Angel 21
Bus service in North East England
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Angel 21 is a bus service operated by Go North East, which connects Newcastle upon Tyne, Gateshead, Low Fell and Birtley in Tyne and Wear with Chester-le-Street, Durham and Brandon in County Durham. The service is named after Antony Gormley's Angel of the North, which the route passes.[1]
.jpg)
Wright StreetDeck (2018–2026) Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 (2012-2016
| |
| Locale | |
|---|---|
| Service area | |
| Service type | Bus service |
| Fleet | Wright StreetDeck Electroliner (2026–) Wright StreetDeck (2018–2026) Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 (2012-2016 |
| Operator | Go North East |
| Website | Go North East |
History
In January 2018, coinciding with 20 years of the Angel of the North, Go North East launched new Wright StreetDeck double-deck vehicles on the route – at a cost of £4.5 million.[1][2]
In May 2019, additional Friday and Saturday evening and Sunday morning journeys were added.[3] Some journeys were cut during the COVID-19 pandemic, including all-night services.
An all-night service was restored in September 2020 on Friday and Saturday nights,[4] with a daily 24-hour service being introduced in May 2021. It is currently one of three services (including services 56 and 60) operated by Go North East which run to a daily 24-hour service.[5][6]
From June 2020, the service was altered to additionally serve Arnison Centre.[7]
In September 2021, the service was extended to additionally serve Neville's Cross, Langley Moor and Brandon in County Durham.[8][9]
Service and operations
Go North East 21 & N21 |
|---|
Newcastle – Durham – Brandon
via Birtley & Chester-le-Street |
No evening, night or Sunday service operates between Durham and Brandon. |
The service currently operates up to every 7–10 minutes between Newcastle and Chester-le-Street via Birtley, with services extending to Durham and Brandon (Monday–Saturday only) half-hourly. It is currently operated by a fleet of Wright StreetDeck Electroliner double-decker battery electric buses, branded in a two-tone green livery depicting Antony Gormley's Angel of the North.[10][11]
The service was previously operated by a fleet of fleet of Euro 6 Wright StreetDeck diesels, which were introduced in 2016 and branded in a two-tone green livery similar to that of the current,[1][2] which themselves replaced Euro 5 hybrid Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2s, which were introduced in 2012.
Prior to this, the service has been operated by a mixture of single-deck Scania OmniCity and double-deck Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini vehicles. These were branded in a pink livery, which also depicted the namesake landmark.
