A POPULAR bus route that takes passengers to Russells Hall Hospital and Merry Hill has been saved from the axe.

When National Express West Midlands reviewed its services, it decided to withdraw routes 297 and 297a from Sunday (May 29) but Central Buses has stepped in to save the day.

The replacement service will still operate between the Brierley Hill shopping centre and Gornal Wood bus station but will have a revised hourly frequency and only serve the Pensnett Trading Estate during peak times.

Geoff Cross, managing director of the Birmingham based operator, said: "We are delighted to take on routes 297 and 297a. We have handpicked our best drivers to operate the service and will be adding some of our magic touches such as great value fares and new vehicles.

"We don’t receive any subsidy to operate these routes therefore its vitally important that bus users in the Black Country support the service moving forward to make sure its viable to operate – its most certainly a case of use it or lose it."

For timetable information, call Central Buses on 0121 3563487.