I took 12-mile bus journey that can take longer than getting to …

A train service will be reinstated after more than 60 years, taking passengers between Hanley^[1] and Leek^[2] in just 20 minutes. It comes after plans were scrapped for the HS2 train between Birmingham and Manchester.

A grant of £50,000 was awarded to the project from the Restoring Your Railway Fund, a government programme under the jurisdiction of the Department for Transport. At the moment, many people travelling between Hanley and Leek opt for the bus, but it can be an arduous journey at times.

A study carried out in support of plans to reinstate the Leek to Stoke rail line found that at peak times, a bus journey between the two towns has been known to take over 95 minutes - 11 minutes longer than it takes to get from Stoke-on-Trent to London by train.

So we decided to join the passengers on the service and find out whether or not they’ll swap roads for railways in the future.

It was a very wet and gloomy morning on Friday, October 13, and we boarded the Number 16 D&G bus from Hanley Bus Station at 9.57am (to depart at 10am). There were three of us who boarded the vehicle, although 17 people had hopped off when it pulled up in Hanley.

READ: The seven Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire firms that went bust in October | Insolvency notices have been posted by each one^[3]

READ: Police oppose licence bid from bar with trackies ban and snails on the menu | Cops say Slice Lounge in Piccadilly not upholding licensing conditions^[4]

There are 46 stops along the route and according to Google Maps, it should take 38 minutes to travel between the towns. I paid £2 for a single ticket to Leek Bus Station, and was pleasantly surprised by the number of passengers who boarded the bus along the journey.

I spoke with one of the passengers, John Tunnicliffe, about whether he’d use the new train line as opposed to the bus. He said: “I’m meeting a friend in [Leek] town for a walk around and some lunch.

“I quite like visiting Leek, I go once a week. I don’t see a problem with the bus route really, the bus stop isn’t far from my house so I’ll probably just stick to that.”

Another passenger, Glynn Walker, said: “I’m going to visit family. I suppose it depends if the train is more convenient, if it’s closer for me then I will but if it’s further away then I won’t.

“I don’t use this bus that often but I’ve only had issues if there are temporary lights or roadworks on the main roads. Other than that it’s a good service and the traffic really isn’t that bad, it’s just that people are impatient these days.”

Despite not catching the bus during peak times where passengers are often commuting to work, I was pleasantly surprised that eight passengers had boarded the bus between Hanley and Leek, with only one passenger hopping off before reaching Leek Bus Station.

There was only one set of roadworks which had a set of temporary traffic lights on Cheadle Road. It caused some delays, but we arrived at Leek Bus Station at 10.34am which was four minutes quicker than Google had predicted.

On my way back to Hanley, I decided to try the First bus service which was due at 3.16pm. To my surprise, a D&G bus arrived instead, so 12 passengers and I boarded the Number 18 bus from Leek Bus Station to Hanley Bus Station.

Whilst waiting for the bus to arrive, I spoke with one gentleman who said: “I use the service about once or twice a week to either visit friends or to come into the town. Lots of people who use this bus live close to the route where the bus goes, so I doubt the train would be useful to people who don’t want to go directly to Hanley.”

Abbie Johnson said: “When I can afford it I’ll use the train because it’s quicker and there’s more leg room and it feels more private than a bus. Although I love talking to people on the bus and making friends, but I suppose I could do that on the train as well.”

A couple of passengers had left the bus by the time we arrived at Cellarhead Road, where 10 children from Moorside School joined the journey. Most people on the bus left at the Werrington Road stop.

There were eight passengers - including myself - by the time we got to Hanley Bus Station. We arrived at 4.10pm, and there were plenty of people waiting to board the bus for its next journey.

The train between Hanley and Leek will not be operating for at least a decade as predictions currently stand.

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References

1. ^{^} Hanley (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Leek (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
3. ^{^} The seven Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire firms that went bust in October (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Police oppose licence bid from bar with trackies ban and snails on the menu (www.stokesentinel.co.uk)
5. ^{^} NEWSLETTER: Sign up for email alerts direct to your inbox (data.reachplc.com)