TRIVIA: Places that National Express coaches no longer serve

[Simon75]

Chelmsford, Macclesfield, Buxton

 

[Jan Mayen]

Is there a PDF map (rather than interactive) showing National Express Coach Routes anywhere?

 

[BanburyBlue]

Is there a list of services that are on the radar to be reinstated

 

[Eyersey468]

Is there a list of services that are on the radar to be reinstated

Not services as such but a list of places they hope to start serving again is in the website

 

[Lloyds siding]

While it may not have been a major destination or interchange, Bedford used to be served by three National Express routes: the 305 Liverpool to Clacton-on-Sea, the 314 Cambridge to Southport and the 326 Newcastle-upon-Tyne to Cambridge. I believe all three of these services either withdrew their stops at Bedford or were withdrawn entirely in themselves sometime between 2016 and 2019.

It also seems that the stops at Hitchin and Stevenage on the 777 Stansted Airport to Birmingham were withdrawn during the pandemic, so these towns are also no longer served.



Lowestoft is no longer served by National Express. I remember that route 491, the Great Yarmouth to London via Norwich and Thetford, used to have one or two services per day start from Lowestoft but this seems to no longer be the case. There was also a route from Great Yarmouth to London via Lowestoft, Bury St Edmunds and Newmarket, but this seems to have been withdrawn entirely.

Southport is no longer served by National Express. The 550 used to run to London from Southport; the service still exists but only runs from Liverpool now. In summer it used to run from Ainsdale-on-Sea (Pontins), but no more.

 

[Martin2013]

Is it likely that NX used Covid as an excuse to overhaul the network and withdraw some services/destinations that weren't very well served?

 

[Eyersey468]

Is it likely that NX used Covid as an excuse to overhaul the network and withdraw some services/destinations that weren't very well served?

To some degree I suspect that did happen

 

[route101]

Is there a list of services that are on the radar to be reinstated

Latest Service Updates

The latest update on our coach services, including any network changes and disruptions

www.nationalexpress.com

 

[riceuten]

Stevenage. We had the semiregular 777 Birmingham to Stansted Service (which became the 737 Oxford to Stevenage service) but the latter has been diverted via Harlow and Hertford. We're 'on the list' but I'm not holding my breath.

 

[busestrains]

Is it likely that NX used Covid as an excuse to overhaul the network and withdraw some services/destinations that weren't very well served?

Yes i think so. Many of the withdrawn routes were very quiet before the corona virus. So the corona virus gave them a nice easy excuse to get rid of them.

Latest Service Updates

The latest update on our coach services, including any network changes and disruptions

www.nationalexpress.com

I am surprised by some of the stops on the list. Hardly anyone ever seemed to use Eastbourne and Chichester and Hickstead so i am very surprised they are returning during 2023 at some point. Hickstead makes sense as the coaches pass by there anyway so it is very easy to pull over and stop again. But running to Eastbourne and Chichester again is certainly surprising.

 

[Dunnyrail]

Southport is no longer served by National Express. The 550 used to run to London from Southport; the service still exists but only runs from Liverpool now. In summer it used to run from Ainsdale-on-Sea (Pontins), but no more.

We certainly lost National Express service from St.Neots possibly a decade or so ago now. Think it went to Southport so may have been the one mentioned by Lloyd’s above, but not at all sure. Had little interest in busses at the time. As an aside I have been thinking of using a NE service to somewhere but as there is no map of where they go it is difficult nay impossible to make any kind of decision.

 

[Deerfold]

We certainly lost National Express service from St.Neots possibly a decade or so ago now. Think it went to Southport so may have been the one mentioned by Lloyd’s above, but not at all sure. Had little interest in busses at the time. As an aside I have been thinking of using a NE service to somewhere but as there is no map of where they go it is difficult nay impossible to make any kind of decision.

That does seem to be a way they shoot themselves in the foot a bit. I travelled a lot by National Express in the 90s and used to work out where to go using their map and timetable book at the library. There would be trips where a service went to or from a nearby town which I could get to by other means, but just a search on their website shows the trip to be impossible.

At the moment their network isn't very stable, but even before Covid when it was, they'd not had a useful map for years (at least their timetables are easier to find now).

 

[route101]

We certainly lost National Express service from St.Neots possibly a decade or so ago now. Think it went to Southport so may have been the one mentioned by Lloyd’s above, but not at all sure. Had little interest in busses at the time. As an aside I have been thinking of using a NE service to somewhere but as there is no map of where they go it is difficult nay impossible to make any kind of decision.

You can input a destination on the website and it will show a map of the routes.

Yes i think so. Many of the withdrawn routes were very quiet before the corona virus. So the corona virus gave them a nice easy excuse to get rid of them.


I am surprised by some of the stops on the list. Hardly anyone ever seemed to use Eastbourne and Chichester and Hickstead so i am very surprised they are returning during 2023 at some point. Hickstead makes sense as the coaches pass by there anyway so it is very easy to pull over and stop again. But running to Eastbourne and Chichester again is certainly surprising.

Will Chichester come back as a Gatwick to Southampton service I wonder? Eastbourne as an extension of the 025?

 

[Mwanesh]

Chichester may be coming as a positioning run. Worthing Coaches are based that way.

 

[busestrains]

You can input a destination on the website and it will show a map of the routes.


Will Chichester come back as a Gatwick to Southampton service I wonder? Eastbourne as an extension of the 025?

Chichester may be coming as a positioning run. Worthing Coaches are based that way.

Yes i would imagine that Chichester will be an extension of the 025 route. They already extend a couple of 025 journeys from Brighton to Worthing each day. So i imagine they will just extend a few of those from Worthing to Chichester as it is not really that much further.

Similarly yes i think Eastbourne will just be an extension of the 025 too. I reckon a few journeys a day will extend from Brighton to Eastbourne again. There is no mention of any other new places being served again so i can not imagine any new route reopening.

 

[Deerfold]

You can input a destination on the website and it will show a map of the routes.`

That (https://www.nationalexpress.com/en/help/routemap) seems to be inexplicably difficult to use - and includes a number of routes that don't currently exist (I popped Keighley in as my first try and the route to Leeds is shown as passing through Bradford as it did on the 561 pre-Covid rather than through Calverley as it does on the 60 that they sell connecting tickets on).

 

[Simon75]

We certainly lost National Express service from St.Neots possibly a decade or so ago now. Think it went to Southport so may have been the one mentioned by Lloyd’s above, but not at all sure. Had little interest in busses at the time. As an aside I have been thinking of using a NE service to somewhere but as there is no map of where they go it is difficult nay impossible to make any kind of decision.

St Neots was the Liverpool to Southend service

 

[Ken H]

I am going to start scanning a 1996 National Express timetable soon. Would scanning the index first and posting it here be of interest? Its about 70 pages!

 

[richard1976]

I don't think there is anything to East Midlands Airport any more; I am sure there used to be.

 

[markymark2000]

Includes a number of routes that don't currently exist

All routes which are bookable by NatEx should show on the route map. This and the timetables system work together. The routing between stops may be codswallop but the direct destinations available from each stop should be correct (in this case, you can go on a direct bus from Keighley to Leeds as NatEx sell tickets for Transdevs 60).

(I popped Keighley in as my first try and the route to Leeds is shown as passing through Bradford as it did on the 561 pre-Covid rather than through Calverley as it does on the 60 that they sell connecting tickets on).

I think it seems to just work out, the fastest route favouring motorways. Least that's how it seems to me. Just for example, I know it liked to say a while ago the 550 went from Chester to Birmingham via the M56, and M6 but in reality, most drivers took the A41, M54, M6 as it was more predictable.

 

[Viperboy34]

Ripon, Wetherbey, Peterlee,and Whitby. Ayr, Hexham.

 

[ALEMASTER]

Stocksbridge (north Sheffield) is a town no longer served by National Express, before Covid there were coaches between Sheffield and Manchester which stopped there, now you cannot get a coach between Sheffield and Manchester without going via Leeds!

 

[route101]

I don't think there is anything to East Midlands Airport any more; I am sure there used to be.

What routes stopped at East Midlands Airport?

Newcastle Airport was served by the 534.

 

[randyrippley]

You're all underestimating the loss.

NE inherited just about the entire Associated Motorways network, including the likes of Royal Blue. Stopping at hundreds, if not thousands of villages and towns.

 

[JonnyB]

In the late 80s I often travelled between Bath and Aylesbury by National Express coach. I recall that it started further west and ended up somewhere in East Anglia, maybe even Norwich. Looks like Aylesbury is no longer served.

 

[stuart100100]

Southport is no longer served by National Express. The 550 used to run to London from Southport; the service still exists but only runs from Liverpool now. In summer it used to run from Ainsdale-on-Sea (Pontins), but no more.

I hadn't realised that had been cut back, so presumably Ormskirk and Maghull are now off the network too

 

[Deerfold]

What routes stopped at East Midlands Airport?

Newcastle Airport was served by the 534.

The 240 Bradford to Heathrow used to call at EM Airport.

 

[Martin2013]

Yes i think so. Many of the withdrawn routes were very quiet before the corona virus. So the corona virus gave them a nice easy excuse to get rid of them.

I remember the London to Lincolnshire corridor seeing some reductions towards the end of 2019 with some stops removed from the network. Maybe that explains why Peterborough has never returned- usage of the routes was in decline.

Not strictly withdrawals but there are no longer any NX services from South West to Birmingham via Gloucester. Between Bristol and Birmingham they now stop at Cheltenham only. In addition Derby only recently seemed to return to the Birmingham to Bradford corridor with one journey each way and I'm not sure if Chesterfield has ever come back.

My memory was that Birmingham-Derby-Birmingham was quite popular so I'm quite surprised this got removed for so long.

 

[Titfield]

You're all underestimating the loss.

NE inherited just about the entire Associated Motorways network, including the likes of Royal Blue. Stopping at hundreds, if not thousands of villages and towns.

Yes indeed but that was back in the days when customers would "happily" sit on a coach all day if it go them to the destination they needed rather than the nearest big town.

The Bournemouth to London service used to call at all the major towns and many villages on line of route including for example Boscombe, Christchurch, Lyndhurst, Southampton, Winchester, Basingstoke, Hartley Wintney, Staines. Now many services are just Bournemouth, Ringwood, London Hammersmith / Earls Court, London Victoria.

 

[GusB]

Services which ran prior to National Express days are outwith the scope of this thread, but anyone wishes to discuss these earlier services is welcome to start a new thread.