Saturday 6th April 2024
No, sorry train fans, this blog isn’t about the much hyped Greater Anglia super duper two return journeys a day express linking Norwich with London Liverpool Street in an impressive 90 minutes launched with much hype and self congratulations in May 2019 only to succumb to the Covid retrenchment 10 months later and never to be seen again ….. today’s eye catching headline is referring to a welcome positive development by an entrepreneurial small family owned bus and coach company based in Thetford called Coach Services.
Launched on Monday 4th December last year, the company’s brand new route links Thetford and Attleborough with Norwich and is branded the ‘Breckland Beeline’. In a smart move, new service 90 runs non-stop along the A11 for a large part of the route giving an end to end journey time from Thetford to Norwich of 55 minutes and just 30 minutes from Attleborough to Norwich.
It’s a five journeys a day Monday to Saturday timetable utilising one bus with a late morning hour’s gap presumably allowing for a meal break for the driver.
But the good news is from Monday 15th April an increased frequency is being introduced with two extra journeys making for fewer two hour gaps.
It’s very encouraging to see such a development so soon after the introduction of a new bus route indicating the omens are good for a successful future.
There’s no bus service direct between Thetford and Norwich but both Greater Anglia and East Midlands Railway provide an uneven timetable generally comprising two trains an hour taking between 31 and 37 minutes depending on station calls at Attleborough and Wymondham. Although Thetford station is about a seven minute walk from the town centre, Norwich station is not so conveniently sited.
From Attleborough First Bus runs a half hourly route 13 via Wymondham (which route 90 bypasses) taking 43 minutes to St Stephens Street, Norwich (before continuing to Spixworth to the north of the city). Interestingly there’s also a journey numbered X13 running fast along the A11 departing Queens Square at 07:35 – exactly the same time as a 90 – with a return from St Stephen Street at 17:28 – route 90 leaves at 18:10, changing to 17:40 on 15th April.
Both the 13 and 90 serve Cringleford which provides for connections to the nearby Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital as well as a large residential development underway.
I took a ride on the 13:30 from Norwich to Thetford on Tuesday to see for myself how the route was doing and look at its potential.
Unfortunately for me, the designated liveried ADL Enviro400 MMC for the 90 was off the road but one of the three similar buses normally deployed on Coach Services’ routes 84/86 (Thetford-Bury St Edmunds) was standing in providing a very comfortable ride in the well apportioned interior.
The bus brought 15 passengers into Norwich on the 13:20 arrival and once these had all got off the bus, I was very impressed to see the driver alight from the bus and wander over to the KonnectBus run Travel Office in the Bus Station to hand deliver a big pile of timetable leaflets for the new timetable being introduced on 15th April.
I had noticed there were only photocopies of the current timetable due to high demand from passengers for the previous supply (operators who don’t produce printed timetables please note).
The friendly driver soon returned and a new contingent of 13 passengers bound for Attleborough and Thetford boarded and we left spot on time at 13:30.
We picked up two more passenegers heading out of Norwich and called into Cringleford ‘Interchange’ but no takers for us…
… and it was noticeable a Norwich bound First Bus route 13 we passed there had fewer passengers on board than had arrived on the 90.
It was then on to the A11 and foot down for the non stop journey to Attleborough …
… by-passing Wymondham…
… and arriving into Queens Square, Attleborough where we pulled up behind a Konectbus on two-hourly route 82 to Watton and nine passengers alighted.
The current arrangements see buses circumnavigate Attleborough’s one-way system to reach Queens Square but I see from 15th April the southbound stop has changed to Connaught Road which will save a couple of minutes avoiding the one-way circuit being taken almost twice over.
As we headed out of Attleborough we picked three more passengers up who were bound for Thetford and it was then back on to the A11 for the second non-stop run to the junction for Thetford.
Temporary traffic lights delayed us for a few minutes so we pulled into the rather grandly named ‘Thetford Bus Interchange’ at 14:30, five minutes late.
It had been a good run and if I lived in Thetford or Attleborough I’d certainly consider using route 90 rather than the train, the stopping route 13 or driving.
It’s good to see a new market for bus travel opening up and shows the value of locally based small scale bus companies of which East Anglia is fortunate to have a good number. Well done to Rob and the team at Coach Services for this initiative which looks to me as a certain success.
Before leaving Thetford I took a good look at the ‘Bus Interchange” as I’d previously seen the positive media coverage of its opening back in 2015 and wondered if it would live up to the hype.
Pleasingly, nine years on, the facilities are still attractive and well maintained, albeit somewhat basic, particularly the five bus shelters and their rather uncomfortable narrow bench type seat.
But as you can see you can’t fault the information provision which was up to Norfolk’s high standards.
Best of all was the toilet block comprising individual units which was also well maintained and free to use. It was constructed to match the adjacent listed building which has been admirably restored as part of the project.
Located on a previously derelict site which acted as an informal car park it’s a welcome facility for a town of around 25,000 population.
As is the new bus route 90 to take passengers to Norwich.
Roger French
Blogging timetable: 06:00 TThS
Comments on today’s blog are welcome but please keep them relevant to the blog topic, avoid personal insults and add your name (or an identifier). Thank you.
BusAndTrainUser 
I have used the route to travel Norwich to Bury St Edmunds unfortunately whilst it connects easily the outward journey you have a 30min wait on the return.
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Given the small population of Thetford it is surprising the service is viable. Norwich though would be the main shopping area . Not sure why it needs double decker’s though
What is very noticeable is the very much better bus services in Norfolk compared to the run down services in Suffolk
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Pleasing news, and it certainly had all the hallmarks of a potentially successful route when I travelled on it shortly after introduction and in spite of appalling weather. As pointed out, unless a “railway die-hard user”, it is a much more attractive proposition, certainly at the Norwich end, for most than using a train. And at least for me, use of double-deckers make the journey even more attractive, although perhaps the second vehicle from April may be a single? A close examination of the timetable shows only one vehicle tied up in the peak school period…..so I may have to select my journey time when next using the 90.
Note by the pictures that it wasn’t only Coach Services who were unable to use the correctly branded vehicle on a service that day. I rarely agree with branding for just this reason, but as applied to the 90, bold and with style, it actually does work.
Terence Uden
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Branding buses particularly in the more rural areas rarely works
Maybe if costs fall they could use electronic branding using e-ink type displays
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I am also of the opinion that route branding isn’t worth it. I was enthusiastic when the industry originally adopted it, but apart from a few operators, it generally made a mess of it, the usual suspects being the worst. Far better to adopt liveries specific to the local operating area with a relevant strapline.
Peter Brown
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First Norwich generally haven’t been too bad with allocating branded vehicles to their respective routes.
What has thrown this off recently, is the arrival of 70 electric vehicles to First Norwich seeing a huge number of allocation changes.
I’m sure this will all be corrected in due course.
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The frequent necessity of substituting buses as in this case seems to me a very good argument against heavily branded bus liveries and routes. No, it’s not actually a 84/86, it’s a 90, despite the huge painted lettering indicating otherwise!
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in the West Midlands County buses are heavily branded. Personally, I think it gives promotion to local bus services & serves as a giant billboard to pronote services. On the Hagley Road, the X8 , 9 & X10 are heavily branded. I think regular passengers could care less if an X10 is on the Quinton 9 or vice versa, or even a 529 on an X8. They just go on the front blinds. Branding gives a strong positive image The Harborne & QEHB Network of 23 , 24, X21 & X22 often have the wrong bus on the wrong route again I don’t see how it matters its just publising the routes. I am strongly of the view that those who criticise route branding and operational need are those armchair bus enthusiasts who are car owners & never actually set foot on a real bus. I am sure there are many like that on this forum unfortunately. Thankfully, Roger was a great pioneer in route branding, which made his time in Brighton, so amazingly successful- Enough said……….
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I agree , an excellent development from a quality operator. Presumably funded from Norfolks BSIP funding and benefitting from the £2 fare scheme.
One pot of Taxpayers money reduces the revenue from the hopelessly inefficient railways, also bailed out by the Taxpayer.
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No, not using BSIP funding, it’s commercial.
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I can proudly boast I travelled on the old 90 bus (Cringleford-Thorpe Station) in 1944-45; a very small schoolboy.
Bruce Perkins
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What I’d like to understand is who wants to arrive in Norwich that early. No way I would use that bus with that arrival time for a 9am start?
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If it’s like most parts of rural Britain, it’ll be school and college kids on the 0805 arrival, which gives them time to connect on to whatever educational establishment they actually attend.
Similarly the current 1610/future 1630 departure gives them time from a nominal 1530ish finish to get back to central Norwich.
KCC
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The last time I was on the A11, driving a motorcycle, a car driver undertook me just inside the Suffolk boundary as I drove home, just to the south of Thetford. I reported the matter to the Suffolk Police on 16/08/1980. I had the very great pleasure in helping them out on 02/02/1981 with evidence which convicted him on my word alone – costing him £80. The whole layout of the A11 is different now. I took the stand at Mildenhall Magistrates’ Court dressed in my biker gear with the car driver, neatly dressed, defending himself. Costs to me £17 expenses. I live in Surrey, he in Bishops Stortford – Suffolk Police do a good job.
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Great to see operators going for this type of service especially with the £2 fares compared to the ridiculously expensive train fares that for a disfunctional service level a daylight robbery .
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At first sight, this effectively just duplicates the rail service, undercutting it (but less frequently and, unlike the train service, not operating seven days a week or until late evening). Is there any real point to public transport undercutting public transport?
True, Norwich station is not ideally-sited for the city centre. Wouldn’t it be great if we had seamless public transport, a rail ticket to Norwich automatically including bus connection to the city centre, rather than having to shell out a few quid more for a PlusBus ticket!
Having said this, if it generates new journeys or achieves modal shift out of cars without abstracting from rail, great!
Malc M
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A rather narrow view and assumes all passengers originate in Thetford. Many bus services parallel the railway, but of course their main passenger loadings come from en route and closer to settlements. In the case of the 90 requiring an increase in frequency, surely shows some people may have voted with their feet having found it more convenient and reliable than the train. But certainly agree with your last paragraph and this may well hopefully be the reason for the frequency increase.
Terence Uden
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@Terence Uden – since the 90 is non-stop between Thetford (where there is a rail station) and Attleborough (where there is also a rail station, on the same line), then non-stop again from Attleborough until the outskirts of Norwich, I’m not seeing which places en route you might be thinking it serves which the railway does not.
Malc M
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The main bus station in Norwich isn’t ideally located either, and few buses call at the train station, and not enough buses continue onwards to UEA/N&N hospital (borth significant traffic generators) for single seat travel.
Castle Meadow is a bit better located as an interchange, and many do call there.
I often make the connection between train and bus in Norwich, walking up to Tombland which is the nearest stop for many buses (including the Sanders 44 to Holt, with better connectivity at Norwich that Sheringham, where there are annoying connectivity gaps, especially last bus Friday and Saturday).
Miles T
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Malc M’s comment noted , and duly agreed with. Interesting that the new timetable while adding more daytime journeys , and presumably thus helping with the interchange problem said by others, the loss of the last return times to me seems amiss, unless the idea is to leave that to rail. What times does the other service cease into/out of Norwich ? I am somewhat of an advocate of later times for leisure particulary in the light evenings, but also Christmas shopping and so on, perhaps later journeys could serve the omitted intermediate places if need be ?
As to “wrong liveries” perhaps we should learn to consider them as advertising for other routes and ensure we depend on a clearly visible at all times destination blind. Are operators planning their faretables for when presumably the bus subsidy £2 fare comes to an end, it will be interesting to see what happens to ridership.
Whilst at first sight competing with rail, if it provides better links to hospitals etc direct or by interchange, wont many passengers be either scholars – who wont always get cheap tickets and rail not serving those intermediate education places, or concessionary pass holders whom for the counties and other authorities the passes dont always include national rail ?
JBC Prestatyn
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School children will already have transport so if they use this service they will be abstracting from another service
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Amazing comments about the rail services , this service connects from the centres of both the city and towns served . It illuminates having to travel to three stations that are not located within easy reach of most parts of the said place . Hopefully the trade will pick up enough to allow an hourly service . Good luck Coach Services .
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