Vehicle Details
Registration: NL63 XCA
Chassis: Volvo B9TL
Bodywork: Wright Eclipse Gemini 2
Depot: Percy Main
Livery: Cobalt & Coast
Year new: 2013
Vehicle History
June 2020
Go North East
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From Monday 1 June 2020, in line with guidance from the government, Go North East's bus services will start returning to what can be considered a 'normal' level of service on weekdays (albeit still reduced on weekends), also with some minor changes which had originally been planned to take place from 17 May 2020. The depots which were temporarily 'mothballed' for the duration of the crisis have now re-opened, except for Saltmeadows Road, which is where most of the National Express coaches are stored. The central works facility remains open as usual. Therefore, this vehicle has now transferred from Riverside Depot to Percy Main.
May 2020
Go North East
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With an expectant announcement from the government this weekend that some 'lockdown' restrictions could be relaxed, there may be an increase in demand for bus services. Therefore, some services are going to be operated by larger vehicles, to allow greater social distancing on-board buses, and Go North East will deploy up to 10 'hot spare' vehicles at key bus stations over the morning and evening peaks. As such, this vehicle has been reinstated at Riverside.
May 2020
Go North East
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With an expected announcement from the UK Government on Sunday 10 May to relax some of the current "lockdown" restrictions in the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which could lead to an increased number of passengers travelling on Go North East's bus services, further re-allocations and service allocation revisions are being made, in order to increase social distancing on-board Go North East's bus services. This will include double-deck buses being allocated to services ordinarily allocated single-decks, and single-deck buses being allocated to those services which had been temporarily allocated minibuses for the duration of the crisis. Therefore this vehicle has been reinstated at Riverside Depot.
April 2020
Go North East
Further service changes have taken place due to the reduced demand for bus services as a result of the current Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis. As such, this vehicle has been taken out of service. It is expected to be formally delicensed closer to the end of the
month, in order to allow the company to claim a tax refund.
March 2020
Go North East
On March 23 2020, Boris Johnson placed the country on "lockdown", enforcing rules on people only leaving the house to shop for necessities, to exercise once a day, for medical needs or to provide care, or to travel to and from work (if they can't work from home). Shops, pubs, restaurants and theatres have all been closed, as well as mass gatherings being banned, schools being closed, and sporting events being cancelled. Therefore, further changes were made to bus timetables from Saturday 28 March, reflecting a mass reduction in customer demand for buses. As part of these timetable revisions; Chester-le-Street, Percy Main and Washington Depots were temporarily 'mothballed' with services operated out of key depots Consett, Deptford (including Peterlee outstation) and Riverside (including Hexham outstation) only. Therefore, this vehicle has transferred from Percy Main Depot to Riverside.
October 2019
Go North East
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Following the fitment of the new "Cobalt & Coast" branding internally and externally, this vehicle has returned to service at Percy Main. Externally, this example carries the variant of the branding in the advertisement frames to show an artistic representation of the route.
October 2019
Go North East
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This vehicle has returned to Go North East following internal refurbishment and repaint into a two-tone silver and blue base livery. It is currently undergoing preparation for service at Saltmeadows Road Depot prior to returning to service at Percy Main.
August 2019
Go North East
This vehicle has been temporarily withdrawn from service at Percy Main Depot and released for internal refurbished and repaint at Bus & Coach World, Blackburn. The extensive refurbishment work includes, but is not limited to, external repaint; deep cleaning of the interior of the vehicle; renewal of floor coverings; cleaning all seat frames and re-trimming seats into leather with USB sockets on the back of every seat; fitting blue accent lighting underneath seats to provide extra light on the gangway; installation of tables on the upper saloon with wireless charging pods, and upgrading the 'next stop' audio-visual announcement equipment.
August 2019
Go North East
In partnership with North Tyneside Council; this vehicle has received exhaust modifications, increasing the Euro standard of this bus from Euro 5 to Euro 6.
January 2019
Go North East
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Following the end of the Arriva North East industrial action, this vehicle has transferred from Riverside Depot to Percy Main.
January 2019
Go North East
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Due to planned industrial action on Arriva North East's 'Durham County' services in Durham, Stockton and Redcar, Arriva are running a limited free-to-use service between January 6 and January 12 2019. As such, Go North East are operating duplicate X21 services between Bishop Auckland and Framwellgate Moor, via, Durham, and providing buses with a larger capacity on services X5, X6 and X7, which operate between Hartlepool, Peterlee and Sunderland. As such, this vehicle has transferred from Percy Main Depot to Riverside, in order to operate the duplicate X21 services.
August 2014
Go North East
Following a period of use in Glasgow to provide transport on behalf of First Group for the Commonwealth Games 2014, this vehicle has now returned to Go North East.
July 2014
Go North East
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First Group approached a number of bus operators up and down the United Kingdom to provide transport for them during the Commonwealth Games which are being held in Glasgow this year. Go North East has provided a total of 21 vehicles for the duration of the event, with this vehicle being just one. They are being held overnight at First Glasgow's depot on Tollcross Road, Parkhead.
February 2014
Go North East
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This vehicle has entered service at Percy Main Depot, primarily acting as a spare vehicle for "Cobalt Clipper" services 309/310. When not required to cover for a branded vehicle on "Cobalt Clipper" services 309/310, it should instead be allocated to "Coaster" service 1 as first priority.
January 2014
Go North East
Ahead of its entry into service, this vehicle has received white Go North East fleet names.
January 2014
Go North East
This vehicle, which carries a red base livery, has arrived into the Go North East fleet. It is currently being prepared for service at Saltmeadows Road Depot. Representing an investment of approximately £3,400,000; Go North East has ordered a batch of seventeen Volvo B9TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 double-deck buses to be launched on the “Cobalt Clipper” 309/310 services at Percy Main Depot, which this bus will be a dedicated spare vehicle for. These brand new buses feature Esteban Civic V3 seating; free passenger Wi-Fi; power sockets with USB connections, and ‘Next Stop’ audio-visual announcements.
link Related
April 2017
Go North East
Presently unbranded; this vehicle has returned to service at Riverside Depot, where it will see allocation to "Citylink" service 57.
April 2016
Go North East
This vehicle has had its sub-branding for "Fast Cats" services X35/X36 removed.