24 Feb 2018, 5:21 pm
#201
(23 Feb 2018, 6:35 pm)Malarkey I was also informed that Go North East planned to extend the DFDS contract by a further a year, however have agreed a rumoured 5 year deal with two brand new vehicles to be purchased as part of the new contact, at this point this is unconfirmed and merely speculation, however coincidentally two of the DFDS Omnidekkas don't have luggage racks fitted despite the service being in need them, so I do wonder if there is more than meets the eye with this rumour, furthermore and this is just me speaking my mind here in thinking that the 309/310 will be in line for new vehicles this year also, as I really can't see Go North East buying two new vehicles for just one service, depot standardisation and that coming into mind.
I don' think that GNE will order new vehicles for the 309/310 despite the Volvo B9TLs being too heavy duty for both routes. There are no other routes which spring to mind that the B9TLs could be cascaded to at the moment.
But, if the reliability of 6301-07 on the Castles Express continues to prove temperamental, I could see the following happening:
Vehicle Movements:
- 6101-17 refurbished and fitted with new destination displays.
- 6101-07 additionally fitted with tables on upper deck then repainted, re-branded and transferred to Crook for Castles Express.
- 6108-17 given repaint and new branding for Cobalt Clipper Service 309.
- 6301-07 converted to fully seated upper decks, repainted, re-branded and transferred to Percy Main for Cobalt Clipper Service 310.
Service Changes:
- 309 operates standalone during Monday to Saturday daytime using 6108-17 (PVR 10).
- 310 and X39 operate standalone during Monday to Saturday daytime using 6301-07 (PVR 7).
- Some interworking of both services during early to mid-late evening, with StreetDecks preferably being used on boards which finish late into the evening (if timetable allows).
- 5x StreetDecks and 3x B9TLs used on Sundays with StreetDecks being allocated to boards which run into the evening. Services 309 and 310 would continue to interwork.
