(18 Sep 2016, 6:14 pm)South Tyne Lad wrote Could be merely to get rid of the reliability problem that comes with the running the route.

The X18 is a popular route though, And the seawater got the better of the 57 reg Lowlanders that ran them for a few years, So they could be replacing them to make sure they can be used for a few more years elsewhere without problems.

Hopefully something turns up though  

I think, in a perfect world, the X18 needs new vehicles every 4-5 years. Purely so that they can continue to perform well on other routes, because (with the exception of the NCPII Olympians that served the people of Northumberland so very well) no vehicle in recent times would be 'good' after any more than 6-7 years continuously on that route. 

However, as we aren't in a perfect world, and as it has only been 2 years since 7529-33 arrived, I think it'd be safe to say whatever 'new' vehicles arrive, they won't be for the X18.

I'd personally like to see the vehicles (if of course there are any) be for the X15 or the X21/22. I do think there are other things that need sorting before those two/three routes, but I can't see the services that need sorting getting brand new vehicles.