Bus links between Norwich and North Walsham will be faster and more frequent in the new year. 

Sanders Coaches has announced improvements to its X55 service between the city and the north Norfolk town following a funding grant from the government.  

Charles Sanders, director of the bus company, said: "This has come about because the government is investing in buses in Great Britain and encouraging county councils to put forward a bus improvement plan.

"We put this forward as a proposal and, fortunately, Norfolk got the money and selected our service. 

“It’s all about the recovery from Covid and getting people back on the buses.”

The changes - which will come into effect on Monday, January 2 - mean the X55 will run every 30 minutes instead of hourly between 6.40am and 7.25pm from Monday to Saturday.

On Sundays, it will run hourly.

Instead of the usual double-deckers, new single-decker buses will be used which can pass under the railway bridge in Norwich Road, shaving at least 15 minutes off the journey. 

Mr Sanders said: “There’s only one bridge in North Walsham you can take a double-decker under, so this will certainly make the journey a lot quicker - under 50 minutes.”

There will be improvements to other Sanders routes as well.

The 210 from North Walsham to Norwich via Badersfield and Buxton will run seven days a week with a new Sunday service, replacing the 5A which will be discontinued. 

And the Holt line 8, linking the town centre to Kelling Hospital, will become a circular service, with more journeys per day.

Mr Sanders said the changes would open up the whole of north-east Norfolk, as the North Walsham link will make it easier to catch connecting buses. 

He said: “North Walsham is basically an interchange point, so it seemed logical to have the higher-frequency, faster service to and from Norwich linking everything together.

"You will have more time to get the next bus to Happisburgh or wherever you live, so the logic is it opens up the whole county to more viable travel options.”

Mr Sanders said the Bus Fare Cap Grant scheme would be another benefit.

This means bus passengers will pay no more than £2 for a single journey from January 1 to March 31.