Skylink (bus service)
_-_26_April_2025.jpg) Skylink branded ADL Enviro200 MMC at Derby bus station in April 2025 | |
| Service area | East Midlands Airport Nottinghamshire Leicester Coalville Loughborough |
|---|---|
| Service type | Bus services |
| Stations | St Margaret's Bus Station Derby Bus Station East Midlands Airport |
| Depots | Nottingham and Loughborough |
| Fleet | 22 Enviro200 MMC , and 3 Volvo B7RLE/Wright Eclipse Urban |
| Operator | Trentbarton Kinchbus |
| Website | www |
Skylink is the brand name for bus services that serve East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire. Services are operated by Kinchbus and Trentbarton, both a part of the Derbyshire-based Wellglade Group.
History
[edit]Skylink Nottingham
[edit]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.
Skylink Express
[edit]Skylink Express was introduced in January 2016 to provide faster connections to East Midlands Airport via Clifton Park & Ride hub and A453 Remembrance Way which largely followed the former Nottingham City Transport Skylink Nottingham route which was replaced in 2012.
Skylink Leicester-Derby
[edit]Kinchbus have operated the Skylink service between Leicester and Derby since 2008. Prior to 2008, route was originally called AirLine Shuttle, and ran between Loughborough and Long Eaton then Derby via the airport.[2]
Arriva Midlands previously operated a Skylink service between Leicester and the airport via New Parks and the M1 between 2006 and 2009, however this service was replaced by an extension of the Kinchbus Skylink service which operates as a limited stop service from Loughborough via the A6 and Birstall into Leicester, over the later years Kinchbus increased the frequency of the Leicester-Derby service to every 20 minutes in 2014 then in March 2024 the frequency was increased again to every 15 minutes during Monday to Saturday daytimes, as part of the 2024 changes an additional four vehicles were refurbished from the trentbarton fleet.[3]
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2022 service changes
[edit]During August 2022, Trent Barton and Kinchbus announced from 2 October 2022 that Skylink routes would undergo an overhaul;[4][5] Skylink Derby buses ceased to serve Long Whatton and Diseworth from 3 October 2022. During September 2022, funding from Leicestershire County Council and Nottinghamshire County Council halted plans to withdraw all journeys of the Skylink Nottingham between EMA Gateway and Loughborough alongside journeys between EMA Gateway and Coalville operating overnight between 8pm and 5am would be withdrawn, the funding lasted until April 2023 when the changes were implemented. [6] These were withdrawn from 15 May 2023.[7]
Services
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Skylink buses operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week on the Leicester/Derby and Nottingham routes, while the Skylink Express buses no longer operate overnight but do operate from around 4am until midnight.
| Service | Route |
|---|---|
| Skylink Leicester & Derby | Leicester (St Margaret's Bus Station) - Birstall - Loughborough - Kegworth - East Midlands Airport - Castle Donington- Shardlow - Alvaston - Derby [8] |
| Skylink Nottingham | Nottingham - Beeston - Long Eaton - Castle Donington - East Midlands Airport - some daytime journeys then continue hourly to Coalville via Shepshed;[9] all other journeys terminate at East Midlands Gateway. |
| Skylink Express | Nottingham - Clifton - fast along Remembrance Way - East Midlands Airport [10] |
Other Services
[edit]trentbarton also operate to East Midlands Airport on their My15 route between Ilkeston and New Sawley. Diamond Bus East Midlands (formerly 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..[11]
Fleet
[edit]Skylink Nottingham operates with ten Enviro200 MMCs, Skylink Express operates with three Wright Eclipse Urban buses.
Kinchbus currently operate 13 branded Enviro200MMCs on the Leicester-Derby service alongside a number of MANGO branded vehicles which were added from the trentbarton fleet for the March 2024 frequency increase.[12][13] During 2025, Kinchbus are set to receive 18 new high-spec Enviro200MMC buses for the Leicester-Derby service to replace the current vehicles.
References
[edit]- ^ Jarram, Matt (13 December 2014). "Petition launched to get Skylink stop for Shepshed". loughborough. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Vehicle Operator Licensing". www.vehicle-operator-licensing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
- ^ "Skylink Changes March 2024". www.kinchbus.co.uk. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
- ^ "Skylink 2022 changes".
- ^ Garrett, Lee (12 September 2022). "Under-threat airport bus route saved from axe". LeicestershireLive. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ Moorhouse, Sam (27 February 2023). "Crucial cross-county Skylink bus 'must be saved' say residents". West Bridgford Wire. Retrieved 6 March 2023.
- ^ "Student news - Changes to bus services - University of Nottingham". www.nottingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Service map - skylink Derby - operated by Kinchbus".
- ^ "Service map - skylink Nottingham - operated by Kinchbus".
- ^ "Service map - skylink Nottingham - operated by Kinchbus".
- ^ "welcome - my15 - run by trentbarton". www.trentbarton.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Fleet News". www.derbybusdepot.co.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
- ^ "Alexander Dennis secures order for green buses". Daily Business. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 17 June 2021.