Go North East

[kez19]

Last summer they operated an express service from Newcastle and Gateshead to Beamish, but this only ran a few times a day so wouldn't exactly be a replacement.

Regarding how people would have to get to Beamish, they could go via Chester-le-Street - that'd be a bit faster than via Sunderland. But it's still not ideal.

I admit I went to the museum couple years ago but was aware of the route prior but taking this away I think it’s a bad move.

The B1 I believe it was called the Express service

What service is it from Chester le street to Beamish?

 

[NorthOxonian]

I admit I went to the museum couple years ago but was aware of the route prior but taking this away I think it’s a bad move.

The B1 I believe it was called the Express service

What service is it from Chester le street to Beamish?

Yes, it was the B1.

The 8 - it runs from Sunderland (as you mentioned) through Washington and Chester-le-Street to Beamish and then Stanley.

 

[jkkne]

The B1 was bizarre - it was only about 5 minutes quicker than the actual 28 service itself and only served Central Station in Newcastle.

There's often a retro branded Versa on the 28 route and I believe GNE support the engineering team at Beamish as well as sponsorship. You get 25% off a ticket for arriving via bus

Though like most things up here, Beamish is designed for cars

 

[kez19]

Yes, it was the B1.

The 8 - it runs from Sunderland (as you mentioned) through Washington and Chester-le-Street to Beamish and then Stanley.

I thought that! When you look at it from the Sunderland side it does seem a trek! Where Chester-Le-Street is the halfway point - at least the options open from Newcastle is 21/X21 or via Washington the X1

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 May 2022 ==

The B1 was bizarre - it was only about 5 minutes quicker than the actual 28 service itself and only served Central Station in Newcastle.

There's often a retro branded Versa on the 28 route and I believe GNE support the engineering team at Beamish as well as sponsorship. You get 25% off a ticket for arriving via bus

Though like most things up here, Beamish is designed for cars

Last time I visited I think it was either on the Washington service or the Consett service I was surprised how the Consett route (i'm sure it was that), the road it used highlighted that Beamish was off to the left (again surprised why another service can't cover it - but I am guessing its all about timing/scheduling plus I ain't a local but putting my foot in it lol)

 

[Quantumspotter]

Hello there all,

I hope everyone is well today?

Is anyone able to point me in the right direction of a reliable copy of Go Nort Easts fleet list please? The company website fleet list was last updated December 19th 2021. Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards.

QS.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Hello there all,

I hope everyone is well today?

Is anyone able to point me in the right direction of a reliable copy of Go Nort Easts fleet list please? The company website fleet list was last updated December 19th 2021. Many thanks in advance.

Kind regards.

QS.

This might help https://buslists.uk/fleet.php?ownerid=82

 

[Quantumspotter]

Many thanks for that TheGrandWazoo. Just what I was looking for. I have a better picture of the liveries which vehicles have.

Kind regards.

QS.

 

[jkkne]

From Coach and Bus Week

Go-Ahead Group has announced that Nigel Featham is to be appointed MD of Go North East, in addition to his existing role as MD of Go North West. Nigel will take up the position at the end of August, replacing Martijn Gilbert who has decided to move on after four years at Go-Ahead for an opportunity elsewhere in the transport industry. Additionally, EY Buses which presently reports into Go North East will become accountable directly to Go-Ahead Group with its present Area Director, Ben Gilligan, promoted to MD.

Interesting moves - Gilbert leaves a month after leading a slash and burn of the network and a legacy of constant rebrands.

Sure there's much more to come from Go Ahead and we'll perhaps see a more centralised approach (especially to those loss making areas like GNE)

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

(mods feel free to move into Go NE thread but it covers a few)

From Coach and Bus Week



Interesting moves - Gilbert leaves a month after leading a slash and burn of the network and a legacy of constant rebrands.

Sure there's much more to come from Go Ahead and we'll perhaps see a more centralised approach (especially to those loss making areas like GNE)

Got to remember that Go North West lost as much with one depot, as Go North East has with many more. With East Yorkshire no longer reporting into GNE, that would appear to be less centralised.

Nigel Featham is a sound operator and arguably, his tenure at Arriva North East was the best of various MDs (Steve Noble, Jonathan May, Nick Knox). Some of the Gilbert era was positive, like the X Lines introduction and the electric vehicles etc but have to recognise that there were too many false steps. Interesting that Gilbert is heading to First Group's open access rail business.

 

[Andyh82]

I’m not sure there will be much of a great legacy, all he’s done is pay Best Impressions vast sums of money to scrap practically every long established brand and rename them with the usual Ray Stenning identikit names and liveries, turning the fleet into Transdev North East. None of it has worked and we are now in an era of massive cuts, so he’s jumping ship.

 

[jkkne]

As part of the same process it’s proposed Chester Le Street depot will close and Hexham becomes an outstation for Consett

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

As part of the same process it’s proposed Chester Le Street depot will close and Hexham becomes an outstation for Consett

Chester le Street's demise has been mooted for a long time, as part of a depot rationalisation programme that saw Riverside depot replace Winlaton and Gateshead, and the replacement of Stanley depot.

 

[DanNCL]

Martijn Gilbert is leaving GNE at the end of August.

Although he has got a new job running Hull Trains and Lumo, I can’t help thinking his departure from GNE could be partly down to the backlash against the upcoming service cuts.

 

[Megafuss]

I’m not sure there will be much of a great legacy, all he’s done is pay Best Impressions vast sums of money to scrap practically every long established brand and rename them with the usual Ray Stenning identikit names and liveries, turning the fleet into Transdev North East. None of it has worked and we are now in an era of massive cuts, so he’s jumping ship.

Something was going well as it worked before the pandemic as they were growing passenger numbers by everything I've heard.

 

[DanNCL]

Gilbert was leaving GNE anyway as he has a new job running Hull Trains and Lumo so I can’t help thinking this is all working out quite conveniently for Go Ahead

 

[jkkne]

Something was going well as it worked before the pandemic as they were growing passenger numbers by everything I've heard.

They were but the reaction to the pandemic has been poor and they’ve not had a stable route network for a long time.

I think Gilbert is a good time, money flowing sort of MD and possibly not suited to the more current challenging conditions so it’s been a convenient departure for both sides

 

[Megafuss]

They were but the reaction to the pandemic has been poor and they’ve not had a stable route network for a long time.

I think Gilbert is a good time, money flowing sort of MD and possibly not suited to the more current challenging conditions so it’s been a convenient departure for both sides

I have to agree with that. These are times for "old, steady hands"

 

[Andyh82]

They were but the reaction to the pandemic has been poor and they’ve not had a stable route network for a long time.

I think Gilbert is a good time, money flowing sort of MD and possibly not suited to the more current challenging conditions so it’s been a convenient departure for both sides

And that’s probably why a life long bus man like him as jumped from bus to rail. It’s not a good time to be running a bus company. When the good times roll again I bet he’ll move back to bus, maybe within FirstGroup now he’s got his foot in the door.

 

[johnw]

Though I find the Creative Director of Best Impressions to come across as slightly arrogant at times, his liveries generally do work and take into consideration the architecture of the vehicles. They may look similar, but most design agencies or artists have a certain style.

Before Martijn Gilbert took over, the brands looked garish - vinyl coverings over windows etc, and now,look more like a network in the same way Trent or the new First Bus brands do.

I was hoping that Martin would have becoming the next Stagecoach UK Bus MD role to replace a certain former executive of Sky to replace School bus yellow and high spec Gold buses used on local services ….

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Though I find the Creative Director of Best Impressions to come across as slightly arrogant at times, his liveries generally do work and take into consideration the architecture of the vehicles. They may look similar, but most design agencies or artists have a certain style.

Before Martijn Gilbert took over, the brands looked garish - vinyl coverings over windows etc, and now,look more like a network in the same way Trent or the new First Bus brands do.

I was hoping that Martin would have becoming the next Stagecoach UK Bus MD role to replace a certain former executive of Sky to replace School bus yellow and high spec Gold buses used on local services ….

Hmmm.... I'd say that Ray Stenning is a guy who is passionate about what he does and has very defined views about things. I don't see it as arrogant per se. I do agree that the BI output has a house style and that is absolutely fine - people in Taunton aren't going to be bothered if it has a similarity to buses in the Isle of Wight or Norwich P&R; it's only enthusiasts who get bent out of shape about that.

I do agree, but only partially, on the rebrands in the North East. Some of the liveries may have been a bit garish (subjective to everyone) but at least stuff like the Fab 56 had a resonance. To replace it with some vanilla Cityrider stuff just seemed a bit pointless.

Whilst I don't like the Stagecoach long distance livery, there's a lot more to sort out at Stagecoach than that. I'd be more concerned whether the UK Bus MD had a coherent plan to develop the business (and empower the local managers) than at present than stuff like liveries. Mr Gilbert probably thought that after 4 years and some choppy waters coming for buses, it was a good time to move (and he's probably not wrong). Nigel Featham is a sound bus guy and did a lot of good with Arriva NE in his time there.

 

[LUYMun]

Deleted.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Thank God Martijn is going. He ruined GNE by running it for enthusiasts rather than commuters. Constantly holding events, repainting the colour of the buses, fixing preserved buses over regular ones, and now promising that Chester Ls Street depot won't be closing only to do a U-turn at his announcement, so the poor drivers would have to bear the brunt. I'd hate to see what company Martijn will ruin next when he touches it.

The closure of Chester le Street is both sensible and ill-advised. That they need to close Picktree Lane is perhaps understandable given its age and the cost of repairs and utilities and it was slated for closure in the Kevin Carr days IIRC. However, in terms of driver resources and dead mileage, it's a retrograde step.

It is very reminiscent of when Arriva closed Bishop Auckland depot and that they could run everything from Darlington and Belmont. Cue lots of dead mileage and complex interworking and it was disastrous. That, and pressure on a finite driver pool in certain areas.... and will drivers really transfer to other depots that are 10 miles away? Better to have had a smaller, cheaper replacement

Be sad to see Chester depot go with childhood memories of seeing it from the A1(M)

 

[GusB]

Post #458 onwards were originally posted in a separate thread, but since most of the discussion has focussed solely on Go North East, I've moved them here.

For the other operations mentioned, the relevant threads are here:

Go North West

Sorry if this thread has been created already. As seen on Daniel Graham's Flickr, SN14 TTE has been repainted into the GNW livery. Also, some of the Volvo B7RLE's from GNE have transferred over.

www.railforums.co.uk

East Yorkshire Motor Services, now part of Go-Ahead

https://www.go-ahead.com/en/media/news/2018/go-ahead-welcomes-east-yorkshire-motor-services.html 18 Jun 2018 Go-Ahead welcomes East Yorkshire Motor Services Hull-headquartered East Yorkshire Motor Services (EYMS), including Scarborough and District Motor Services, have been acquired by...

www.railforums.co.uk

 

[shopbford]

The closure of Chester le Street is both sensible and ill-advised. That they need to close Picktree Lane is perhaps understandable given its age and the cost of repairs and utilities and it was slated for closure in the Kevin Carr days IIRC. However, in terms of driver resources and dead mileage, it's a retrograde step.

It is very reminiscent of when Arriva closed Bishop Auckland depot and that they could run everything from Darlington and Belmont. Cue lots of dead mileage and complex interworking and it was disastrous. That, and pressure on a finite driver pool in certain areas.... and will drivers really transfer to other depots that are 10 miles away? Better to have had a smaller, cheaper replacement

Be sad to see Chester depot go with childhood memories of seeing it from the A1(M)

I'd be sad to see it go as well. I worked out of there from 1983 to 1991/2. My dad started there in 1946 & stayed until he retired in 1979/80.

 

[DanNCL]

There is a major update on the 24th July service changes: https://www.gonortheast.co.uk/update-service-changes-24-july
The most severe cuts all appear to have been avoided with both Nexus and Durham County Council stepping in to provide funding. There will still however be a few losses, such as the 28A and X22. Chester-le-Street depot will still be closing so new homes will now also need to be found for the 25, 28 and 28B.

 

[Andyh82]

Another batch of cuts have been announced for September. Must be the 4th set of cuts since they launched that “buses fit for the future” brochure last year. Some corridors are now half the frequency they used to be after all the various reductions

Service changes from 3 September

We will be making some permanent and temporary changes to help provide a more reliable service, and remove the need for daily cancellations.

www.gonortheast.co.uk

It’s also interesting that all the nice fun and games have been stopped and the company is now in managed decline. Its no wonder the MD who is into all that stuff (branding, promotion, paper timetables, the summer Seasider route etc) is leaving

 

[RELL6L]

Another batch of cuts have been announced for September. Must be the 4th set of cuts since they launched that “buses fit for the future” brochure last year. Some corridors are now half the frequency they used to be after all the various reductions

Service changes from 3 September

We will be making some permanent and temporary changes to help provide a more reliable service, and remove the need for daily cancellations.

www.gonortheast.co.uk

It’s also interesting that all the nice fun and games have been stopped and the company is now in managed decline. Its no wonder the MD who is into all that stuff (branding, promotion, paper timetables, the summer Seasider route etc) is leaving

Wow that's all pretty depressing stuff! Substantial cutbacks described as 'temporary', bet they aren't!

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Another batch of cuts have been announced for September. Must be the 4th set of cuts since they launched that “buses fit for the future” brochure last year. Some corridors are now half the frequency they used to be after all the various reductions

Service changes from 3 September

We will be making some permanent and temporary changes to help provide a more reliable service, and remove the need for daily cancellations.

www.gonortheast.co.uk

It’s also interesting that all the nice fun and games have been stopped and the company is now in managed decline. Its no wonder the MD who is into all that stuff (branding, promotion, paper timetables, the summer Seasider route etc) is leaving

I think it's because he's leaving, that's why the fun and games stuff has stopped. Tbh, the focus on "other stuff" and the gricerness was beginning to get more than just a diversion.

I like good marketing and applaud it, and the X Lines was a decent idea, but there was just too much other stuff going on. Who cares if a Routemaster is on the 21, or there's a coach in Armstrong Galley colours, or there's a rebrand of the fab 56 to something instantly forgettable?

Wow that's all pretty depressing stuff! Substantial cutbacks described as 'temporary', bet they aren't!

I tend to agree and speaking with friends locally (in the industry), the only surprise is that Arriva aren't cutting in the same way.

 

[Tetchytyke]

A lot of the GNE changes are only going back to how things were 20 years ago, really, especially on the Durham-Sunderland corridor. It was 4bph when I was a Durham student 20 years ago.

But then GNE was in managed decline then too. Re-engined Nationals, falling apart Lynxes, that sort of thing.

The cuts to Greenside/Blackhall Mill are bad, though. Cutting back to hourly kills any chance of people choosing to take the bus.

 

[Andyh82]

I think it's because he's leaving, that's why the fun and games stuff has stopped. Tbh, the focus on "other stuff" and the gricerness was beginning to get more than just a diversion.

I like good marketing and applaud it, and the X Lines was a decent idea, but there was just too much other stuff going on. Who cares if a Routemaster is on the 21, or there's a coach in Armstrong Galley colours, or there's a rebrand of the fab 56 to something instantly forgettable?

I tend to agree and speaking with friends locally (in the industry), the only surprise is that Arriva aren't cutting in the same way.

I could sum up the entire era of the current MD as ‘getting carried away’

Route branding for example is good, but needlessly rebranding practically every service and pretty much giving Best Impressions free reign is not. Unique names that had existed for 10 years have been replaced by Stenning by numbers brand names. There is no way anyone in Sunderland is going to feel a connection with “Sunderland District Blonde” it’s far too fussy and not in touch with the down to earth area. Buses were also repainted and rebranded for services that were axed a few months later (such as the X22)

Bringing back Paper timetables was a positive step, but they went too far with ridiculously lavish versions - big thick area books that were reissued multiple times, ‘phone directory’ sized timetables issued in the first lockdown that I imagine only enthusiasts breaking lockdown rules ever got hold of, the glossy ‘Fit for the future’ service change guide etc.

All this whilst the actual service delivery was crumbling away

I get the feeling head office have come down hard on GNE and a ‘managed decline’ type of manager is what they want now.