Station Rd closure and changes to SB hopper bus service
The Station Road bridge that provides access for vehicles from Sutton Bonington Campus to Kegworth will be closed for 6 months from 19 September to 31 March 2017. The reason for the closure is the electrification work Network Rail will be conducting to the Midland Main Line Railway, the railway that passes under Station Road bridge.
For some of you this may make life a little more difficult. If the Station Road bridge is part of the journey you make to drive home, then we advise you to follow the signed diversion routes wherever possible. If you cycle or walk, a temporary footbridge will still enable access while the works are going on with the exception of 12-14 November 2016, when the bridge is being is demolished.
Effects of Station Road bridge closure to the Hopper Bus service
Having spoken to the University, they have made clear to us that the Network Rail works make it extremely costly and impractical to maintain the ‘capacity and frequency of journeys’ to and from Kegworth and also maintain the provision of the Hopper service between University Park and Sutton Bonington. This means that the service to Kegworth, will not operate from Sutton Bonington to Kegworth from 19 September to 31 March 2017. Further to this, the East Midlands Parkway stop will also not be served for the same period. Fortunately, the Hopper Bus service from Sutton Bonington to University Park will continue as per usual and an updated timetable for the service can be found here:
www.nottingham.ac.uk/about/documents/hopper-timetables/901.pdf
I understand that this is an undesirable outcome for those that rely on the Hopper Bus service to Kegworth from the SB campus. I will work closely with the SB Guild and the University to look at what temporary services, if any at all, could be made available to address the lack of service to Kegworth. I’m also hoping to sit down with representatives from Network Rail to look at what financial assistance they can provide for a temporary bus service. In the meantime, it may be a useful to consider other transport options such as:
Hire a bicycle: Ucycle is an affordable rent-a-bike initiative that allows students to rent a bike for a term, or for a whole academic year. If you already have a bike, you can make use of the Dr Bike service that get a safety check and minor repairs for free to ensure your bike is road safe, check when & where Dr. Bike is on campus here. For other cycle schemes, you can find more information here: http://tiny.cc/3jsmey
Take the Skylink bus service: find information about the service travelling into Kegworth here.
Car sharing: Another way of finding a ride back to Kegworth from campus could be through this car-share website. Although I haven’t used this website myself, I’m told it can be an easy way of finding a ride home (provided you’re willing to share fuel costs with the driver).
Make sure to follow this blogsite for updates from me and check Network Rail’s website for any developments. If you have further questions or concerns, you can always come by my office in Portland Building on University Park Campus, email me at [email protected], or follow me on Twitter @UoNSU_Community.
Abel Hartman