Coventry Clean Air Zone

[Busboy105]

According to Google Streetview the bridge is labelled as 3.8m 12'9''.

There was an old railway bridge on Hinckley Road on the east side of Nuneaton which according to Google Streetview, the bridge is labelled as 4.3m 14'39'' so this might have been the reason that single deckers have been used on 48. This railway was the old Nuneaton Avoiding Line which closed on 15/02/1992 but the bridge was only removed in March 2020 i.e. since the E200MMCs were introduced onto the 48.

Why was the bridge removed 20+ years after the line closed?

[Tony]

Why was the bridge removed 20+ years after the line closed?

Because it wasn't being used

[Ian Hardy]

Why was the bridge removed 20+ years after the line closed?

As long as the bridge was not a danger to people using the road below and it did not need any maintenance then there was no need to remove it.

If it was going to removed someone would have to pay, Network Rail probably still owned it and there were more pressing uses of Network Rail's funds than to remove the bridge.

Warwickshire County Council announced in October 2017  that it has received a chunk of funds to make improvements along the A47 link road and part of the plan would be to remove the unused railway bridge on Hinckley Road.  https://www.coventrytelegraph.net/news/coventry-news/nuneaton-news-hinckley-road-bridge-16783420

[ellspurs]

Because it wasn't being used

And there was continual traffic problems caused every time a tall vehicle hit the bridge. A similar bridge for the other side of the disused railtrack on Weddington Road was removed late 2011, even though it didn't have a height restriction. Criminals used to clamber up to the tracks from the housing estate behind and use it as a quick escape route.

The rail bridge over Woodshires Road in Coventry (between Wilsons Lane and Oban Rd) precludes double deck working on the NXC 20 group of services (when there is interworking). Stagecoach services don't go that way.

Way back when, the current 20B which runs down Woodshires Road used to terminate at the bottom of Oban Road, turn around and head back up Oban Road to Bedworth Road to continue back to Coventry. When the 20 was converted to a PrimeLines route back in the late 1990s (link), the fleet went to single decker, and the 20A (current 20B) started to loop down Woodshires Road and Wilson's Lane back to Bedworth Road. Those two roads were initially hail-and-ride, which was nice for me to leave my relative's house on Woodshires Road when I saw the bus coming to catch it immediately.

The 20B hasn't been running through the reduced services, so NXC have been able to use double deckers on the route.

[Justin Tyme]

According to Google Streetview the bridge is labelled as 3.8m 12'9''.

There was an old railway bridge on Hinckley Road on the east side of Nuneaton which according to Google Streetview, the bridge is labelled as 4.3m 14'39'' so this might have been the reason that single deckers have been used on 48. This railway was the old Nuneaton Avoiding Line which closed on 15/02/1992 but the bridge was only removed in March 2020 i.e. since the E200MMCs were introduced onto the 48.

Stagecoach briefly ran Tridents under this bridge on the 157 Nuneaton - Leicester before it became part of the 48.  Stagecoach standard Trident/ALX400s have low height bodies.

My guess (and it is a guess) as to why Stagecoach use single deckers on the 48 is that Stagecoach have decided that frequency is the most important thing (there is competition over all the route now), and loadings do not justify double decks.  Note that in normal times NX Coventry 20 and Arriva 158 are both usually single deck as well.

[ellspurs]

Stagecoach briefly ran Tridents under this bridge on the 157 Nuneaton - Leicester before it became part of the 48.  Stagecoach standard Trident/ALX400s have low height bodies.

My guess (and it is a guess) as to why Stagecoach use single deckers on the 48 is that Stagecoach have decided that frequency is the most important thing (there is competition over all the route now), and loadings do not justify double decks.  Note that in normal times NX Coventry 20 and Arriva 158 are both usually single deck as well.

I don't ever remember Stagecoach using double deckers on the 48 route, unless it was in the mid 90s. When the Foleshill Road became a PrimeLines route in the late 90s, Stagecoach and TWM were part of it. From the spec regarding it, it looks like they were prioritising low floor vehicles for the routes, of which there weren't that many options on deckers at the time.

I had seen Arriva starting to use more deckers on the 158 pre-COVID now that the bridge has been removed.

[Tony]

I don't ever remember Stagecoach using double deckers on the 48 route, unless it was in the mid 90s. When the Foleshill Road became a PrimeLines route in the late 90s, Stagecoach and TWM were part of it. From the spec regarding it, it looks like they were prioritising low floor vehicles for the routes, of which there weren't that many options on deckers at the time.

I had seen Arriva starting to use more deckers on the 158 pre-COVID now that the bridge has been removed.

Nuneaton garage had a batch of 5 Tridents brand new which were supposed to be for the 157 although a couple were not branded. They could have ventured on to the 48 on a very odd occasion. They only stayed for around 6 weeks before being moved to Hampshire so it is unlikely.

I was lucky enough to visit Nuneaton in April 2006 so was one of the few people to get photos of them
Here is 18502  http://wmbusphotos.com/Stagecoach/10000/18502.html

[ellspurs]

Nuneaton garage had a batch of 5 Tridents brand new which were supposed to be for the 157 although a couple were not branded. They could have ventured on to the 48 on a very odd occasion. They only stayed for around 6 weeks before being moved to Hampshire so it is unlikely.

I was lucky enough to visit Nuneaton in April 2006 so was one of the few people to get photos of them
Here is 18502  http://wmbusphotos.com/Stagecoach/10000/18502.html

Ah, interesting! I was working on Weddington Road at that time, and used to commute home via Tuttle Hill/Camp Hill Road. I must've never seen them on either the 157 route Justin mentioned earlier or the 48 if they ventured across there.

[Justin Tyme]

The Tridents were obtained for the 157 because some peak journeys were overloading single decks at the Leicester end.  At the time the 157 and 158 were both hourly but ran approx a half hour apart, so it was close to a 30 mins service between the two.  I think the plan was that any spare Tridents could be used on the 48, and IIRC one was scheduled to do an early 48 to Coventry and back before spending the day on the 157.  I was working in Nuneaton at the time and I saw one on the 48 once.

It was very brief, as Tony says.  This was because Arrive decided to increase the 158 to every 20 mins.  Stagecoach responded by replacing the 157 with a new Leicester leg of the 48, also every 20 mins, so DDs sadly could no longer be justified.

[Sandy Lane]

Is there a date when all buses in Coventry have to be electric or non-diesel to meet the government pollution target? I think it is all do with reducing Coventry's high pollution numbers.

[Tony]

Is there a date when all buses in Coventry have to be electric or non-diesel to meet the government pollution target? I think it is all do with reducing Coventry's high pollution numbers.

About 4 years away

[Sandy Lane]

Thanks Tony

[Sandy Lane]

Abandoned in favour of road improvements and electric buses according to RouteOne

https://www.route-one.net/environment/coventry-clean-air-zone-is-abandoned/

Heavy traffic jams on east side of Coventry tonight.
Best rename the area the very badly polluted air zone.