#AYearOfBuses 72: Hyperlink Leeds – Bradford

Hyperlink

Before Elon Musk’s Hyperloop, there was Hyperlink – First’s attempt to create a rapid transit corridor between Leeds and Bradford. It’s day 72 on #AYearOfBuses.  Now sadly dead and buried, Hyperlink launched between Leeds and Bradford in 2012 and was seen as a bus rapid transit-based replacement for the cancelled Leeds Supertram project – and for accommodating […]

#AYearOfBuses 71: Bower Ashton – Frenchay

71

It’s back to Bristol for day 71 on #AYearOfBuses to take a look at the bus linking two of the city’s biggest university campuses with the city centre. First’s 71 runs every 7-8 mins (alongside its sister route, the 70) between UWE’s Bower Ashton Campus in the south west of the city, through the city […]

#AYearOfBuses 67: Manchester – Cadishead

First 67

Long-established First Manchester route 67 is today’s entry on #AYearOfBuses – and it’s another route which has seen some interesting changes over the years! The 67 takes the good folk of Cadishead, one of Salford’s outlying suburbs, into Shudehill bus station in the heart of Manchester. It loosely follows the route of the Manchester Ship […]

#AYearOfBuses 58: Rochdale – Oldham

First 58

Today’s winner on #AYearOfBuses isn’t the most scenic route in the world, nor does it run to any particularly interesting places…anymore. First Manchester’s route 58 is one of the main bus routes linking the two Greater Manchester towns of Oldham and Rochdale, calling at Shaw, Crompton and Milnrow along the way. It’s changed very little […]

#AYearOfBuses 54: Goodwood – Leicester – Beaumont Leys

First Leicester

Day 54 on #AYearOfBuses takes us to Leicester for the first time, where there’s another bus war quietly bubbling away. First’s 54 is one of the few cross-city routes in Leicester, running from the large housing estate at Beaumont Leys in the west, through the city centre and over to Goodwood in the east. It […]

#AYearOfBuses 53: Jurassic Coaster Axminster – Bridport – Weymouth

We’re sticking with the South Coast for day 53 on #AYearOfBuses, but a little further along – it’s First’s Jurassic Coaster. The X53 runs from Axminster to Weymouth along the stunning Jurassic Coast, a World Heritage Site. It glides though idyllic towns and villages, including Lyme Regis, Abbotsbury, and West Bay – the setting for popular […]

#AYearOfBuses 48: Bristol – UWE Frenchay Campus

First Enviro400VE

Today on #AYearOfBuses, we’re checking out a revolutionary trial of ‘virtual electric’ buses in Bristol. Two Alexander Dennis Enviro400VE (Virtual Electrics) are now in service with First West of England in Bristol, running on route 48A between the City Centre and UWE’s Frenchay Campus to the north of the city. These buses are particularly unique […]

#AYearOfBuses 42: Manchester – East Didsbury – Stockport

Finglands 42

Providing the backbone for one of Europe’s busiest bus corridors, the 42 is quite simply THE staple food of the Mancunian bus diet.  The 42 runs from Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens bus station, through the heart of the universities and out towards Fallowfield, East Didsbury and Stockport, in the south of the city. With a bus […]

#AYearOfBuses 34: Leigh – Manchester

Stagecoach 34

We’re heading to Manchester for day 34 on #AYearOfBuses to check in on an interesting battle between regular and guided buses. The 34 and X34 is a long-standing route connecting Manchester with Salford and Leigh, in the borough of Wigan. Over the years, it’s been run by a number of operators, including both First and […]

In pictures: every single HST livery, ever

Intercity swallow

Sir Kenneth Grange’s masterpiece, the Intercity 125 High Speed Train, is now in its twilight years. It looks like the end is nigh for the British Class 43 ‘Intercity 125’ HST, with their replacements, the Hitachi SuperExpress ‘IEP’, now entering service in droves. Built between 1975 and 1982, the Intercity 125 ‘HST’ trains are officially […]

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