Thursday 30 April 2009

KC Stadium Rail Halt ruled out

Last year a study was commissioned into the feasibility of a new railway station to serve the KC Stadium and Hull Royal Infirmary.

That study has now reported back, and the answer is that it would be unlikely to get public funding and should not be pursued. The cost was put at £5.5 million with annual running costs of between £100,000 and £200,000. Even if it was built the study questionned how many services would be able to call at it due to timetable constraints.

Instead the report recommends any available money should be spent on bus improvements, such as match day shuttles to Paragon Interchange, improved bus priorities, and bizarelly more direct buses between Hull Royal Infirmary and the Interchange. By my calculations there are the following buses between the hospital and interchange (based on Monday to Saturday daytime) that are available for local travel:

1C (EYMS) - 1 bus per hour (buses from Hull operate from Carr Lane and not the Interchange however)
2 (Stagecoach Hull) - 6 buses per hour
35 (EYMS) - 2 buses per hour
57 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour (buses from Hull operate from Carr Lane and not the Interchange however)
60/60A/6264 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour
66 (EYMS) - 6 buses per hour
151/152/153 (EYMS) - 3 buses per hour
154 (EYMS) - 3 buses per hour
155 (EYMS) - 1 bus per hour
350 (EYMS/Stagecoach) - 2 buses per hour
(Plus the 1A which is less than hourly)

So thats 35 buses an hour from the Infirmary to the Interchange, and 28 buses an hour from the Interchange. And while many go via the city centre, especially when departing the Interchange, its still only about a 10 minute journey time. So theres already plenty of buses, and they are fairly direct. Why a need for more?

Finally the report has also ruled out new stations at Priory Park and the Bricknell Estate.

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