Skylink (bus service)

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.

SkyLink
A Skylink branded Wright Solar in Leicester in 2015.
Service areaEast Midlands Airport
Nottinghamshire
Leicester
Coalville
Loughborough
Service typeBus services
DepotsNottingham and Loughborough
Fleet23 Enviro200mmc & 3 Wright Solar
OperatorTrentbarton & Kinchbus
Websitewww.skylink.co.uk

History

Nottingham City Transport previously operated the Skylink Nottingham service until 2012 when the service was replaced by a new Skylink service operated by trentbarton via Long Eaton, which also replaced the indigo service between Long Eaton and Loughborough via East Midlands Airport and Sutton Bonington that ran between 2002 and 2012.

Following a local petition,[1] an hourly extension service to Coalville via Shepshed was introduced in September 2015.

Kinchbus have operated the Skylink service between Leicester and Derby since April 2009. The route was originally called AirLine Shuttle, and ran between Loughborough and Long Eaton then Derby via the airport.[2]

Arriva Midlands also operated a limited-stop service (coloured light green) between Leicester and the airport via New Parks and the M1 between 2006 and 2009, this service was replaced by an extension of the now branded Skylink Derby service which runs down the A6 to Leicester via Birstall.

Services

Skylink buses operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week on the Leicester/Derby and Nottingham routes, the Skylink Express buses no longer operate overnight but do operate from 4am until midnight.

Service Route
Skylink Leicester-Derby Leicester - Birstall - Loughborough - Kegworth or Long Whatton/Diseworth - East Midlands Airport - Castle Donington- Shardlow - Alvaston - Derby [3]
Skylink Nottingham Nottingham - Queens Medical Centre - Long Eaton- Castle Donington - East Midlands Airport
journeys then continue to either Coalville via Shepshed or Loughborough via Sutton Bonington [4]
Skylink Express Nottingham - Trent Bridge- Clifton - East Midlands Airport [5]

Although not a part of Skylink brand, trentbarton also operate hourly extensions to East Midlands Airport on their My15 route between Ilkeston and New Sawley, while Midland Classic extended their service AirLine 9 to East Midlands Airport in 2019, connecting the airport with Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Swadlincote and Burton-upon-Trent..[6]

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.[7][8] These new buses replaced Mercedes-Benz Citaro's.

References
  1. Jarram, Matt (13 December 2014). "Petition launched to get Skylink stop for Shepshed". loughborough. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. "Vehicle Operator Licensing". www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  3. https://www.kinchbus.co.uk/services/skylink-derby/service-map
  4. https://www.kinchbus.co.uk/services/skylink-nottingham/service-map
  5. https://www.kinchbus.co.uk/services/skylink-nottingham/service-map
  6. "welcome - my15 - run by trentbarton". www.trentbarton.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. "Fleet News". www.derbybusdepot.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  8. "Alexander Dennis secures order for green buses". Daily Business. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
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