Passengers will be able to enjoy a new shuttle bus service linking Appleby Station and the town centre this summer.
The Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company is providing the free service, working with Appleby’s Tourism Information Centre, local businesses and the Rotary Club, who will be running the minibus.
The service will be trialled over the summer, meeting specific trains to transport visitors down the steep hill and providing a return journey back up the hill to catch their train home. The first service ran successfully on May 25.
Pete Myers, chair of Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company, said: “One of our key roles is to help businesses and communities along our line. Promoting what Appleby has to offer and providing a link into the centre of the town is a great way of supporting local people and developing the economic benefits to the community.
“We are very grateful to Appleby Rotary for agreeing to run the service. We at the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company will be doing all we can to promote the service, so that the whole town can benefit from this groundbreaking endeavour.”
Nicola Elliot, Appleby Tourism Information Centre Manager, said: “We are always keen to find new ways of helping people come to Appleby. If they come by train they can enjoy the shops, our riverside walks and have lunch, before being driven back to the station to take the scenic railway home.”
Alan McViety, Appleby Rotary Club Treasurer, said: “The Rotarians were very keen to support this project, to help encourage people to visit Appleby by train. We have run similar shuttle services before when steam trains have visited the town. For those with mobility issues, the hill into the town can be a challenge, and as a result the shuttle bus was a welcome service.”
The service will run on the last Saturday of the month from May to August 2024, linking to trains arriving from both Leeds and Carlisle, picking up from Appleby Station at 10:20am, 11:50am and 1pm and from the town centre from 2pm, 3pm and 5pm.
Keep up to date with future news, projects and events from the Settle Carlisle Railway Development Company via their website.
