Why does the X10 keep going down Marsh House Avenue in billingham on the evening and subday morning whats the point it doesnt stop there and noticed it going down Melrose Avenue???

I heard a driver says it goes down there at schooltimez to avoid traffic going other way down Wolviston Road but other then that I have no idea

Was on the A19 and saw the driver turn the passenger lights off again, whenever Ive been on the X10 its sometime happened and other times not, is this something that is actually allowed to happen, as I quite like it.

(11 Sep 2023, 10:02 pm)Unber43 wrote Was on the A19 and saw the driver turn the passenger lights off again, whenever Ive been on the X10 its sometime happened and other times not, is this something that is actually allowed to happen, as I quite like it.

They can turn the nearside lights off (to reduce glare on the windscreen).


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(12 Sep 2023, 4:42 am)Dan wrote They can turn the nearside lights off (to reduce glare on the windscreen).


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I was going to say, that's normally all I'd need to do to be fine even on a dark road, pulling the sun shade down helps with reflections too.

First thing I do when driving on a night is dim the offside saloon lights and turn the nearside ones off,

I know the X10 (and the suggested return of the X9) have been discussed to death elsewhere, but thought I'd try to keep it to the relevant thread. 

Saw an X10 heading north this morning. Wouldn't have long left Peterlee and displayed 'Bus Full'.

I appreciate they can't predict loading and whether or not a specific board will be more popular than anticipated, but I hope they reacted and sorted out relevant dupes across the day.

The X9 should be brought back - or at least increase the X10 half-houry NCL > Peterlee.

GNE don't have enough 'suitable' vehicles at the moment for an increase too.

6965 made it onto the X10 today if Bustimes is to be belived. 

Its clear that the MMCs can't manage a full day on the X10 now without a fault.

surely, as a business, with a busy service, they HAVE to do something to improve the current situation.

(15 Aug 2025, 7:25 pm)WestDurhamSwift wrote 6965 made it onto the X10 today if Bustimes is to be belived. 

Its clear that the MMCs can't manage a full day on the X10 now without a fault.

surely, as a business, with a busy service, they HAVE to do something to improve the current situation.

And that as well got took off in favour of an Angel streetdeck, 6322

(15 Aug 2025, 7:25 pm)WestDurhamSwift wrote 6965 made it onto the X10 today if Bustimes is to be belived. 

Its clear that the MMCs can't manage a full day on the X10 now without a fault.

surely, as a business, with a busy service, they HAVE to do something to improve the current situation.

To be fair they can't do the Consett expresses neither. 

It's hard to say whether it's vehicle related though or engineering; Riverside, Consett and Washington have been a shambles for months now, as an understatement.

(15 Aug 2025, 8:40 pm)Storx wrote To be fair they can't do the Consett expresses neither. 

It's hard to say whether it's vehicle related though or engineering; Riverside, Consett and Washington have been a shambles for months now, as an understatement.

Loading on X45 does suggest going to a 20 minute frequency.

I'd go for a revised X46 to fill the gap, but going up Ebchester bank past Derwent Walk Inn (restoring links) before dropping towards Shotley Bridge and rejoining the X45 route before Benfieldside.

Option to swing via the hospital?

(18 Aug 2025, 11:20 pm)DH9 wrote Loading on X45 does suggest going to a 20 minute frequency.

I'd go for a revised X46 to fill the gap, but going up Ebchester bank past Derwent Walk Inn (restoring links) before dropping towards Shotley Bridge and rejoining the X45 route before Benfieldside.

Option to swing via the hospital?

Probably not the right place but maybe another option would be to withdraw the V5 and X71 and move them into the Derwentside corridor with the X45 and 47? Something like this maybe which would open up a few new links in areas which currently have next to no service or a very poor one at that:


It's the sort of place I'd love to see BSIP money used personally. Whether you up the X70 to every 30 minutes at the same time, I'll let someone else decide but it's killed off two hourly services and a town service and I'm sure everyone knows what I think about those. 

You would need something for the other half of the V5 though, don't know what. Maybe just these extended through? One to Crookhall and the other to Templetown again giving more direct Newcastle links.

(15 Aug 2025, 8:40 pm)Storx wrote To be fair they can't do the Consett expresses neither. 

It's hard to say whether it's vehicle related though or engineering; Riverside, Consett and Washington have been a shambles for months now, as an understatement.

Asides from the X10 which even 6043-48 had trouble doing, got to be engineering related considering in context that Ashington and Redcar seem to keep their MMCs on the road doing much harder worm even if patchy at times.

And even though GNE's are ZF instead of Voith, Arriva's late registered ZF classics didn't give too bad of a service on the Ashington & Alnwick work

(19 Aug 2025, 11:01 am)L469 YVK wrote Asides from the X10 which even 6043-48 had trouble doing, got to be engineering related considering in context that Ashington and Redcar seem to keep their MMCs on the road doing much harder worm even if patchy at times.

And even though GNE's are ZF instead of Voith, Arriva's late registered ZF classics didn't give too bad of a service on the Ashington & Alnwick work

Aye definitely. To be fair ZF's are generally regarded as the superior product aswell compared to Voith so technically they're the superior out of the two really.

(19 Aug 2025, 11:17 am)Storx wrote Aye definitely. To be fair ZF's are generally regarded as the superior product aswell compared to Voith so technically they're the superior out of the two really.

Consett issue is that they seem to be at full pelt given other services are short of PVR.

Then the pressure to get them back on the road too especially if short of other low height deckers or Streetlite/E200MMC to cover the X30s/X70s

Consett have struggled since the PVR increases back in July 2024. Hopefully B9TLs from the 56 and 307/309 (if latter get cascaded StreetDecks from the 21) will help sort some of Consett's issues. The latter B9TLs have spent most of their life just pottering around North Tyneside so will have plenty of life left in them.

The problem with the X10 is the likely yield per passenger.

It's mostly concessions from what I've seen. Fare payers from Middlesbrough, Stockton and Billingham have deserted it for the improved Northern service.

Maybe it just needs to be Peterlee to Newcastle every 30 minutes with an hourly extension to Middlesbrough? Maybe even missing out Billingham entirely to speed up trips

(19 Aug 2025, 11:01 am)L469 YVK wrote Asides from the X10 which even 6043-48 had trouble doing, got to be engineering related considering in context that Ashington and Redcar seem to keep their MMCs on the road doing much harder worm even if patchy at times.

And even though GNE's are ZF instead of Voith, Arriva's late registered ZF classics didn't give too bad of a service on the Ashington & Alnwick work

Personally, I'd take a Voith over a ZF these days. The ZFs fitted to Arriva's E400s, particularly the ones in 7514-21, are horrific - which is widely reported. Change up too early, reliability issues, clunky changes. In my time driving, I covered far more distance in Voith vehicles yet each time I had a gearbox completely give up it was a ZF E400. 

On the other hand, the Voith-equipped MMCs are generally smoother and appear to be more reliable. 

Volvo products with ZFs were a different situation entirely though, very good.

(19 Aug 2025, 6:01 pm)DodgepotMcDougal wrote The problem with the X10 is the likely yield per passenger.

It's mostly concessions from what I've seen. Fare payers from Middlesbrough, Stockton and Billingham have deserted it for the improved Northern service. 

Maybe it just needs to be Peterlee to Newcastle every 30 minutes with an hourly extension to Middlesbrough? Maybe even missing out Billingham entirely to speed up trips

Think you've used the key phrase there. 'Improved'.
Twice hourly and more chance of a seat/less chance of a breakdown/delay and if there is a breakdown/delay - then there's the delay repay scheme.

(19 Aug 2025, 6:45 pm)Andreos1 wrote Think you've used the key phrase there. 'Improved'.
Twice hourly and more chance of a seat/less chance of a breakdown/delay and if there is a breakdown/delay - then there's the delay repay scheme.

It's not twice hourly all day though.

The X10 does get full at times too especially after Peterlee.

To be honest - the whole shambles of vehicle suitability began in 2017 when GNE under Kevin Carr bought them absolutely stupid basketcase hairdryer Volvo B5TL Gemini 3 deckers......just because they were "Volvo" and "Wrightbus".

The order should've been either integral ADL E400MMC with ZF - or Scania N250UD E400MMC - both options with 2x spares for a then PVR of 7x.

Likewise, some dealer stock Volvo B9TLs (im 2014/15 financial year) or then new E400MMC would've been better for the X21 than the pile of ***** StreetDecks ordered in 2016.

Appreciate this is probably going over old ground, but instead of the Interdecks, which the less said the better, they really should have got the Plaxton Panther LE

They are very impressive vehicles ploughing the Edinburgh Perth/Dunfermline corridors. A mix of fast dual carriageway sections and suburban roads.

(19 Aug 2025, 6:01 pm)DodgepotMcDougal wrote The problem with the X10 is the likely yield per passenger.

It's mostly concessions from what I've seen. Fare payers from Middlesbrough, Stockton and Billingham have deserted it for the improved Northern service.

Maybe it just needs to be Peterlee to Newcastle every 30 minutes with an hourly extension to Middlesbrough? Maybe even missing out Billingham entirely to speed up trips

Middlesbrough - Portrack (CF Portrack Site) - Norton (High Street) - Billingham (Town Centre) - Billingham (Ownington Farm) then continue as current X10

Much quicker links between Billingham and Middlesbrough, as well as Norton to Middlesbrough and also connects Norton to Portrack. 

Market days run a single deck shuttle between Newcastle, Gateshead, Peterlee and Stockton High Street.

(19 Aug 2025, 7:26 pm)L469 YVK wrote It's not twice hourly all day though.

The X10 does get full at times too especially after Peterlee.

To be honest - the whole shambles of vehicle suitability began in 2017 when GNE under Kevin Carr bought them absolutely stupid basketcase hairdryer Volvo B5TL Gemini 3 deckers......just because they were "Volvo" and "Wrightbus".

The order should've been either integral ADL E400MMC with ZF - or Scania N250UD E400MMC - both options with 2x spares for a then PVR of 7x.

Likewise, some dealer stock Volvo B9TLs (im 2014/15 financial year) or then new E400MMC would've been better for the X21 than the pile of ***** StreetDecks ordered in 2016.

It is after December, both services are going hourly with the timetable change.

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(19 Aug 2025, 6:01 pm)DodgepotMcDougal wrote The problem with the X10 is the likely yield per passenger.

It's mostly concessions from what I've seen. Fare payers from Middlesbrough, Stockton and Billingham have deserted it for the improved Northern service.

Maybe it just needs to be Peterlee to Newcastle every 30 minutes with an hourly extension to Middlesbrough? Maybe even missing out Billingham entirely to speed up trips

Yeah agreed, personally it's the sort of route I'd loved to have seen BSIP used to do it every 30 minutes from Peterlee to Newcastle.

Maybe it could've extended onto one of the subsidised services aswell - unsure what's around these days and give more people a direct link to Newcastle as anyone sane isn't going to be connecting onto an hourly service unless they really have no choice.

The current service should be revised or a new one introduced say X19

Newcastle - Gateshead -Heworth - Amazon Follingsby- Concord - Nissan - (IMAP) A19 - off at chester Road do a singular loop around chester road /prestbury Road then left past old Sunderland Echo office back onto A19 off to do a loop around Doxford International back onto A19 down to Dalton Park then Peterlee go to Bus Station first then loop around the industrial estate where Caterpillar etc is is before returning to A19. down to Portrack Lane into Stockton then Boro

I know its a different route to X9 x10

The route is primarily to serve workers

and the X10 serves pleasure commuters to an extent

The Sunderland connection is a strange one but vital (CLS vs Chester Road link) to give a quicker link to Amazon Nisaan Doxford Park concord Peterlee and creating that hub to change to give faster links using Pennywell loop or even. grindon loop creates a sense of connection X24 has no real competition from one bus stop area...

but it means a good link from employment purposes

(lets wait for the idea to be ripped apart )

For added seriousness

I think a Fiat Ducato Mellor Orion or a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter Mellor Strata will suit the services as oppose the Coast and Cobalt double buses etc....

(19 Aug 2025, 7:57 am)Storx wrote Probably not the right place but maybe another option would be to withdraw the V5 and X71 and move them into the Derwentside corridor with the X45 and 47? Something like this maybe which would open up a few new links in areas which currently have next to no service or a very poor one at that:


It's the sort of place I'd love to see BSIP money used personally. Whether you up the X70 to every 30 minutes at the same time, I'll let someone else decide but it's killed off two hourly services and a town service and I'm sure everyone knows what I think about those. 

You would need something for the other half of the V5 though, don't know what. Maybe just these extended through? One to Crookhall and the other to Templetown again giving more direct Newcastle links.

Whilst the services are very busy. The X70 certainly does not warrant a bus every 30 mins. Its certainly a ghost bus. Upping the 45 would be a good use of resources although many locals wish the retuen of the V3 V4 in that area. Theres some parts of the old V3 V4 9 (such as the route into consett) that a lot of old people live on and only have the infrequent 773 to rely on now the 16 goes a different way to the previous iteration of the 47 from Shotley Bridge Hospital.

(11 hours ago)TheClumsyPineapple wrote Whilst the services are very busy. The X70 certainly does not warrant a bus every 30 mins. Its certainly a ghost bus. Upping the 45 would be a good use of resources although many locals wish the retuen of the V3 V4 in that area. Theres some parts of the old V3 V4 9 (such as the route into consett) that a lot of old people live on and only have the infrequent 773 to rely on now the 16 goes a different way to the previous iteration of the 47 from Shotley Bridge Hospital.

Aye it's a bit of mess the Consett area really nowadays, they've cut it down to the bone and there's an awful lot of hourly services which aren't really useful. 

Not much use if your appointment is 13.00 and your bus is due in at 13.05 (made up numbers). I'd be straight in a taxi personally, just not worth sitting around for so long and I guess there's a lot of people in a similar boat. 

Durham across the county is a mess though, the Bishop area is arguably even worse since both operators shut their depots there.

I was going to use the X10 on and BH Monday. 
Then I saw the full route runs every two hours.

So I got the train and used the railcard. 

An absolute no-brainer.

The next day, I drove past Riverside, squeezed past all of the parked cars causing chaos on Mandela Way and saw someone repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. 

I can't confirm or deny it was a member of the commercial team.