Trivia: Rail services duplicated entirely by bus routes

[Flange Squeal]

The SWR Aldershot - Ash - Wanborough - Guildford branch line is mirrored by the infrequent Stagecoach 520. A much more frequent Stagecoach KITE runs Aldershot - Ash - Guildford, but this omits Wanborough (although does stop one mile away along a straight road and is still never that far from the route of the railway line).

Not mainline, but the preserved Mid-Hants Railway (Watercress Line) runs Alton - Four Marks - Ropley - New Alresford. The Stagecoach 64 does the same, never straying more than about half a mile from it along its entire length (but generally mo more like half this!). The bus then continues to Winchester, where the railway also used to go.

 

[telstarbox]

In London the 21 duplicates Lewisham to Cannon Street, but serves the Old Kent Road which has no rail service (yet).

 

[bobslack1982]

Arriva/Stagecoach 685 from Newcastle to Carlisle runs alongside the train line for its entire route (apart from the part to Wetheral).

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

Arriva/Stagecoach 685 from Newcastle to Carlisle runs alongside the train line for its entire route (apart from the part to Wetheral).

Not quite. The 685 runs along the north side of the Tyne via West Road and Heddon whilst the rail line runs along the south side of the river via Blaydon.

 

[jammy36]

First Kernow's Tinner T1 service effectively duplicates the Great Western mainline between Penzance and Truro, whilst the T2 splits from the mainline to duplicate the St Ives branch also.

 

[L401CJF]

A couple of buses run from Liverpool to Southport and apart from a handful of places they aren't miles apart. I expect there's a few on Merseyside such as Liverpool to New Brighton, to West Kirkby, Ormskirk etc.

Arrivas 407 Liverpool to West Kirby picks up opposite West Kirby Station then stops within very short walking distance of every station served with the exception of Hamilton Square and Liverpool Central.

 

[bobslack1982]

Not quite. The 685 runs along the north side of the Tyne via West Road and Heddon whilst the rail line runs along the south side of the river via Blaydon.

And once it reaches Corbridge it follows an identical route apart from behind Greenhead where the rail line heads slightly north and the 685 continues along the A69, other than early morning services which serve Low Row.

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

And once it reaches Corbridge it follows an identical route apart from behind Greenhead where the rail line heads slightly north and the 685 continues along the A69, other than early morning services which serve Low Row.

Indeed it does but you did say....

685 from Newcastle to Carlisle runs alongside the train line for its entire route (apart from the part to Wetheral)

Personally, I quite like the 685/X84/X85 bit of route from Corbridge to Newcastle in preference to the south side though the rail stations at Wylam and Corbridge are delightful (as are many on the Tyne Valley Line.....except Blaydon)

 

[stuart100100]

Stagecoach 2A runs Ormskirk to Preston and covers the same places as the train except Croston

 

[Bletchleyite]

Stagecoach 2A runs Ormskirk to Preston and covers the same places as the train except Croston

Though a bit like the 311 the diversion is important as it serves other places on the A59 but away from the railway (Tarleton, Longton, Hoole...)

About half the route is away from the railway.

 

[stuart100100]

Though a bit like the 311 the diversion is important as it serves other places on the A59 but away from the railway (Tarleton, Longton, Hoole...)

About half the route is away from the railway.

True however when the 2A launched those areas already had the 2/X2 to get to Preston...BTW the 311 hasn't existed for a few years now....the 310 is now the Liverpool to Ormskirk/Skem connection.....that serves the Eastern side of Maghull instead of Lydiate

 

[Statto]

Arrivas 407 Liverpool to West Kirby picks up opposite West Kirby Station then stops within very short walking distance of every station served with the exception of Hamilton Square and Liverpool Central.

The 407 is one of my local routes, & serves large areas away from the stations.

 

[L401CJF]

The 407 is one of my local routes, & serves large areas away from the stations.

It does, such as the Town Meadow Estate, but does follow the railway fairly closely. Seems quite long winded compared to a train though, so does the alternative 437.

 

[A0wen]

Arriva bus 321 links Watford with St Albans, and is also longer than the railway line, as it continues to Luton.

Not a good example - the 321 (and 724 for that matter) take a very different route between Watford and St Albans than the Abbey line does, heading through Chiswell Green and going nowhere near How Wood or Park Street which the railway serves.

St Albans - Luton, yes, it shadows the MML there.

 

[Statto]

It does, such as the Town Meadow Estate, but does follow the railway fairly closely. Seems quite long winded compared to a train though, so does the alternative 437.

Also parts of Bidston can be a bit of a hike to either Bidston or Birkenhead North stations, 407 for which is far more convenient

For me it's often easier to catch the 407 to Birkenhead or Liverpool instead of walking to Moreton station for the train, the bus stop is over the road from my home, were as it's a 10 minute walk to the station, at the moment both train & bus are every 20 minutes, but bus is about 10/15 minutes longer than the train, but time taken to walk to the station & wait for the train gets rid of that.

437 serves areas that are a long way from the railway, such as Frankby, Greasby, Upton, Claughton, & is [well was pre pandemic] often busy throughout the route.

Extreme one is Chester-Rhyl 11 group of routes which parallels the Rhyl-Chester line, the bus takes 2 hours 15 minutes end to end, train 40 minutes, however again it's looking at were the bus serves as there are a few of villages between Flint & Prestatyn plus Holywell which are miles away from the nearest station which the bus serves, bus operates as a through route even though it changes number at Holywell although i believe frequency is now every 60 minutes Holywell-Rhyl & 30 Chester-Holywell.

It's not just about routes operating parallel with the railway, it's areas were they serve too & not just end to end journeys.

 

[Ianno87]

192 Hazel Grove-Manchester pretty much serves the exact same corridor the rail service does.

 

[Ken H]

Kirkby Lonsdale Coach Hire 580 Skipton - Settle goes through the places the railway serves. It even goes to Giggleswick station when it goes on to Kirkby Lonsdale as a 581. The old Ribble/Pennine service used to pass Bentham and Wennington stations so duplicated the Settle Jn - Lancaster line for part of the way.

 

[Busaholic]

The 17 from Penzance to St Ives via St Erth. Lelant and Carbis Bay never strays far from the railway line(s) and stations are all in easy walking distance from the bus. Neither bus nor train is under any threat of withdrawal, but a ride on either for the next week or so is inadvisable on the occasions when it is not actually impossible! There is also a seasonal open top service between the two which also serves all stations. The buses and trains are all run by First.

 

[L401CJF]

Also parts of Bidston can be a bit of a hike to either Bidston or Birkenhead North stations, 407 for which is far more convenient

For me it's often easier to catch the 407 to Birkenhead or Liverpool instead of walking to Moreton station for the train, the bus stop is over the road from my home, were as it's a 10 minute walk to the station, at the moment both train & bus are every 20 minutes, but bus is about 10/15 minutes longer than the train, but time taken to walk to the station & wait for the train gets rid of that.

437 serves areas that are a long way from the railway, such as Frankby, Greasby, Upton, Claughton, & is [well was pre pandemic] often busy throughout the route.

Extreme one is Chester-Rhyl 11 group of routes which parallels the Rhyl-Chester line, the bus takes 2 hours 15 minutes end to end, train 40 minutes, however again it's looking at were the bus serves as there are a few of villages between Flint & Prestatyn plus Holywell which are miles away from the nearest station which the bus serves, bus operates as a through route even though it changes number at Holywell although i believe frequency is now every 60 minutes Holywell-Rhyl & 30 Chester-Holywell.

It's not just about routes operating parallel with the railway, it's areas were they serve too & not just end to end journeys.

Correct, I'm not saying it doesn't serve places away from stations, I'm just saying as far as bus routes go there arnt many that cover near every station in order on a full line - in this case the 407 does for the most part aswell as serving other areas.

I have the misfortune of driving both the 407 and 437!

 

[plugwash]

192 Hazel Grove-Manchester pretty much serves the exact same corridor the rail service does.

Though in the current timetable trains starting at Hazel grove and terminating at Manchester or vice-versa is something that only happens at the extremes of the day. The main services on the line nowadays are Buxton to Manchester and Hazel grove to Blackpool.

The transpeak (aka TP) used to do Nottingham to Manchester via Derby, Matlock and Buxton, but it got cut back to Derby to Buxton at some point.

The 199 does Buxton to Stockport, but then turns down the motorway to the airport, rather than going into Manchester city center.

I don't think there have ever been buses (other than maybe rail replacement services) from Hazel Grove to Blackpool.

 

[Gloster]

A thought the other day about the implications of integrated bus and rail travel got me thinking: How many rail services are there in the UK which also have a bus route running alongside it for its entire length? To qualify, the bus route must run in the same general direction as the rail route, although it does not exactly have to serve every single settlement that the train serves.

The best example in my area is the Island Line, as not only do Southern Vectis routes 2 and 3 serve all the settlements that the railway does, but the buses even stop right next door to the majority of the stations and the rest (except Smallbrook Junction) are within walking distance.

Currently the bus and train compete against each other, although there has been a lot of talk on the forum suggesting that the Island Line should be integrated with the Southern Vectis bus network. While this is good in theory, I do wonder whether such a move would make the bus service unviable between Ryde and Shanklin, as it would not be serving anywhere different to the train.

But only the train runs up to the Pier Head at Ryde; people travelling to and from the FastCats make an important part of the line’s passengers. Sandown station is a fair way from the town centre, as are both Esplanade and St Johns at Ryde. Personally, I think it is only the inconvenience of adding an extra change to FastCat journey that keeps the line open.

I reckon that the bus service would remain viable long after the line ceased to be. A lot of people use the bus to get up to the centre of Ryde, to the Oakfield and Elmfield areas on the east side of Ryde, to the Tesco superstore, etc.

 

[cnjb8]

TrentBarton's the threes follows the Robin Hood Line to Mansfield, the route has three variations that serve all of the stations except Bulwell, but one variation doesn't serve all the stations
Had the Nottingham to Melton Mowbray line stayed open, then Centrebus 19 would qualify

 

[PeterC]

Romford - Upminster has the 370 duplicating it

Also the 248. Stops at the other end of Billet Lane to Emerson Park but does stop outside Romford Station

 

[scosutsut]

First Glasgow's "the one" routes extensively mirror a lot of the local railway network.

Helensburgh & Balloch both have train services to Glasgow City Centre, with lots of shared stop offs on the way.

 

[galwhv69]

Also in London the 337 (Clapham Junction to Richmond)
Stops at/a short walk away (from) Clapham Junction, Wandsworth Town, Putney, Barnes, Mortlake, North Sheen & Richmond

 

[fgwrich]

Not mentioned yet is both Reading Buses Jet Black 1 - Which rivals GWR between Reading and Newbury, and does serve Reading town centre > Reading West (Bath Road area), Theale, Aldermaston, Woolhampton (Midgham), Thatcham and Newbury.

Another is the Stagecoach Route 76 - which rivals SWT / SWR between Basingstoke and Andover. The bus again has the advantage here in that it serves Oakley, the centre of Overton, the centre of Whitchurch and the large Picket Twenty housing estate on the outskirts of Andover. There is also the less direct but railway rivalling Ativ8 between Andover and Salisbury.

 

[Springs Branch]

Has anyone mentioned Stagecoach's X1 Gold & 1 Gold between Liverpool and Chester yet?

The buses divert to serve Ellesmere Port, Cheshire Oaks & Chester Zoo, but parallel both the Chester and Ellesmere Port rail routes reasonably well. And it's an "end-to-end" duplicate (rather than duplicating one portion of a longer rail route).

 

[sk688]

First WoE's 39 runs between Bath and Bristol , and stops at Keynsham and Temple Meads , and the Windsor Bridge stop is not too far from Oldfield Park station either,

When it runs as the X39 however , it skips out Keynsham station but still runs between Bath Spa and Temple Meads

 

[lxfe_mxtterz]

The Arriva route 479 between Guildford and Epsom generally follows the railway, serving all of the same settlements (Clandon, Horsley, Effingham, Bookham, Leatherhead, Ashtead), including two of their stations (Bookham and Leatherhead).

 

[TheGrandWazoo]

First WoE's 39 runs between Bath and Bristol , and stops at Keynsham and Temple Meads , and the Windsor Bridge stop is not too far from Oldfield Park station either,

When it runs as the X39 however , it skips out Keynsham station but still runs between Bath Spa and Temple Meads

The 39/X39 deliberately run down the Upper Bristol Road rather than the Lower Bristol Road so as not to duplicate the train!