Stagecoach Gold bus route X4 is a bus route in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

that links

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

via

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River Nen ...

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of Ket ...

and Corby. This service is operated by the Stagecoach Midlands bus company.

Route

This route was launched on May 28, 2000 as a ''Stagecoach Express'' service between Northampton and Peterborough. In April 2004, the route extended from Northampton through to Milton Keynes. Over the years, the X4 route has linked the main towns of the county of

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

with Milton Keynes and Peterborough enabling better east-west county public transport links than has previously been possible. From end to end, the average journey time is 3 hours and 30 minutes and the distance approximately 70 miles (110 km) In May 2018, the service runs between Northampton and Peterborough only. Initially Stagecoach X7 ran between Northampton and Milton Keynes instead (as well as to and from Leicester), but this was also cut back leaving the X6 as the main link between the two towns. The X4 inter-urban bus service benefited from £4.4 million

ODPM The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), formerly the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for housing, communities, local government in ...

Growth Area Funding between 2003 and 2006 and has seen annual passenger numbers rise from 325,000 in 2003/04 to over 500,000 in 2004/05.North Northamptonshire Profile 2005 - Northamptonshire County Council
/ref>

Current route

North Gate bus station North Gate bus station is the bus station which serves the town of Northampton in England. Northampton railway station is approximately 0.9 km away. The building on Bradshaw Street opened on 2 March 2014 on the site of the town's former Fi ...

'' * Cliftonville for Northampton General Hospital *

Earls Barton Earls Barton is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, notable for its Anglo-Saxon church and shoe-making heritage. The village is in North Northamptonshire and was previously in the Borough of Wellingborough until 2021. At the time of t ...

''Square'' *

''Church St'' *

Isham Isham is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is on the A509 road, three miles south of Kettering and a mile to the west of Burton Latimer. The River Ise is to the east of the village. Administratively, it forms part of N ...

''Monk & Minstrel public house'' *

''Horse Market'' * Corby ''George Street'' ''for Willow Place Shopping Centre'' *

Corby railway station Corby railway station, owned by Network Rail and managed by East Midlands Railway, is in Corby, Northamptonshire, England. The current station, opened on 23 February 2009, replaces an earlier one dating from 1879, first closed on 18 April 1966 ...

* Corby Village ''The Jamb'' ** Corby ''Business Academy'' (Certain journeys start/terminate here) * Weldon *

Upper Benefield Upper Benefield is a linear village along the A427 road in the North Northamptonshire district of Northamptonshire, England. It is part of the civil parish of Benefield. It is around 10 km (6 miles) east of Corby Corby is a town in North No ...

Lower Benefield Lower Benefield is a village on the A427 road in North Northamptonshire, England, near Oundle. It is part of the civil parish of Benefield. The population is included in the Civil Parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrat ...

* Oundle ''Market Place'' ** Elton ''Black Horse'' (evenings and Sundays) ** Alwalton ''Lay-by'' (evenings and Sundays) * Warmington * Peterborough railway station (certain journeys) *

''Queensgate bus station''

Service

The service runs seven days a week. Monday to Saturday daytimes, there is a half-hourly service between Northampton and Peterborough. Evenings and Sundays there generally is a two-hourly service between Northampton and Peterborough and a two-hourly service between Northampton and Corby. An hourly frequency on the core part of the route between Northampton and Corby. To comply with drivers’ hours regulations, the route has registered in two parts between, Northampton & Corby and Corby & Peterborough.

Vehicles

In November 2011, this route became a Stagecoach Gold branded one with Stagecoach Midlands spending £1.9 million on a fleet of 13 new Scania ADL Enviro400 buses based at the Kettering depot, halfway along the route. Stagecoach X4 route goes for gold - Coach and Bus Weekly
/ref>On Stage - The newsletter of Stagecoach Group
/ref> These buses have Lazzerini leather seats and free wireless internet Stagecoach Gold Service getting a gold ticket to ride - Peterborough Telegraph
/ref>X4 Stagecoach Gold X4 - luxury at no extra cost - Timetables and fares
/ref> As of October 2018 the fleet is being replaced by 13 Enviro 400MMC buses by Alexander Denis at a cost of £3.1million

References

External links

{{StagecoachGroup Bus routes in England Coach routes in England Stagecoach Group Transport in Northamptonshire