X2 - Improvement or Not? (Part 1)

In times long gone, there were three buses an hour between Sheffield and Barnsley of which one took a slightly different route through Sheffield's northern suburbs. 65 ran to Barnsley only, 66 continued to Bradford an 67 to Leeds As well as Sheffield Transport, Yorkshire Traction, Yorkshire Woollen and West Riding were all involved in the joint operation.

They were part of a clutch of out-of-town routes that left from Exchange Street and Castlegate, later moving to the Central Bus Station (Pond Street).

Until recently the successor to the 65/6/7 complex, by now numbered 265 and operated exclusively by Stagecoach (purchasers of Yorkshire Traction) ran half hourly on the traditional route.

Stagecoach renumbered it as service 2 and removed from terminating at the bus station (now Sheffield Interchange) and extended it to Moorfoot; but it was still very much the old 265.

It is fair to assume that this renumbering, "promotion" and re-routeing did not generate lashings of extra lolly; because earlier this year the folk at Barnsley had a consultation.

We all know that "consultation" can mean a series of "woolly" questions leading to unclear answers which together allow the company to do what it wants anyway.

In this case the "result" of the consultation was the X2.

The leaflet is full of good things and a full exploration will continue in tomorrow's blog and fbb has already alluded changes incorporated in the X2 in a previous blog. In essence the route is diverted to serve Hoyland ...

... removed from Moorfoot in Sheffield and diverted to serve the Hallamshire Hospital and pass close to the University.

The passenger is offered "faster journeys" ...

... with sections of the route between Barnsley and Birdwell and Sheffield and Chapeltown being "Limited Stop".

Evening and all day Sunday journeys are still numbered 2, are not limited stop and nip into the Northern General Hospital grounds ...

... to U turn at the original hospital main building with its attractive clock tower. The stop here is actually nowhere near the majority of the wards!

Hopefully it will also stop here at the end of the access road and slightly nearer where many visitors will want to be.

But the best of British luck in finding you way about - the signage is unfathomable as fbb found some months back when he came to visit his long-term chum lorry driving Dave. But if you choose to visit on Monday to Saturday daytimes, you will need to walk, as is long standing tradition, from thee main Barnsley Road and the X2.

By far the "best bit" of the through rise in the X2 (and all its immediate predecessor) is the diversion off the main road to serve Worsbrough village.

The best approach is from the Barnsley direction, whence, after passing Worsbrough Bridge, you take a sharp fork left off the A61 ...

... then a very rural wiggle left then right ...

... and up a width restricted hill into the village of itself.

Amazingly, you then find yourself in a bit of truly rural England.

The village is narrow and now protected by traffic lights near the church ...

... and the pub!

Of course the village was once owned (literally) by the "Lord of the Manor" who sold a great swathe of his estate to the Barrow Haematite Steel Company (that's Barrow as in Barrow in Furness) so they could mine their own coal.

It's all gone now, but we passed the entrances just after the X2 left the A61.

What a contrast!

But we digress!

Tomorrow, we take a closer look at the Stagecoach leaflet and try to understand what "fast" means!

 Next Publicity blog : Friday 17th May