National Express West Midlands route 256, 257, 259, 297 and 297A

Infobox West Midlands Buses
number=256, 257, 259, 297 and 297A (Wall Heath/Dudley - Stourbridge routes)


operator=National Express West Midlands
garage=256/259 – Wolverhampton, 257/297/297A – Pensnett
vehicle=Volvo B6, Volvo B10, Alexander Dennis ALX400, TransBus International ALX400
pvr=8
start=Stourbridge
via= Wall Heath and Kingswinford(256, 257 & 259), Penn (256), Gornal Wood (257, 297/A)
end= Wolverhampton (256), Dudley (257/297/297A), Wall Heath, Blaze Park (259)
length=10 miles (256), 8 miles (257/297/297A), 5 miles (259)
level= 256/257 – Daily, 259 – Mon to Sat Daytime, 297 – Mon to Fri Daytime, 297A – Mon to Fri evenings, Sat and Sun
frequency= every 10 minutes (Wall Heath - Stourbridge), every 15 minutes (Wolverhampton - Himley (256 with 254)), every 15 minutes (Stallings Lane – Dudley (257/297/297A))
time=15 minutes - 1 hour 18 minutes
day=06:30 – 23:30
night=none

The 256, 257, 259, 297 and 297A routes are bus routes in the West Midlands, United Kingdom.

History

256/259

These routes were origianally route 256 between Stourbridge and Kingswinford and route 259 between Kingswinford and Wall Heath, Blaze Park.

257

This route was originally routes 257 and 257A (Both Weekday and Sunday Services). The number 257A comes from the commuter peak journeys of the 257 in the evening heading towards Stourbridge Junction Rail Station operated by Travel Merry Hill. The 257A was withdrawn during the Dudley network review in 2008.

297/A

These routes are a combination of former Travel Merry Hill route 242, current 297 and former routes 236, 236A and 237 between Gornal and Merry Hill

Present

These services currently run every 30 minutes between Dudley/Wall Heath and Stourbridge.

Fares

National Express West Midlands currently has a maximum single fare of £1.50 on the route.

Future

There is possible plans to replace route 259 with the 205 between Kingswinford and Wall Heath and between Stourbridge and Kingswinford with short workings of 256/257 numbered 253, 256E, 257A or 257E.Using the number 253 will utilise another old Travel Merry Hill route number

Current route

256 – NXWM (Wolverhampton Depot)

*Stourbridge
*Wordsley
*Kingswinford
*Wall Heath
*Womborne
*Wolverhampton

257 – NXWM (Pensnett Depot)

*Stourbridge
*Wordsley
*Kingswinford
*Wall Heath
*Gornal Wood
*Dudley

259 – NXWM (Wolverhampton Depot)

*Stourbridge
*Wordsley
*Kingswinford
*Wall Heath, Blaze Park

297/A - NXWM (Pensnett Depot)

*Stourbridge
*Sainsburys, Wythmore Village
*Merry Hill Centre
*Russells Hall Hospital
*Pensnett
*Gornal Wood
*Dudley

External links

* [http://www.travelwm.co.uk Official site]
* [http://west-midlands-buses.fpic.co.uk West Midlands Buses]