initially three services per day operate in each direction - full timetabled
details are shown on Table 26. Catering and First Class accommodation are available on all these new services.
London Overground
The London Overground network is being extended with three new routes introduced. Services will run 7 days a
week, up to 4 trains per hour:
• Between Dalston Junction and New Cross
• Between Dalston Junction and Crystal Palace
• Between Dalston Junction and West Croydon
The above three routes will provide a service of up to 12 trains per hour between Dalston Junction and Surrey
Quays
Services between Gospel Oak and Barking will be enhanced, up to 4 trains per hour Mondays to Saturdays.
ScotRail
We will be commencing a service of three trains per day on Mondays to Fridays from Edinburgh to Dunbar, with
two in the opposite direction.
Southern
To accommodate the new London Overground train service of 8 trains per hour between the East London Line
and Crystal Palace and West Croydon stopping at all stations via Forest Hill, the Southern Metro train service is
extensively revised with many consequential alterations to Main Line trains. These are the most significant
alterations.
• Peak trains between London Bridge, Wallington, Sutton, and the Epsom Line run fast between Norwood
Junction and London Bridge
• Off Peak trains between London Bridge, Wallington and Sutton replaced by a connection at Norwood
Junction with fast London Bridge trains
• Off Peak and evening peak Victoria, Norwood Junction, West Croydon trains extended to Sutton
• Off Peak additional fast journeys between London Bridge and Norwood Junction provided by an additional
stop for Tattenham Corner trains
• New morning peak trains between the Forest Hill Line and London Victoria
• Morning peak Beckenham Junction to London Victoria trains diverted via Tulse Hill to London Bridge
• Additional morning peak trains to London Bridge via Norbury and Tulse Hill route
• Additional morning peak trains between East or South Croydon and West London Line via Norbury
• Caterham, Tattenham Corner and East Grinstead peak trains become half hourly to both London Bridge
and Victoria
Plus many alterations on other routes, please check the new times before travelling.
Further to the Cambridge Bus Developments post, Stagecoach Service 18 to/from Caxton is also seeing Volvo Olympians during the day – including one still in an advertisement for Peterborough Greyhounds!. The route is operated by the Stagecoach in the Fens Ltd. depot at Fenstanton.
London, and the East London Line (now part of London Overground) has opened between Dalston and New Cross or New Cross Gate, running a trial service on weekday 0700-2000 until 23rd May, when full service between Dalston and New Cross, Crystal Palace or West Croydon, is due to start. I will come to the May National Rail changes below.
Into Hertfordshire, and following the expansion of Tiger Line’s Service T2 in April to include a Saturday service (and more peak journeys), Arriva have reacted by adding further buses to the Hemel Hempstead – Watford corridor, which currently has 4 Arriva buses an hour – two 500’s via Cassiobury Estate and Apsley, and two 550’s via Nash Mills and Watford Junction. Well, the through 500’s (weekday daytimes) will not serve Cassiobury Estate, and will run up and down Hempstead Road. There will then be extra short 500’s between Hemel and Watford, which will serve Cassiobury. As a result, the 550 has been tweaked by a few minutes, to provide a bus every 10 minutes between Hemel Hempstead and Watford via Kings Langley. These start on 10th May 2010.
Scotland, and bus operators across the country are to see a small cut in their Entitlement Card revenue (paid to operators for taking free concession passes). In addition, the Scottish Government has not increased the level of fuel duty rebate paid back to bus operators (now termed Bus Service Operator Grant), which has been done in the rest of the UK. This is going to create somewhat of a shortfall in operator revenue.
Woes aside, it would be easier to list the operators not called up by the Traffic Commissioner for public enquiries (or as someone said on Facebook, “tea & biscuits”). National Express Dundee have been called up on various issues, and have just registered a large package of service changes for June.
Elsewhere in Dundee and surrounds, Stagecoach Strathtay are making a package of commercial and subsidised service changes across Angus, from 29th May 2010. Further details to follow. This is also the date for various cuts being made by the council, following budget pressures and a new way of interpreting cost/benefit analysis.
Outside of Dundee City, and from the 4th of May (tomorrow), Stagecoach Bluebird’s 107/109/117/X7 (Aberdeen – Stonehaven – Montrose) is having a reduced timetable. This follows the end of the Bus Route Development Grant subsidy (and matters above). Basically, 106 is being used for (southbound only) buses going a different way around Portlethen. Portlethen will still be 4 buses an hour, but Stonehaven will revert to two buses an hour. The section of route between Stonehaven, Inverbervie, Gourdoun, Johnshaven, St Cyrus, Charleton Road and Montrose, is reverting to the 101 number, with buses running only between these points, to change for Aberdeen. While having to change, it will resolve the issue that Montrose-bound buses have had for the last little while, of running through all the estates of Stonehaven, before leaving town. Nicoll’s Service 113 (Stonehaven - Montrose) is unchanged.
South a bit now to Edinburgh. Lothian Buses have decided to drop the harlequin, and from 1st April, have got a streamlined version of the traditional madder and white. Apparently, the story goes that, now every bus is low floor, there is no need to highlight low floor buses. Mind you, I would have had this up before, but I was a little wary of being caught out with that date!
National Rail Summer Timetable
The new timetable PDF was published online last week, and the main summary of changes is as follows;
Chiltern Railways
From May 2010 we will once again be introducing a regular summer Sunday service between London Marylebone
and Stratford-upon-Avon. We have no other major timetable changes in May 2010. However, the major Evergreen
3 investment being made this year will result in a much improved Chiltern Mainline timetable with reduced
journey times to London to be introduced in December 2010 and May 2011. As part of this work our late night
and weekend services will be subject to major disruption in 2010, so please check before you travel.
East Coast
Our timetable is broadly similar to that which operated in December 2009. A few minor alterations have been
made to calling points, however, these are limited to weekday afternoons and Sunday mornings. On weekends
from 17 July to 5 September there is engineering work taking place in the Stevenage area meaning services are
timed to depart London Kings Cross earlier than normal.
East Midlands Trains
The London to Corby services and vice versa will have a reduced journey time as the long layovers at Kettering
have been removed. Additional stops at Chesterfield have been added to the majority of the southbound xx.47
Sheffield to St Pancras services on weekdays and Saturdays. The SO St Pancras to York and return service has
been extended to Scarborough until 4 September.
Grand Central
Brand new intercity services introduced between London Kings Cross and Bradford, calling at Halifax, Brighouse,
Wakefield, Pontefract and Doncaster. Initially three services per day operate in each direction - full timetabled
details are shown on Table 26. Catering and First Class accommodation are available on all these new services.
London Overground
The London Overground network is being extended with three new routes introduced. Services will run 7 days a
week, up to 4 trains per hour:
• Between Dalston Junction and New Cross
• Between Dalston Junction and Crystal Palace
• Between Dalston Junction and West Croydon
The above three routes will provide a service of up to 12 trains per hour between Dalston Junction and Surrey
Quays
Services between Gospel Oak and Barking will be enhanced, up to 4 trains per hour Mondays to Saturdays.
ScotRail
We will be commencing a service of three trains per day on Mondays to Fridays from Edinburgh to Dunbar, with
two in the opposite direction.
Southern
To accommodate the new London Overground train service of 8 trains per hour between the East London Line
and Crystal Palace and West Croydon stopping at all stations via Forest Hill, the Southern Metro train service is
extensively revised with many consequential alterations to Main Line trains. These are the most significant
alterations.
• Peak trains between London Bridge, Wallington, Sutton, and the Epsom Line run fast between Norwood
Junction and London Bridge
• Off Peak trains between London Bridge, Wallington and Sutton replaced by a connection at Norwood
Junction with fast London Bridge trains
• Off Peak and evening peak Victoria, Norwood Junction, West Croydon trains extended to Sutton
• Off Peak additional fast journeys between London Bridge and Norwood Junction provided by an additional
stop for Tattenham Corner trains
• New morning peak trains between the Forest Hill Line and London Victoria
• Morning peak Beckenham Junction to London Victoria trains diverted via Tulse Hill to London Bridge
• Additional morning peak trains to London Bridge via Norbury and Tulse Hill route
• Additional morning peak trains between East or South Croydon and West London Line via Norbury
• Caterham, Tattenham Corner and East Grinstead peak trains become half hourly to both London Bridge
and Victoria
Plus many alterations on other routes, please check the new times before travelling.
