Possibly to do with serving the centre of Cheadle, which is a reasonable size town but doesn't have it's own station any more even though there are 2 others within a couple of miles of the town.
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Cheshire East council release list of services to lose subsidy
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Possibly to do with serving the centre of Cheadle, which is a reasonable size town but doesn't have it's own station any more even though there are 2 others within a couple of miles of the town.
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Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
I see that as from 7th April, the 37E service from Northwich to Sandbach will see the withdrawal of Monday to Saturday evening services after 2000 hours. Does this reflect the low usage of these evening services on this particular route ?
What is so annoying about the reduction in subsidy levels is the sorry matter of the £800,000 Lyme Green fiasco that has this week seen a third senior member of Cheshire East staff leave his post..
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I have just had an e-mail from Cheshire East Council with regard to the 108 service that serves Macclesfield-Leek-Ashbourne. It states that there is now a short-notice registration, supported by Staffordshire County Council, regarding the withdrawal of any evening services. The new timetable comes into effect on 3rd March 2013.
The last full route Macclesfield to Ashbourne journey now departs at 1635.
The last full route Ashbourne to Macclesfield journey now departs at 1525.
The leaflet number as issued by Cheshire East Council for this route is MC105.
What is so annoying about the reduction in subsidy levels is the sorry matter of the £800,000 Lyme Green fiasco that has this week seen a third senior member of Cheshire East staff leave his post..
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I have just had an e-mail from Cheshire East Council with regard to the 108 service that serves Macclesfield-Leek-Ashbourne. It states that there is now a short-notice registration, supported by Staffordshire County Council, regarding the withdrawal of any evening services. The new timetable comes into effect on 3rd March 2013.
The last full route Macclesfield to Ashbourne journey now departs at 1635.
The last full route Ashbourne to Macclesfield journey now departs at 1525.
The leaflet number as issued by Cheshire East Council for this route is MC105.
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Tomlinson Travel have applied to withdraw route 47 Holmes Chapel/Knutsford-Warrington. It's not clear whether Tomlinson Travel don't want to renew the contract or if Cheshire East have pulled the subsidy for the service. The service was given a contract index of 75 by Cheshire East not that long ago (routes with under around 53 were the at risk ones with ones between 53 and 66 kept on review, with ones of over 67 seen as 'high priority.')
323235
Established Member
Usage figures released in 2011 showed 12,000 passengers a year on the evening journeys with a £9,000 subsidy. So on average about 5 people per journey by very rough calculations.
323235
Established Member
and now a whole raft of rather unsettling changes
the D&G 38 commercial evening services are no longer going ahead. Cheshire East have decided not to put out a tender again like they were doing in February. Instead Arriva will be running Macclesfield - Congleton "shorts" at 2030/2057 and Crewe to Sandbach at 2025 with nothing to connect the two up or later in the evening.
Arriva have withdrawn their Evening & the 2 x Sunday services to Langley. Again no attempts to put out a tender leaving Langley completely isolated.
77 Congleton - Kidsgrove - Axed and no replacement despite being the only service for Mow Cop and other small settlements despite being a high scoring contract some months ago in the subsidy reduction program. Congleton Flexible transport service isn't listed as serving Mow Cop or any of the other communities as yet. This presumably will be the plan?
Its crazy that the 37,38 and 14 have lost evening and /or sunday journeys because they're 3 very important routes in my eyes. Northwich - Sandbach ain't an easy or cheap one to do by train and Middlewich to Sandbach outside Mon-Sat daytime.
the D&G 38 commercial evening services are no longer going ahead. Cheshire East have decided not to put out a tender again like they were doing in February. Instead Arriva will be running Macclesfield - Congleton "shorts" at 2030/2057 and Crewe to Sandbach at 2025 with nothing to connect the two up or later in the evening.
Arriva have withdrawn their Evening & the 2 x Sunday services to Langley. Again no attempts to put out a tender leaving Langley completely isolated.
77 Congleton - Kidsgrove - Axed and no replacement despite being the only service for Mow Cop and other small settlements despite being a high scoring contract some months ago in the subsidy reduction program. Congleton Flexible transport service isn't listed as serving Mow Cop or any of the other communities as yet. This presumably will be the plan?
Its crazy that the 37,38 and 14 have lost evening and /or sunday journeys because they're 3 very important routes in my eyes. Northwich - Sandbach ain't an easy or cheap one to do by train and Middlewich to Sandbach outside Mon-Sat daytime.
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Middlewich-Sandbach and Sandbach-Crewe services seem to get most of Cheshire East council's bus funding. I wonder if they should look at putting that funding towards starting up a train service between Northwich, Middlewich, Sandbach and Crewe using the current freight only line.
Bus routes 38, 47 and 77 all appeared to be high priority services when Cheshire East reviewed bus funding not too long ago.
More positive news - I saw the 12:30 Macclesfield-Knutsford (commercial) bus service before and it looked a very healthy loading for an off-peak service, although punctuality does seem to be an issue on the 27 route still. It was a GHA branded DART operating the service.
Bus routes 38, 47 and 77 all appeared to be high priority services when Cheshire East reviewed bus funding not too long ago.
More positive news - I saw the 12:30 Macclesfield-Knutsford (commercial) bus service before and it looked a very healthy loading for an off-peak service, although punctuality does seem to be an issue on the 27 route still. It was a GHA branded DART operating the service.
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Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Where and when does that railway line feature in the "future rail" programme of the rail bodies, to which any such financial contribution by Cheshire East council can be applied ?
Most recent news story on it from around 6 weeks ago: http://www.middlewichguardian.co.uk...o_get_Middlewich_station_plans_back_on_track/
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
All that report seems to say is that Cheshire East Council says that there is a "need to bring certain bodies to the table" to discuss the line re-opening.
What I referred to was the upgrading of the line and the reinstatement of passenger services when I enquired as to how the national bodies who plan forward railway planning have placed this project in a time period of one of their future period schemes.
The article does refer to an independent 2009 feasibility report to which a reopening was found very favourable.
The report is here: http://www.mcrua.org.uk/pdf-fix.php...gers---final-report--july-2009_1248946031.pdf
Cheshire East are saying they are looking at updating that report.
The report does mention new stations at Cheadle and Baguley would strengthen the case for new passenger services but said that was outside the scope of the report. TfGM don't seem to have added any input about those two potential stations.
Lewisham2221
Established Member
The 77 certainly isn't the only service in Mow Cop, unless you meant the only service from Mow Cop to Congleton? There's still the hourly 99A to Newcastle(-under-Lyme) via Kidsgrove and Tunstall (one of the 6 towns that makes up the City of Stoke-on-Trent), which offers plenty of chance for connections to Cheshire (albeit Alsager and Crewe rather than Congleton) and the less frequent 423/424 operated by Bakerbus, which continues to Biddulph and Leek. This theoretically provides connection opportunities for Congleton, changing at Biddulph, although I haven't checked the timetables to see how feasible such connections are.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Thank you for that link. As this particular thread refers to Cheshire East council and a list of bus services that would be losing their subsidy, do I take it that monies saved by the council from bus subsidies is now being transferred into their rail transit budgetary provision ?
No. I'm suggesting that with Middlewich-Sandbach and Sandbach-Crewe bus services getting a huge chunk of the council's transport budget that it might be better put towards the reopening of the Middlewich branch to passenger trains but in the Middlewich Guardian article it says Cheshire East are currently looking at providing updates to the 2009 feasibility report to attempt to prove to Network Rail the reopening is worth while.
323235
Established Member
Yes its the only service operated on behalf of Cheshire East Council that provides a direct link to Congleton from Mow Cop. Using the 423/424 and 99 increases the journey time from Mow Cop to Congleton from 26 minutes to between 45-65 Minutes in one direction and 18 minutes to 60-70 minutes in the other although if the 1030 99 from Congleton does allow a connection with the 1055 to Mow Cop this reduces to 40 minutes.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
I have seen a quoted figure in 2013 of £80,000 subsidy being saved by Cheshire East council...did that figure also include any associated routes ?
Lewisham2221
Established Member
Presumably related to fact that Mow Cop is 'over the border' in Staffordshire then. Incidentally, I believe this is the reason why the service was cut back from operating the full length Congleton - Hanley (Stoke-on-Trent City Centre), the 3 local authorities couldn't agree who should pay what for it.
Xenophon PCDGS
Veteran Member
Did not a similar matter happen when Derbyshire County Council withdrew their subsidy backing for certain services in the Glossop area that also ran into the adjoining area that is administered by TfGM ?
According to a quote from Ian Tomlinson in the Knutsford Guardian he asked Cheshire East Council to terminate the contract for the 47 service as he never has more than around 10 passengers on the bus when it's running the 47 service and he says that's too low to make any money.
martinsh
Established Member
Hmm, if ever bus with less than 10 passengers on it is losing money, then some firms are in BIG trouble !
I think he's probably referring to never more than 10 on any of the 47 services. If on another route it's up to 8 passengers in one direction but 24 on the return working then I imagine that would make a difference.
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