(16 Jan 2020, 8:34 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I think it was mid-late 2017 they were done, so not that long ago really
My guess is the Citaros will live on in the fleet for quite a bit longer, assuming they don't catch fire

The Bluestars are my favourite of them, purely because of the layout. I like having a seat to myself!

Never been on a Bluestar Citaro, what is the layout? Yes, a seat to yourself is good!

Where are the X84/X85 Citaros going to go when they go X-lines? There hasn't been a Citaro on the 74 for a while now.

(16 Jan 2020, 8:59 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Never been on a Bluestar Citaro, what is the layout? Yes, a seat to yourself is good!

Where are the X84/X85 Citaros going to go when they go X-lines? There hasn't been a Citaro on the 74 for a while now.

It's a 2-1 layout. So two seats on one side, and one on the other. Arriva did that with some of their Streetlites as well

(16 Jan 2020, 9:01 pm)streetdeckfan wrote It's a 2-1 layout. So two seats on one side, and one on the other. Arriva did that with some of their Streetlites as well

Nice! What services do the Bluestar Citaros operate?

(16 Jan 2020, 9:04 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Nice! What services do the Bluestar Citaros operate?

They used to do the X30 but I haven't kept up with them

Shame about the loop being dropped,always have liked the brand,and the livery,especially on the bus which is black

(16 Jan 2020, 9:09 pm)V514DFT wrote Shame about the loop being dropped,always have liked the brand,and the livery,especially on the bus which is black

I personally hate black buses (black vehicles in general tbh), but I've always liked The Loop brand

(16 Jan 2020, 9:04 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Nice! What services do the Bluestar Citaros operate?

They all at deptford apart from 5486. Not sure what they allocated to

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(16 Jan 2020, 9:09 pm)V514DFT wrote Shame about the loop being dropped,always have liked the brand,and the livery,especially on the bus which is black

Was not aware The Loop brand is being dropped. The Loop has existed for a long time.

(16 Jan 2020, 9:13 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Was not aware The Loop brand is being dropped. The Loop has existed for a long time.

I don't think anything has been confirmed regarding The Loop branding yet

5481-5485 are at Deptfords
Can appear on the 9/35/55 and X-lines services

5486 and 5487 are at Washington
Are the spares for the 4/5/50

(16 Jan 2020, 9:44 pm)Ds1197 wrote 5481-5485 are at Deptfords
Can appear on the 9/35/55 and X-lines services

5486 and 5487 are at Washington
Are the spares for the 4/5/50

They shouldn’t be on the 35, as they’re only Euro 4.

One is allocated to the 38, the other is allocated to the fourth off-peak board on the 33. The other three are spare buses, most commonly allocated to the 55 (releasing a Euro 5 Citaro to the 35, covering for absent L94s).


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(16 Jan 2020, 8:59 pm)OrangeArrow49 wrote Never been on a Bluestar Citaro, what is the layout? Yes, a seat to yourself is good!

Where are the X84/X85 Citaros going to go when they go X-lines? There hasn't been a Citaro on the 74 for a while now.

Go North East: 5482 / HW07CXS by Daniel Graham, on Flickr

Here’s a photo to show what streetdeckfan was saying about the layout


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(16 Jan 2020, 5:59 pm)Dan wrote Not the plan at all.

Route branding is being rationalised and not used to the extent it was in years gone by, but the main effort now is to keep all brands within a "house style".

The new "house style", i.e. a two-tone livery with "road-stripes" (at a 55-degree angle - a la 55 degrees north!) separating them, was designed by Beacon Creative (not Best Impressions as suggested a few posts earlier).

The logic is that if all brands are kept within one "house style", then it is more recognisable as a Go North East bus, as it will have the signature "road-stripes" to identify it as such. X-lines and Toon Tour, being special brands, have these stripes in the opposite direction, so they're still inkeeping with the main theme, but look different enough so they stand out. The idea with X-lines was also so that it could create an "X" shape, denoting the express nature of the route.

Cheers Dan, I'm interested to see how the brand changes in the coming years, so far so good. Loving the improvements to overall bus standards & tickets all around, and from an outside perspective the MD's changes are noticeable to a standard passenger like myself.

(16 Jan 2020, 11:25 pm)Arcticrossy92 wrote Cheers Dan, I'm interested to see how the brand changes in the coming years, so far so good. Loving the improvements to overall bus standards & tickets all around, and from an outside perspective the MD's changes are noticeable to a standard passenger like myself.

More than a one-man band!


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I hope they keep the loop as that is one of the original GNE brands

Confirmed the X1 B9's will go for a refurb after the new E400's arrive, would imagine they B9's will be temporary withdrawn before they're reallocated?


Martijn Gilbert
@MartijnGNE
·
18m
It sounds like we’ve got the timing of our new bus order just about right then!
New X1 buses are due May. The older ones will then be refurbished (including seats) and moved elsewhere. Thanks for the feedback ??

(17 Jan 2020, 6:21 pm)Michael wrote Confirmed the X1 B9's will go for a refurb after the new E400's arrive, would imagine they B9's will be temporary withdrawn before they're reallocated?


Martijn Gilbert
@MartijnGNE
·
18m
It sounds like we’ve got the timing of our new bus order just about right then!
New X1 buses are due May. The older ones will then be refurbished (including seats) and moved elsewhere. Thanks for the feedback ??

Wonder where the B9’s would go after refurb


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(17 Jan 2020, 6:40 pm)cbma06 wrote Wonder where the B9’s would go after refurb


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There's 14 of them (spare is a B7)


Only route i can think of is the 13/14/25 - 8 PVR? - with the others heading out as spares to other depots to replace the Omnidekka's

(17 Jan 2020, 7:11 pm)Michael wrote There's 14 of them (spare is a B7)


Only route i can think of is the 13/14/25 - 8 PVR? - with the others heading out as spares to other depots to replace the Omnidekka's

Would they go to the expense of a refurb if they're gonna be sending nearly half of them out as spares?

(17 Jan 2020, 7:35 pm)Andreos1 wrote Would they go to the expense of a refurb if they're gonna be sending nearly half of them out as spares?

Not sure, but i can't see any other routes which might get them?

93/94 are getting the Toonlink B9's

X84/X85 are getting the Volvo B5TL's from the X9/X10

ALSO:

Just spotted this on a reply from Martjin


Martijn Gilbert
@MartijnGNE
·
57m
I have already replied to say that the vehicle in question is due for replacement and will be refurbished soon before use elsewhere. Ten feedback noted, thank you. Hopefully some good news for that route later this year. Anything seriously bad will be replaced in the meantime


New buses for the TEN too?

(17 Jan 2020, 7:39 pm)Michael wrote Not sure, but i can't see any other routes which might get them?

93/94 are getting the Toonlink B9's

X84/X85 are getting the Volvo B5TL's from the X9/X10

ALSO:

Just spotted this on a reply from Martjin


Martijn Gilbert
@MartijnGNE
·
57m
I have already replied to say that the vehicle in question is due for replacement and will be refurbished soon before use elsewhere. Ten feedback noted, thank you. Hopefully some good news for that route later this year. Anything seriously bad will be replaced in the meantime


New buses for the TEN too?

Maybe the 6/6a/12/12a?

(17 Jan 2020, 8:29 pm)NewcastleOne wrote Maybe the 6/6a/12/12a?

Maybe to East Yorkshire?

In terms of B9 cascades from the Red Arrows and potentially TVT (pending good news), got to bear in mind that Go Ahead also now have EYMS and Go North West.

Also, for all the 'X-Lines' StreetDeck routes, GNE could do the following:

31x new batch
- 13x X31/X45/X46
- 9x X47/X70/X71
- 8x X21 (kept on Bishop & West Auckland runs if poss)
- 1x eventual X9/X10 spare (OM936) - stands in for coaches if coaches are ordered

19x 6315-6333
- 4x X21
- 15x 21

7x 6301-07
- 4x X5/X15
- 2x spare Consett
- 1x spare Chester Le Street

2x 6334-35 (Volvo B5TL)
- 2x spare Chester Le Street

New route branding for the Tyne Valley Ten coming soon? , NSA screens have been updated


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(18 Jan 2020, 10:08 am)TEN 6083 wrote

New route branding for the Tyne Valley Ten coming soon? , NSA screens have been updated


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Think would look quite smart. Just have to see if they have get new DD first

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(18 Jan 2020, 10:08 am)TEN 6083 wrote

New route branding for the Tyne Valley Ten coming soon? , NSA screens have been updated


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Not really anything new, it's the same as they've had on the paper timetable for a few months now (albeit a different shade of green)

I would read too much in to what they have on the NSAs at the minute, my guess is they're just placeholders with the colours from the current livery being used

(18 Jan 2020, 10:08 am)TEN 6083 wrote

New route branding for the Tyne Valley Ten coming soon? , NSA screens have been updated


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They also seem to have cut the N off Newcastle

(18 Jan 2020, 9:25 pm)GNE6312 wrote They also seem to have cut the N off Newcastle

No it happens a lot on that system. The display doesn't sit in centre of screen so cuts off some of the display

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Haven't most of Go North East's B9 had euro 6 mods so that means they will probably stay up here my guess is the 26/27 but don't the know the PVR of those, I think Dan mentioned a while a go the only B9s differently going to East Yorkshire are the red kite ones

(18 Jan 2020, 9:26 pm)JP6004 wrote No it happens a lot on that system. The display doesn't sit in centre of screen so cuts off some of the display

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Same with a lot of Arriva's as well. They don't seem loose so must have just been installed incorrectly

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