Angel 21


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.

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.
In May 2019, additional Friday and Saturday evening and Sunday morning journeys were added. 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, with a daily 24-hour service being introduced in May 2021. It is currently one of three services operated by Go North East which run to a daily 24-hour service.
From June 2020, the service was altered to additionally serve Arnison Centre.
In September 2021, the service was extended to additionally serve Neville's Cross, Langley Moor and Brandon in County Durham.

Service and operations

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 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.
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, which themselves replaced Euro 5 hybrid Volvo B5LH Wright Eclipse Gemini 2s, which were introduced in 2012.
File:Go North East Angel bus.jpg|thumb|A Go North East Volvo B5LH/Wright Gemini 2 in the former electric-hybrid livery, seen at the Angel of the North in October 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.
File:Go North East bus 3962 Volvo B7TL Wrightbus Eclipse Gemini NK06 JXE The Angel livery in Newcastle 9 May 2009.jpg|thumb|A Go North East Volvo B7TL/Wright Gemini in the former livery, seen at Eldon Square in May 2009.