Date: 13 Oct 2011
- Involving important changes to services 21, 22, X25, 34, 34A, 935, 937
- A new reliable and frequent angel service to Newcastle
- New service between Waldridge Park and Chester-le-Street
- New links across Chester-le-Street
- Quicker journeys on X25
Welcome to Bus Briefing. Below you will find details of the changes we are making to some services around Chester-le-Street and Birtley from 30 October 2011.
Earlier this year we asked for your views on our plans for these services. We had a great response and we have taken on-board as many of your comments as possible when putting together our new routes and timetables.
Angel 21 and 22
In line with our consultation proposals, the Angel 21 will run between Newcastle, Gateshead, Low Fell, Birtley, Chester-le-Street, Pity Me, Framwellgate Moor and Durham. Buses between Durham and Bishop Auckland will be replaced by the new Pronto services X20 and X21, and between Chester-le-Street and Waldridge Park by the revised services 34 and 34A.
The Angel 21 will run every 10 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes throughout the whole route. Buses will run every 20 minutes in the early evening and on Sunday daytimes, then every 30 minutes in the late evening.
The Angel 21 buses will sport a new red version of the Angel brand, making them easy to recognise.
There will be some changes to stops in Newcastle City Centre.Inbound buses to Newcastle will stop at John Dobson Street, Blackett Street and Eldon Square Bus Station. Outbound buses to Durham will run via a revised route with stops at Eldon Square Bus Station, Newgate Street, Wilkinson’s and Castle Garth, near St. Nicholas’ Cathedral.
We are also reducing the price of the Angel Weekly Saver ticket to £15, giving great value unlimited travel on all of our Angel buses.
Night Bus N21
After running in the early hours of Friday 28 October 2011, the Monday to Friday Night Bus N21 between Newcastle and Chester-le-Street will be withdrawn due to low passenger use.
Night Bus N21 will still continue to run on a Saturday and Sunday morning between Newcastle, Chester-le-Street and Durham to the existing hourly timetable.
Waggonway 28 and 28A
Waggonway service 28A will be diverted to run via Kibblesworth and Team Valley (Sainsbury’s) between Birtley and Saltwell Road. This will replace the Nexus Bus 29 and improve links between Kibblesworth and Birtley.
There will be minor changes to the times of the 28/28A buses, with extra journeys on Saturday afternoons. In Newcastle City Centre, buses will start and finish in Pilgrim Street and will no longer serve Eldon Square Bus Station. Buses will use stand L instead of stand K at South Burns in Chester-le-Street town centre.
Services 34 and 34A
Our customer consultation showed overwhelming support for the extension of services 34 and 34A from Chester-le-Street to Waldridge Park, replacing the Angel 22.
Buses will run every 15 minutes on Monday to Saturday daytimes and every 30 minutes between Chester-le-Street and Waldridge Park in the evening and on Sundays.
All buses will serve Pelaw estate and follow an anti-clockwise loop around Ouston and Urpeth Grange, which will give a much-improved service in these places. In Waldridge Park, two buses per hour will follow a clockwise loop, whilst two buses per hour will follow an anti-clockwise loop. Buses will also run via Second Avenue and Bullion Lane, replacing the X25 in this area.
Buses towards Ouston and Urpeth Grange will leave from stop F on Front Street in Chester-le-Street, instead of stop K at South Burns.
Team Valley 935 and 937
An additional journey is being introduced on service 937 at 0627 from Chester-le-Street, giving an arrival in Team Valley for customers who start work at 0700. The 0705 journey from Chester-le-Street is also being retimed to leave at 0657 to give an arrival in Team Valley for customers who start work at 0730.
Service 935 is being withdrawn due to the low number of people using it. Customers from Pelton and Ouston can use the Waggonway 28/28A to Birtley or service 34/34A to Chester-le-Street and then the 937 to complete their journey.
New Pronto X21
New Pronto service X21 will provide fast links between Newcastle, Gateshead, Chester-le-Street, Durham, Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland. Buses will run hourly on Monday to Saturday daytimes and co-ordinate with the new X20 to provide a great half-hourly service between Durham, Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland. In the evening and on Sundays, customers travelling to stops between Durham and Bishop Auckland should use the Angel 21 to Durham, where connections can be made with the X20.
In Durham Bus Station, the Pronto buses will leave from these stands:-
A - X21 to Chester-le-Street and Newcastle
E - X20, X21 to Spennymoor and Bishop Auckland
L - X20 to Houghton-le-Spring and Sunderland
Our new Pronto Weekly Saver ticket will give unlimited travel on Pronto services X20 and X21 for only £19 per week.
Bobby Robson Service X25
To improve reliability and speed up journeys for long-distance customers, the X25 will no longer run via Second Avenue, Bullion Lane and The Avenue in Chester-le-Street. The new 34 and 34A will run via Waldridge Road, Second Avenue and Bullion Lane to maintain a service in these areas.
