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This has changed somewhat in the last year or two, but it was for a long time the case that Stagecoach ordered the large majority of their buses from Alexander Dennis Limited, and when they went elsewhere it was usually because the ADL range didn't offer anything suitable. I was a little...

As much as opinions differ on the merits or otherwise of the privatisation of train operations in the 1990s, and as much as we can speculate about what ulterior motives there could have been, and bemoan that what was promised is not necessarily what materialised in reality, the public-facing...

I know this is extremely minor in the grand scheme of things, but it's a bit irritating that for all the harmonisation of branding and information provision, nobody has thought to standardise the route/destination displays on the outside of the buses. It appears that each operator is currently...

I know that on the new (well, not really that new any more) Alexander Dennis MMC series buses, the stop buttons just trigger an audio recording played through speakers; there isn't a real bell in the bus. Is that the case on any other buses currently in service? Particularly curious about...

The fare cap has resulted, perhaps predictably, in most bus companies now effectively having a flat fare system, even where some of their fares used to be less than the cap. This may be either a matter of official policy or simply because drivers are in the habit of issuing all tickets to the...

If I buy through Stagecoach's website a "Megarider" ticket that has to be loaded onto a smartcard, when does the validity period start? Is it when I buy it, when the smartcard is delivered (I don't have a Stagecoach Smart card already so presumably will have to order one), or do I have to...

This thread is to discuss how the deregulation of the bus network in most of the country is to the benefit or (in my opinion) the disbenefit of bus passengers. I thought it best to reply in a new thread, rather than clutter up the "Stagecoach disowning the past" thread. I find the suggestion...

Thought it was worth creating a thread dedicated to the discussion of a potential Manchester Metrolink extension to Stockport. From the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-67801843) I'm particularly intrigued by the underlined section (my underline, for what it's worth)...

On Manchester Metrolink, it's looking like it will be four years or more from completion of the Trafford Park line and the bay platform at Crumspall before the intended Crumpsall-Trafford Centre service starts. I suppose we have the pandemic to thank for that. What other examples are there of...

This seems like something which, in the fairly long history of the railway, probably could have happened at some point, though I'm not aware of any examples... As we know, in times of disruption to the timetabled service, arrangements are sometimes made for passengers to make their journey on...

This thread is to discuss possible changes Greater Anglia could make to their fleet (or the way it is used). I'm replying to a post from this thread to avoid that getting too speculative. The context is that Greater Anglia currently has a large fleet of Aventras (with some being surplus to...

I was on a Northern 331 which had acquired two slightly angry-looking signs in one of the door vestibules: "STAFF use only" (on a fold-down seat) and "No STANDING or OBSTRUCTIONS in this area" (on a glass partition). They didn't really look like official signs - they appeared to have been made...

I was travelling on a bus in Germany (a Mercedes-Benz Citaro operated by Rhein-Neckar Verkehr) a few days ago. As with most modern German buses, it had a passenger information system (PIS) display showing the next few stops. On approach to my desired stop I pressed the "stop" button and heard a...

While in Manchester yesterday I noticed that the tram stops now have a "see it, say it, sorted" announcement like at stations, advising passengers to text 61016 to report any issues needing police attention. Is this correct? I was under the impression that 61016 connected to the British...

All the platform numbers for departures from Manchester Piccadilly seem to be missing from Darwin at the moment. Does anyone have any idea what's causing that? Also, not being at the station myself I don't know what the effect of this on the station displays is. Is every service just appearing...

I believe the Ordsall chord is electrified - but its service on opening was an extension of an existing Calder Valley service (diesel) through to Deansgate and Oxford Road, which was a temporary state of affairs until the current arrangement with the TPE Manchester-Redcar services (also diesel)...

I was in Manchester today and caught a bus from Piccadilly Gardens, and it took several minutes just to leave the bus station. One reason for this is that there is a set of traffic lights actually within the bus station - is Piccadilly Gardens the only place where this is the case? - and another...

Manchester Metrolink appears to have quietly extended services on the Trafford Park line one stop inwards from their previous terminus at Cornbrook through to Deansgate-Castlefield. This makes sense to me as an outsider - terminating trams were already heading some distance in that direction in...

When Deutsche Bahn says a train has been replaced by an Ersatzzug, what do they mean? In German it literally means "replacement train", but that suggests a service has been cancelled and a new one has been put in place which has a different route, goes at slightly different times or is a...

A friend sent me these photos of something he'd seen attached to a railway bridge in Leeds and was wondering if I could identify it: (image shows a metal object attached to a brick wall. It appears to consist of a circular plate with a long, thin protrusion from slightly below the centre. It...