North East Buses

http://www.alexander-dennis.com/news/the...-industry/

Wow! I hadn't expected that.

Looks like a cross between an E400, a Gemini and a Levante to me. Very stylish and very modern.

They look like completely different buses and it doesn't have an "Enviro" feel to me at all. So I've gone for the 'No Preference' option in the poll.

Very Nice, much than the previous Enviro 400 and obviously better in terms of design than the Gemini 3/StreetDeck or whatever you like to call it

Stylish and modern! I love it

(01 May 2014, 8:59 pm)AIG20 wrote [ -> ]That looks absolutely fantastic!

I wonder whether the new air-conditioning systems will help prevent the vehicle from badly steaming up and becoming humid when it is raining outside, as that would be a huge benefit for passengers who suffer from asthma and other breathing difficulties.

The only down-side is that it will probably be very expensive when it starts getting produced.

According this Article there is already 400 Orders in the Pipeline from Go-Ahead, Stagecoach, Reading Transport and other UK operators, which would indicate it is reasonably priced.

http://www.alexander-dennis.com/news/80m...port-wins/

(01 May 2014, 9:13 pm)NEBCD Malarkey wrote [ -> ]According this Article there is already 400 Orders in the Pipeline from Go-Ahead, Stagecoach, Reading Transport and other UK operators, which would indicate it is reasonably priced.

http://www.alexander-dennis.com/news/80m...port-wins/

Stagecoach in Manchester are due 29 in September (10401-29) as well as the 18 Volvo B5LHs for Dundee (13041-58).

Really smart looking bus, although I'm dying to hear what Davey Bowyer thinks of the 6.7l engine :p

(01 May 2014, 9:20 pm)aureolin wrote [ -> ]Really smart looking bus, although I'm dying to hear what Davey Bowyer thinks of the 6.7l engine :p

As I've said before, it depends upon what the bus is required for. I'll give you the TEN for example. It would cope on the 10A and 10B but not on the full 10 to Hexham.

I must say though that the bodywork looks very smart and much better than the Gemini 3. I think GNE could easily order some for the Crusader.

Wonder if we will get any in the North East

(10 May 2014, 2:46 pm)AIG20 wrote [ -> ]I guess Walkergate and Slatyford Depot might get some new buses in next years order, which may include these new model E400s to convert another service to double deck, or to displace many of the oldest (2007 batch) E400s elsewhere in the fleet - such as Stockton if they cannot find any other DDA required buses in time of the deadline.

Hopefully, it would be nice for the NE to get a decent investment again, like this year.

I think next year there could be a big investment for Newcastle, maybe more deckers - not really sure of the Newcastle passenger numbers for their services but is there any more routes which would require deckers?

Hopefully they get more gas buses to for Sunderland! =D

I must say that I'm rather impressed with the new E400. Alot of thought and R&D has gone into it. ADL have made many improvements to the previous version. Despite me being sceptical about the Cummins 6.7, the weight reduction will aid the reliability of the engine and the fact that ADL have put alot more thought into the E400 in terms of reliability will improve the reliability too. The 6.7 in the VDL DB300's is actually alright due to the build and bodyweight. I would put it on par with the Volvo D9B with the weight reduction and better build / reliability in mind. It would be tempermental on a constant foot to the floor route like the TTX but on routes like the X18 and X93 with a mixture of driving conditions, the chassis, body and engine is a perfect combination.

I think that with the order announced by Go Ahead, we should start seeing them up here soon either on the 27 or with them on the X1 and the 27 getting the 14 B9TL's of the X1.

(10 May 2014, 7:05 pm)DaveyBowyer wrote [ -> ]I must say that I'm rather impressed with the new E400. Alot of thought and R&D has gone into it. ADL have made many improvements to the previous version. Despite me being sceptical about the Cummins 6.7, the weight reduction will aid the reliability of the engine and the fact that ADL have put alot more thought into the E400 in terms of reliability will improve the reliability too. The 6.7 in the VDL DB300's is actually alright due to the build and bodyweight. I would put it on par with the Volvo D9B with the weight reduction and better build / reliability in mind. It would be tempermental on a constant foot to the floor route like the TTX but on routes like the X18 and X93 with a mixture of driving conditions, the chassis, body and engine is a perfect combination.

I think that with the order announced by Go Ahead, we should start seeing them up here soon either on the 27 or with them on the X1 and the 27 getting the 14 B9TL's of the X1.

Despite the chances of GNE ordering ADL products being rather slim, service X1 is more demanding than service 27... Would keep the Volvo B9TLs on there for that reason alone.

http://www.alexander-dennis.com/wp-conte...cation.pdf

http://www.alexander-dennis.com/wp-conte...ochure.pdf

(10 May 2014, 7:17 pm)Dan wrote [ -> ]Despite the chances of GNE ordering ADL products being rather slim, service X1 is more demanding than service 27... Would keep the Volvo B9TLs on there for that reason alone.

I would say that the 6.7l is actually an OK engine as long as it's built well and the bodywork doesn't weigh a tonne. The bodywork on the new E400 is lighter and despite the engine not beinng fantastic, if built and fitted well, it will do alright and last a while. The Pulsar Gemini 2 is lightweight and VDL / Wrightbus built the engine well into the Chassis. Hopefully, both the first (lighter body) and latter (well built with ADL looking to improve reliability) points will apply. The DB300's on the X10 and X11 aren't fantastic but they cope alright due to the light body and the engine being well built into the chassis. The same will apply for the new E400 with the recent improvements and I can safely say that it should be able to cope with interurban routes like the X21, X22 and GNE's X1. I'd definitely say though that the new E400 knocks socks off Volvo's and Wrightbus' offering for Euro 6. The B9TL is slightly more powerful but where reliability is concerned, there shouldn't be too much difference for anything upto interurban route types if the E400 is well looked after.

I had seen this last week and I have to say, enviro have gone and ruined it. However, I am not a person that judges a bus by its looks alone but i am going to predict that the new E400 will not be as reliable as its predecessor.

Apologies for this being slightly off topic, but I recently read that ADL will be launching a redesign of the E200 in October of this year.
See highlighted section on 2nd page of attached PDF

(11 May 2014, 7:48 am)Richard Smiles wrote [ -> ]Apologies for this being slightly off topic, but I recently read that ADL will be launching a redesign of the E200 in October of this year.
See highlighted section on 2nd page of attached PDF

Cool, =D

(10 May 2014, 10:49 pm)Robert wrote [ -> ]I had seen this last week and I have to say, enviro have gone and ruined it. However, I am not a person that judges a bus by its looks alone but i am going to predict that the new E400 will not be as reliable as its predecessor.

Time well tell but I'd definitely say that ADL have put alot more thought into it. They've even pinpointed all of the reported faults of all the current ones that've been built since 2005 / 2006 so hopefully, it'll be a good bus. I must say that ADL's Euro 6 offfering is far better than Volvo's.

To me, the front looks almost like the bus version of a Caetano Levante coach, and the way the body is styled at the top front reminds me of an Enviro400.

I've also just looked at the stats betweem the Euro 6 E400 and the Euro 5 Volvo B9TL.

Volvo B9TL:
- 260ps @1900rpm
- 1100nm @ 900 - 1500rpm

Euro 6 ADL E400:
- 250ps @2100rm only 200 more than B9TL
- 1000nm @ 1200 - 1600rpm

To sum it all up, the new E400 only has to work that little bit harder than the Volvo B9TL in most circumstances. It would struggle with an 80 mile foot to the floor round trip on the TTX what the B9TL can sort of cope with whilst spitting it's dummy out every now and then. But with a bit of TLC, it could handle routes like the TEN, Red Arrows and Arriva's X21, X22 and at a push with a 5 year life span before a cascade, the X18. A big pat on the back to ADL who have clearly thought it out though. Hopefully, Scania's Euro 6 offering on the E400 with the I believe 280ps Cummins engine will improve things for the big 5 endurance routes in the North East.

Further details regarding the new E400 from this month's Buses magazine (which has a very good 4 page article on the finer details):

• The revamp is a result of 3 years of consultation with over 70 previous customers of the older design as well as suppliers, as well as reviewing warranty records to analyse every fault on every vehicle since 2006
  
• The interior has been designed to reduce rattles - as such grad poles are built into the roof and floor making them more secure than being screwed onto the surface and the cab door is steel-framed with rubber compression seals
  
• The stairs are of the 'square-case' style found on exported Enviro500s
  
• The vehicle is available in 3 lengths - 10.3m (for London operation), 10.9m and 11.5m - and 2 heights - 4.3m (14ft 1in) and 4.2m (13ft 8in), each having more seats compared to their Euro5 counterpart (1 on London-specification, 5 on the E400Hs (the upper deck rear seats are located further back than on the current model) and 7 on the 11.5m length, taking it to 86 seats)
  
• The Euro6 model is 400kg lighter than the Euro5 model - and nearly a tonne lighter than if the Euro6 engine was put into the Euro5 model (ie 10000), the target is for the 11.5m example in single door format to weight less than 11 tonnes
  
• Initial production will take place at the Plaxton plant in Scarborough, starting with 14 for Oxford Bus Company followed by 10401-29 for Stagecoach Manchester and 8 examples for Reading Transport both batches due from September - all told there's already orders for nearly 120 examples all Diesel models, the first Hybrid example expected before the end of the year
  
• Production of the Euro5 styling will remain until no more Euro5 engines can no longer be sourced
  

Here is a photo of the new style Enviro 400 at Falkirk in Stagecoach livery.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...201326104/

(16 May 2014, 11:41 pm)GMitchelhill wrote [ -> ]Here is a photo of the new style Enviro 400 at Falkirk in Stagecoach livery.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/gjm-photog...201326104/

Great photo . I bet they'll serve Stagecoach well.

Go North East: "The all-new Enviro 400 visits Riverside!" by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: "The all-new Enviro 400 visits Riverside!" by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: "The all-new Enviro 400 visits Riverside!" by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: "The all-new Enviro 400 visits Riverside!" by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

Go North East: "The all-new Enviro 400 visits Riverside!" by danielgrahamm, on Flickr

(12 Jun 2014, 8:00 am)Scott wrote [ -> ]Looks stunning. Way better than the Gemini 2. Hope they order some for the Ten in the next few years.

Baring in mind though as a demo it's probably kitted out with the most expensive options. I think the Gemini 2s are really smart looking buses, and I'm sure there's options available to kit them out to similar interior specs.

It's a bit like BMW. You go for a test drive and are overwhelmed by the features, only to find out it adds another 10k onto the cost of the car.

(12 Jun 2014, 8:34 am)aureolin wrote [ -> ]Baring in mind though as a demo it's probably kitted out with the most expensive options. I think the Gemini 2s are really smart looking buses, and I'm sure there's options available to kit them out to similar interior specs.

It's a bit like BMW. You go for a test drive and are overwhelmed by the features, only to find out it adds another 10k onto the cost of the car.

I agree. Just look at the spec of Lothian's Airlink Geminis! Superior to the standard of the ADL E400MMC demo, in my opinion.

Half Hour Video on the New E400 MMC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDdJPzqoc0o&feature=youtu.be

(14 Jun 2014, 11:07 am)Richard Smiles wrote [ -> ]Half Hour Video on the New E400 MMC

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDdJPzqoc0o&feature=youtu.be

Cheers Richard. It's a great watch, and there's certainly been a lot of thought put into it. It's rare that any manufacturer consults so heavily on any product not just buses. Hopefully we'll see some in the North East soon.

It looks fantastic. Very well built and thought through by ADL. I don't rate the 6.7 unit for long distance work but I certainly think that this bus could perhaps cope with the long 10 and the X1 if well looked after by Riverside, Hexham and Washington. Hopefully, ADL will look into a long range version either powered by a bigger unit from Cummins or Volvo's 8 litre unit. I wonder if ADL will offer the Scania / Cummins unit with 280bhp.