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+--- Thread: Volvo - a missed opportunity? (/showthread.php?tid=4840)
Volvo - a missed opportunity? - L469 YVK - 08 Nov 2026
Given the Merseyside franchising order for Cummins powered Ultroliners, have Volvo not missed a trick building a standard Bi-Axile B8TL decker?
Electrification despite it being the way forward is still out of reach for many services.
Unless operators go tri-axile, there isn't a truly heavy duty decker currently on the market.
RE: Volvo - a missed opportunity? - Storx - 08 Nov 2026
(6 hours ago)L469 YVK wrote Given the Merseyside franchising order for Cummins powered Ultroliners, have Volvo not missed a trick building a standard Bi-Axile B8TL decker?
Electrification despite it being the way forward is still out of reach for many services.
Unless operators go tri-axile, there isn't a truly heavy duty decker currently on the market.
Not sure a heavy duty vehicle is needed in Merseyside. It's arguably the sort of place a light weight decker is actually ideal. Same with the likes of London and what not.
RE: Volvo - a missed opportunity? - L469 YVK - 08 Nov 2026
(5 hours ago)Storx wrote Not sure a heavy duty vehicle is needed in Merseyside. It's arguably the sort of place a light weight decker is actually ideal. Same with the likes of London and what not.
It's still quite a statement for an Cummins Ultroliner being ordered for such work though. Especially when a Daimler powered Ultroliner or standard E400MMC would be enough.
To be fair, MTL & Arriva did have a fair number of Cummins & Volvo D10 powered Palatine II's operating in the area.
Quite a lot of the NECA area work would benefit from a heavy duty decker:
Northumberland
* X14/X15/X16/X28/X20/X30
* X21/X22
* 10/10A/10B/12
* 685 (depending how this goes as cross border)
Gateshead & Washington
* X1
County Durham
* X10
* X21
* X30/X31/X32
* X45 & 47
* X70/X71/X72/X73
That alone would be quite a sizeable order. Then add on other operators and routes such as the X93/X94, Transdev's Coastliner.