Skylink (bus service)

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SkyLink
Dworzec od strony zachodniej.jpg
A Skylink branded Wright Solar in Leicester in 2015.
Service areaEast Midlands Airport
Nottinghamshire
Leicester
Coalville
Loughborough
Service typeBus services
DepotsNottingham and Loughborough
FleetEnviro200mmc
OperatorTrentbarton & Kinchbus
Websitewww.skylink.co.uk

Skylink is the brand name for bus services that serve East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire. Services are presently operated by Kinchbus and trentbarton, both a part of Derbyshire-based Wellglade Group.

Services[]

Skylink buses operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week on the Leicester/Derby, Nottingham and Clifton routes.

Kinchbus have operated the service between Leicester and Derby since 2002. The route was originally called the Air Line Shuttle, and ran between Loughborough and Long Eaton via the airport.[1] In 2003, the route was changed, running between Loughborough railway station and Derby, via Loughborough town centre and the airport.

Arriva Midlands ran a limited-stop service (coloured light green) between Leicester and the airport via New Parks and the M1 between 2006 and 2009. Afterwards this service was replaced by an extension of the skylink Derby to the present route, which no longer serves Loughborough railway station, but instead runs down the A6 to Leicester via Birstall.

Nottingham City Transport ran a blue Skylink service between Nottingham and the airport via Clifton between 2004 and 2012. This service was replaced by a new Skylink service operated by trentbarton via Long Eaton, which also replaced the arm of their indigo service between Long Eaton and Loughborough via East Midlands Airport and Sutton Bonington that ran between 2002 and 2012. Following a local petition,[2] an hourly extension service to Coalville via Shepshed was introduced in September 2015.

A third service, Skylink Express, is also operated by trentbarton which runs between Nottingham and East Midlands Airport. This operates via Wilford and Clifton and then directly to EMA along A453 Remembrance Way, along the route of the former Nottingham City Transport service. This service was inaugurated in January 2016.[3] The following year, the stop at Clifton Park and Ride was cut due to low usage, making the route more direct and shortening journey times to around 35 minutes.[3]

Although not a part of Skylink, trentbarton also operate hourly extensions to East Midlands Airport on their My15 route between Ilkeston and New Sawley, while Midland Classic extended their service 9 to East Midlands Airport in 2019, connecting the airport with Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Swadlincote and Burton-upon-Trent..[4]

Fleets[]

Skylink services are operated by a variety of vehicles.

Trent Barton operate 11 Enviro200 MMCs on their Skylink Nottingham route while the Clifton route is currently using three Wright Solars.

Kinchbus upgraded the Leicester-Derby route with 12 ADL Enviro200 MMCs to help meet the Leicester clean air zone requirements which came into force during late 2020 and replace the unreliable Mercedes-Benz Citaros formerly used for the route.[5][6] These new buses replaced Mercedes-Benz Citaro's.

References[]

  1. ^ "Vehicle Operator Licensing". www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  2. ^ Jarram, Matt (13 December 2014). "Petition launched to get Skylink stop for Shepshed". loughborough. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b Jarram, Matt (5 October 2017). "New bus route to cut journey times between Nottingham and East Midlands Airport". NottinghamshireLive. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  4. ^ "welcome - my15 - run by trentbarton". www.trentbarton.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Fleet News". www.derbybusdepot.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Alexander Dennis secures order for green buses". Daily Business. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
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