Sunday 9th October 2022 Last week's announcement that Serco will be ending their franchise for the Caledonian Sleeper next June came as no great surprise. I won't be shedding any tears at the company's departure. Unlike Merseyrail where this giant global monolith of an outsourcing business seems to be doing a good job running the... Continue Reading →
Saturday 8th October 2022 Hidden London: Shepherd's Bush Photo courtesy London Transport Museum London Transport Museum's popular programme of Hidden London tours gained a new location this week, offering a look behind the scenes at the Central Line station at Shepherd's Bush. If you enjoy having a nose behind usually locked doors at a full... Continue Reading →
Thursday 6th October 2022 Nottingham’s Broad Marsh bus station has finally reopened after a five year demolition and rebuild programme. It's part of a £250 million regeneration of what's called “Nottingham Southside” and also includes a new intu Broadmarsh centre, a Nottingham City Hub incorporating a new library and a redveloped Nottingham Castle. Within "Nottingham... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 4th October 2022 Truro bus station Despite Saturday's rail strike I managed a quick visit to Cornwall over the weekend which entailed an unwelcome long drive as I had a commitment in Truro on Sunday morning I had to fulfill. As I seldom drive long distances these days the trip reminded me of the... Continue Reading →
Saturday 1st October 2022 I’m sorry Scunthorpe, I was intending to feature you in my fortnightly AtoZ visits to mid size towns as suggested by a correspondent but Northern Trains’ incompetence at organising rail replacement buses last weekend coupled with TransPennine Express’s penchant for cancellations meant I had to give up on the idea for... Continue Reading →
Thursday 29th September 2022 Nottsbus On Demand It’s been a few weeks since we’ve seen a DfT funded DRT launch but two more have recently hit the road including one in High Wycombe this week and another in Nottinghamshire at the end of last month which had sneaked passed my DRT launch antenna until now.... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 27th September 2022 I was back in High Wycombe again last Friday. Checking out Carousel's route 34 before it's demise yesterday being replaced by Buckinghamshire Council's new DRT scheme for the town which begins today. I'll tell you more about that on Thursday. Route 34 looks to have been one of those bus routes... Continue Reading →
Sunday 25th September 2022 Weekend rail travel is booming. Fortunately for the rail industry the post pandemic reduction in five day week commuting has been offset by huge growth in leisure travel especially at weekends. In my experience trains at the weekends are now the busiest of the week. I recall Sir Peter Hendy opining... Continue Reading →
Saturday 24th September 2022 An annual ride on the wonderful West Highland Line is a personal must in my book so having missed a full blown Glasgow to Mallaig journey during the pandemic (I managed one trip as far as Tyndrum) it was good to be back on board on Monday last week. It was... Continue Reading →
Thursday 22nd September 2022 First comes surprise news last night TfL’s Transport Commissioner Andy Byford is quitting after just two years in the job. It’s somewhat ironic his mantra since arriving at TfL’s top job in June 2020 has been the need for long term funding and stability for the organisation yet he’s turned out... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 20th September 2022 Last Thursday was a sad day for Lewes, the county town of East Sussex. The town’s centrally located bus station closed its non existence gates after 68 years of service. Southdown first opened the bus station in March 1954 with the adjacent garage building coming on stream a few months later.... Continue Reading →
Saturday 17th September 2022 It's got the original and best busway you'll find anywhere in Britain. Indeed it's said Runcorn has "the world's first bus rapid transit system". Yet you hardly ever hear it getting a mention these days. Conceived as part of the Runcorn New Town Masterplan in 1955, the 14 mile exclusive road... Continue Reading →
Thursday 15th September 2022 I'm dedicating today's blog to a quite remarkable man I had the privilege to work alongside for over a decade in the early 2000s. Roger Bamber sadly died on Sunday in Brighton’s Royal Sussex County Hospital aged 78. He was the most amazing photographer; one of the most creative perfectionists of... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 13th September 2022 Many thanks to Cartographer-in-Chief Ray Stenning for this superb map. Last Friday saw the "LCBS 50th Anniversary Tour Group (and assorted other adventures)" reunite for some nostalgic bus riding around south west London with the whacky idea (thanks Andrew) of retracing London Transport’s small trolleybus network centred on Kingston which was... Continue Reading →
Saturday 10th September 2022 Another pot pourri of observational miscellany from recent travels. Models Firstly a shout out to Brian Jackson for his well earned retirement as proprietor of Morris Models, the fabulous model shop he's run in Lancing, West Sussex since taking over the business in 2004. Brian has decided it’s time to retire... Continue Reading →
Thursday 8th September 2022 A shorter blog than usual this morning; appropriately about a shortened 4 car Underground train. London Transport Museum has a beautifully restored four car Underground train dating back to 1938 in its Acton based collection which occasionally runs on bookable special trips on the network. The train which was restored in... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 6th September 2022 Spoiler alert: this is it. The island of Barra at the southern end of the Outer Hebrides is famous for its unique beach airport runway where planes are dependent on coastal tides to land and take off but those who like their transport trivia also know the island is famed for... Continue Reading →
Sunday 4th September 2022 The South Downs National Park is blessed with some excellent frequent bus routes criss crossing its extensive area as well as Southern and SWR run railway lines. They make for helpful connections at the start and finish of walks, including the popular South Downs Way. Routes that come immediately to mind... Continue Reading →
Saturday 3rd September 2022 I know; it’s not a mid size town in its own right; not even a small size town come to that. More just a crossroads in Flintshire’s sprawling Deeside conurbation but ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ when it comes to awkward letters in my fortnightly A-to-Z visiting odyssey. The town gained its... Continue Reading →
Thursday 1st September 2022 I left you at the end of Tuesday's blog enjoying a wander around Launceston preparing to take a ride on Cornwall’s other about-to-be-withdrawn-from-this-weekend bus route - the three journeys a day (Monday to Friday) route 235 from Launceston south to Callington. Spoiler alert: I don’t really know if it’s “Britain’s narrowest... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 30th August 2022 Cornwall is the country’s luckiest county; being first in the queue to receive oodles of Government cash to splash on additional bus routes, improved frequencies, new buses and cheaper fares - the way things are promised for 31 other areas fortunate to draw a winning ticket in the Government's Bus Service... Continue Reading →
Sunday 28th August 2022 Back in 2014 - a Solo in Uppingham on route RF1 Some people like to drive cars sporting a personalised registration plate depicting their initials. It’s not so easy to do this when you’re a 'bus and train user' but routes numbered RF1 and RF2 are pretty close to the concept... Continue Reading →
Saturday 27th August 2022 Yesterday afternoon saw the second outing of an interloper’s new weekly appearance competing on the West Coast Main Line. The rail tour company Locomotive Services Ltd (trading as InterCity) has started running a southbound journey between Crewe and Euston followed by a return back to Manchester leaving London in the busy... Continue Reading →
Thursday 25th August 2022 Firstly an update to Tuesday's blog regarding Kent's bus cull for blog subscribers and early morning online readers before the post was updated at 07:30. Thanks to reader Darryl I added an update after it had been published to confirm at a Kent County Council Scrutiny Committee meeting last Thursday the... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 23rd August 2022 Earlier in the year I reported on Kent County Council’s review of its supported bus services with a mission to save £2.2 million from the Council's annual £6.1 million tendered bus budget. And that was before the impact of Covid Bus Services Support Grant/Bus Recovery Grant originally scheduled to end this... Continue Reading →
Sunday 21st August 2022 Continuing my AtoZ travels, I thought Potters Bar would make for an interesting mid-size town to look at with it being on the fringes of, but not part of, London. Although with a population of surprisingly only around 22,500 it’s more in the small-town size category, rather like O is for... Continue Reading →
Saturday 20th August 2022 Southern and Thameslink seem to be going through a bad patch lately with cancellations and delays for a whole variety of announced reasons including “due to more than the usual number of trains needing repair at the moment”; “due to a shortage of train crew”; “due to a problem under investigation”... Continue Reading →
Thursday 18th August 2022 HCT Group, the country's leading social enterprise bus operator, posted an ominous update on its website a few days ago. It announced last Friday community bus route 812 in the Borough of Islington will cease operation after Friday 26th August. Although not a headline grabbing seismic development in the grand scheme... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 16th August 2022 It looks as though Oxford’s failed Pick-Me-Up DRT operation is going to make a comeback; this time in deep rural Oxfordshire (cue emoji with raised eyebrows). It’s reported Oxfordshire County Council later this year is planning to replace hourly tendered route 250 which currently serves the expanding residential development known as... Continue Reading →
Sunday 14th August 2022 I wrote about the lovely two new trains for Southend Pier after my visit back in May when unfortunately teething problems meant they weren’t out on the tracks so was pleased to be able to fit in time to take a ride on my recent trip to Foulness Island when one... Continue Reading →
Saturday 13th August 2022 Let’s take stock. The battle for TfL is ominously sliding towards a possible nuclear option of bankruptcy and Government "taking back control"…… Rail strikes are continuing with more trains in the sidings than on the tracks today with ASLEF drivers’ turn to stop work and RMT and TSSA members out again... Continue Reading →
Thursday 11th August 2022 A couple of years ago I blogged about Rosso’s hourly route 13 that runs from Rawtenstall bus station to New Hall Hey taking just six minutes for the full circular round trip and at that time claimed it must be Britain’s Shortest Bus Route. That led to a number of other... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 9th August 2022 I was last in Snowdonia on the erstwhile Snowdon Sherpa network of bus routes almost a year ago last September and concluded my blogged review with a hope the network would receive some attention to presentational detail and expanded to fulfil its obvious potential. Coincidentally, good news followed with a much... Continue Reading →
Sunday 7th August 2022 Thursday 4th August 2022's stark announcement Bournemouth’s buses dramatically changed colour yesterday following the sad news on Friday 29th July the town’s Yellow Buses had called in the Administrators. The company ceased trading less than a week later at 18:00 on Thursday 4th August leaving the town without its familiar bright... Continue Reading →
Saturday 6th August 2022 It’s the smallest town I’ve visited in my fortnightly AtoZ safaris but there aren’t many O options to choose from. Oswestry’s population at around 17,000 means it’s not my normal ‘mid size’ town for a visit although by Shropshire standards it is in fact the second largest town in the unitary... Continue Reading →
Thursday 4th August 2022 I left you in Tuesday's blog arriving in Narborough on the Vectare operated NovusFlex DRT bus. Keith kindly set me down in Narborough rail station's car park soon after 12:30 and I had cautiously arranged my next journey on the new FoxConnect DRT service from there at 13:00 allowing time for... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 2nd August 2022 I recently blogged about Leicester’s new St Margaret’s bus station observing more exciting public transport developments were coming to this forward looking city. And here we are again, looking at three new initiatives in the city and another in neighbouring Leicestershire, including two new DRT schemes. Launching yesterday was NovusFlex operated... Continue Reading →
Sunday 31st July 2022 Here are some more examples of good and bad practice I've spotted on recent travels. Arriving at Bridgwater rail station I had a vague idea of which direction to take to walk to the bus station but was reassured to see a prominent notice attached to a lamppost right outside the... Continue Reading →
Saturday 30th July 2022 As well as Barking Riverside, last week also saw another small but significant extension of Britain's rail and tram networks open up for business. Sunday 17th saw the extension of West Midlands’ Metro tracks for just under a mile from its central Birmingham terminus through to Edgbaston including two additional stops... Continue Reading →
Thursday 28th July 2022 Today sees the start of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham continuing through to Monday 8th August. It's a great opportunity for public transport to show off its credentials, as happened during the 2012 Olympics. But, oh dear, ten years on and circumstances are rather different, not least the impact of driver... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 26th July 2022 After last year’s return of an open top bus service along Southsea seafront following a nine year absence by Aldermaston Coach Lines, this year it’s the turn of First Portsmouth to try and make a go of it. Like Aldermaston’s foray First’s period of operation is the school summer break of... Continue Reading →
Sunday 24th July 2022 It’s been nice to be able to select a mid-size town to visit in Wales for my fortnightly A-to-Z wanderings and although Neath is located fairly close to its near neighbour and local authority partner, Port Talbot, with pretty much continuous ribbon development through Briton Ferry and Baglan joining the two,... Continue Reading →
Saturday 23rd July 2022 First Bus in the South West has expanded its Adventures by Bus portfolio of leisure services in north Devon this summer. After my Bridgwater to Minehead quirky rural ride last Tuesday, on Wednesday I sampled the reinstatement of the much missed Minehead to Ilfracombe link (albeit with a change in Lynmouth)... Continue Reading →
Thursday 21st July 2022 As TfL advised “do not travel” due to the record breaking temperatures, Monday also saw the much anticipated 2.8 mile extension to the Overground from Barking to Barking Riverside open for business. It brings a 15 minute rail service taking a scheduled seven minutes to the huge 179-hectare brownfield site on... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 19th July 2022 A special livery for a special anniversary. Photo credit Ensignbus. This year sees Purfleet based Ensignbus celebrate its first half century. Formed in 1972, the family run company pioneered by industry legend Peter Newman before being joined by sons Ross and Steve famously began life in used bus sales - notably... Continue Reading →
Sunday 17th July 2022 Here’s another entry for Britain’s Top 10 Quirkiest Bus Routes. It links many villages and hamlets in north Somerset which otherwise have no bus service.The timetable comprises just three return journeys a day which requires three buses to operate it.It takes one hour and 47 minutes to travel from end to... Continue Reading →
Saturday 16th July 2022 It's been a busy few weeks for new bus station openings. Joining Stevenage (see Tuesday's blog) is the city of Leicester which unveiled its all new St Margaret's Bus Station to the public on Sunday 26th June. I was able to pay a visit last Sunday to check out the new... Continue Reading →
Thursday 14th July 2022 There have now been 11 deadlines for Government funding support for TfL since the pandemic began in late March 2020. That’s an average of one deadline every 78 days. Or one very two and a half months. Bearing in mind the first funding settlement lasted for six and a half months... Continue Reading →
Tuesday 12th July 2022 It's always good to see investment in new bus stations and the last few weeks have seen two open up for business. Stevenage's new 'Transport Interchange' has provided a real step change with a greatly improved waiting area for passengers in a purpose built building housing ten saw-tooth drive in and... Continue Reading →
Sunday 10th July 2022 Ian kindly suggested Margate as a suitable M for my fortnightly A-to-Z wanders and I almost took him up on it but its proximity to neighbouring Ramsgate and the urban sprawl of Thanet made me question its suitability due to my criteria of choosing ‘independent’ mid size towns where possible and... Continue Reading →
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