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No Service Northern Tyne/Tees - 1st January 2017

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Afternoon all,

Is this the norm on new years day up in the North East not to run a local service? There seems to be very little information available - whether they are running buses on the branch lines or nothing at all. I thought maybe there are historic reasons why Northern don't run on New years day?

Any help/information would be greatly appreciated.
 
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pemma

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It's the norm for no services in the North East on 1st January. I think it's something to do with PTE subsides.
 

ainsworth74

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Virgin Trains, Transpennine Express and Cross Country should be running as normal (or, at least, they will be running but probably a reduced service). There will be no Northern Rail or Tyne and Wear Metro services at all.

This seems to be a historic thing and I don't think it is wholly to do with PTE subsidies (there isn't a PTE for the Tees Valley for example) but possibly for the Metro it is.
 

TBY-Paul

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How long ago is "Historic"? I can remember taking the train from Thornaby to Hartlepool to watch a New Year's day football match back in the mid 70's.

I'm more inclined to think the reason there are no Northern trains on New Years Day is because it's the North-East. It's not like any of the Local Councils are kick up a fuss.
 

30907

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It's over 25 since I lived on Tyneside but even then ISTR that New Year's Day was pretty quiet and there was an early shutdown on NY Eve.
I put it down to Newcastle's strong cross-border links but that's probably an outsider's perspective and I await correction from forum members.
(At that time I don't think T and W had any say in BR services - and the area concerned is almost entirely non-PTE)
 

pemma

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This seems to be a historic thing and I don't think it is wholly to do with PTE subsidies (there isn't a PTE for the Tees Valley for example) but possibly for the Metro it is.

It's possible a PTE decision could have wider impacts. Once Metrolink started GMPTE couldn't afford to subside Altrincham-Manchester rail services which caused the Sunday service to be reduced from a 2 hourly Chester-Altrincham-Manchester service to a 3 hourly Chester-Altrincham service between 1992 and 2008, despite no changes to funding for Chester-Altrincham (other than a predicted fall in fares revenue.)

What happened under ATN given York-Middlesbrough and York-Newcastle-Sunderland were both part of TPE branded routes but still operated by the same franchise?
 

Ze Random One

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Indeed, no local public transport runs in North East England on New Year's Day.

Long distance services (except those along the Tyne valley and Durham coast lines) run as normal.

West Yorkshire also don't run buses on 1 Jan, but local trains do run. Many other non-PTE areas also don't run buses on 1 Jan.

As a counter to this, Tyne & Wear has a comprehensive bus and metro network on Boxing day, which includes services to surrounding towns, from 8am to 7pm.
 

Bletchleyite

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Is that Scottish influence, where that is also the norm?

Mind you, Merseytravel contract some Boxing Day bus services, and Merseyrail operated on Boxing Day last year - interestingly they ran express services, so running through stations you normally stop at was an experience.
 

pemma

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Is that Scottish influence, where that is also the norm?

Mind you, Merseytravel contract some Boxing Day bus services, and Merseyrail operated on Boxing Day last year - interestingly they ran express services, so running through stations you normally stop at was an experience.

They also run free buses on Christmas Day so that hospital patients can get Christmas visitors.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
West Yorkshire also don't run buses on 1 Jan, but local trains do run. Many other non-PTE areas also don't run buses on 1 Jan..

In my town (not in a PTE area) if 1 Jan falls on a Saturday then there are no buses between 7pm on the 31st and 7am on the 4th
 
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DarloRich

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there never is any service on new years day in the NE. I don't think there has been for many years. It could all be a vast conspiracy of course.................
 

gordonthemoron

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ISTR in 82 or 83, BR services on the ECML only ran between Kings Cross and Newcastle and were diverted via Leeds. Services ran 2 hourly and were all shacks
 

PHILIPE

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ATW have a service on New Years day apart from the Cardiff Valleys which on the face of it would seem strange. This goes back historically to when the Cardiff Valleys was a different TOC without a service but ATW won't change anything as it's not a franchise commitment. When the Valley Lines TOC disappeared and incorporated into ATW, the status quo remained.
 

30907

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ISTR in 82 or 83, BR services on the ECML only ran between Kings Cross and Newcastle and were diverted via Leeds. Services ran 2 hourly and were all shacks

Indeed - it was pretty drastic, and I think may have happened 2 consecutive years. Basically, if Jan 1 is a Friday (1982) then the end of the "long" Christmas holiday isn't till the Sunday - and in Scotland the Monday - meaning a very much reduced demand for longer-distance travel on New Year's Day.
ISTR no Anglo-Scottish services ran N of Carlisle/Newcastle on 1 Jan in any year at that stage.
 
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Many thanks for everyone commenting - much appreciated.

So it looks like a day in sunny Sunderland on the 1st - any suggestions on where to walk or what to look out for?
 
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