(08 Sep 2020, 9:16 pm)Andreos1 wrote Not at all, but encouraging more people to use public transport across the park, would mean that there wasn't too much reliance on one employer. Those working at the park are now reliant on continuing to use their car or finding an alternative (and often longer, more expensive) trip on the main network.

I believe that N-Power used to in some way subsidise or contribute towards the running of the 921. The X1E also used to run but has been curtailed since COVID. That one always used to confuse the hell out of people when it turned left at The Burn Hotel

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(08 Sep 2020, 9:23 pm)JP6004 wrote Evolve and few the factories had people use the service, however factory hours are a lot different to the office 8-4/ 9-5. For the small number of people that did use it, there is no way they can justify running it. The park is still well connected with the X20 and 35

Ah yeah, without a doubt the factories are different. I'm sure some of them do (or did) have night shift. 
However, those businesses in and around Evolve don't. There was a huge office empty for quite a while, which was completely filled last year. 
You have Pacifica Group in there who have a boat load of staff coming from the Washington, Hetton and Chester areas. None are covered with a direct bus now. Despite them being no more than 15mins drive away.

(09 Sep 2020, 12:41 am)6049 wrote I believe that N-Power used to in some way subsidise or contribute towards the running of the 921. The X1E also used to run but has been curtailed since COVID. That one always used to confuse the hell out of people when it turned left at The Burn Hotel

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I'm sure the contract allowed for the purchase of the B9s initially.

(09 Sep 2020, 7:41 am)Andreos1 wrote Ah yeah, without a doubt the factories are different. I'm sure some of them do (or did) have night shift. 
However, those businesses in and around Evolve don't. There was a huge office empty for quite a while, which was completely filled last year. 
You have Pacifica Group in there who have a boat load of staff coming from the Washington, Hetton and Chester areas. None are covered with a direct bus now. Despite them being no more than 15mins drive away.


I'm sure the contract allowed for the purchase of the B9s initially.

They certainly did as contract stipulated low floor DD. Believe was originally operated by riverside. Those versas were put on for the great snow of 2010. Managed to plough to Rainton no problem

Did the 2 X1 Streetdecks enter service today?

(09 Sep 2020, 1:35 pm)Michael wrote Did the 2 X1 Streetdecks enter service today?

No, sadly not. Couple of little niggles to sort out first.

(09 Sep 2020, 2:16 pm)Dan wrote No, sadly not. Couple of little niggles to sort out first.

Ah right! thanks for the reply.

6375 has entered service on the X1 heading to Easington Lane - Tweet by Jeff Hodgson - https://twitter.com/jeffh2067/status/130...8078737409

(09 Sep 2020, 3:49 pm)Michael wrote 6375 has entered service on the X1 heading to Easington Lane - Tweet by Jeff Hodgson - https://twitter.com/jeffh2067/status/130...8078737409

Just left Easington Lane 5mins back. Was surprised to see it rock up

The gold does compliment the city's sandstone architecture well.
Go North East 6375 / NK70 BYT. by Guy Park-Royal, on Flickr

With the X1 now operating 2 streetdecks, 6004 has transferred to Sunderland, just passed it at sheriff hill heading to Sunderland on the 56

Hopefully they roll out an update to the Hills Street announcement & geofence soon, replacing it with Askew Road as it seems to cause some confusion with the bus announcing the stop twice, despite no longer using that road.
I'm guessing the Red Arrows name will be replaced with Xlines too as more of them enter service.

Had a ride on one of the new StreetDecks (I believe it was 6357) and I must say I'm very impressed! 
Riding one back to back with a B5 it's clear how much better the suspension is on the StreetDecks, it genuinely feels like you're floating, and even when the road gets really bad it's never uncomfortable or rattly. Definitely a step up from the older StreetDecks, and even better than the E400s. 

The B5 that I was on was 6309, which was far superior to 6314 which I used the other day and was less than impressed with, so I'm guessing 6314 is just a bad egg.

Still not a fan of the interior colour, it's more brown in person than even on the photo, and it feels really dark upstairs because of it, even with the white trim. It's also disappointing to see they got rid of the table games, the 5 year old in me still wants to pretend to drive a bus around the race track! On the bright side, the stop button on the tables have a satisfying click, rather than the typical mushy button. 

The only downside of the journey was none of the USB ports, 240v sockets, or wireless chargers were working, and when another passenger asked the driver about them, he said there was nothing he could do.

I also had a ride on one of the new E400s, and it felt much roomier downstairs than the 69 plates, I'm guessing that's down to one of the rows being removed to make room for the bike bay. Still not a fan of the seats being used on the ADLs, far too soft for my liking!

6357, 6360, 6365 have all entered service today

Go North East X-lines 6357 / NK20 ELW by kieron mathews, on Flickr

Go North East X-lines 6360 / NK20 EMV by kieron mathews, on Flickr

Go North East X-lines 6365 / NK70 BYB by kieron mathews, on Flickr

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(10 Sep 2020, 2:17 pm)Stuartphin1639 wrote With the X1 now operating 2 streetdecks, 6004 has transferred to Sunderland, just passed it at sheriff hill heading to Sunderland on the 56

As has 6050.

Go North East X-lines 6346 / YX70 OHW by kieron mathews, on Flickr

6346 & 6351 have been registered as YX70 OHW (6346) and YX70 OHY (6351).

Go North East X-lines 6346 / YX20 OKF by kieron mathews, on Flickr

6346 with its previous registration number


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(10 Sep 2020, 4:28 pm)deanmachine wrote As has 6050.

Go North East 6050 / NK12 GDE by kieron mathews, on Flickr


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(10 Sep 2020, 4:27 pm)TEN 6083 wrote 6357, 6360, 6365 & 6375 have all entered service today

Go North East X-lines 6357 / NK20 ELW by kieron mathews, on Flickr

Go North East X-lines 6360 / NK20 EMV by kieron mathews, on Flickr

Go North East X-lines 6365 / NK70 BYB by kieron mathews, on Flickr

Go North East X-lines 6375 / NK70 BYT by kieron mathews, on Flickr


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You're a day out with 6375. Came in to service yesterday.

I take it the X45/X46/X47 will now be made of the following?

- 8x New StreetDecks
- 6x 67 Plate StreetDecks

Go North East X-lines 6376 / NK70 BYU by kieron mathews, on Flickr

6376 is at Consett Depot


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(11 Sep 2020, 7:03 pm)TEN 6083 wrote Go North East X-lines 6376 / NK70 BYU by kieron mathews, on Flickr

6376 is at Consett Depot


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Looks stunning that like, the charcoal X-Lines is definitely my favourite!

6376 is definitely the spare for Washington but it's on loan to Consett to assist with the repainting of blue Xlines StreetDeck 6304-07 which have recently transferred into the fleet from Chester-le-Street.

Dan posted this on Facebook about it why it’s at Consett for on one of the bus groups.


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Have to say, the X1 Xlines brand looks extremely smart. Probably the best so far.

According to Bustimes.org, it looks like 18 of the new deckers have now entered service... not sure how many more have arrived and yet to enter service.

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(11 Sep 2020, 9:06 pm)Adrian wrote Have to say, the X1 Xlines brand looks extremely smart. Probably the best so far.

100% agree, the red and gold just go well together.

So in a nutshell taking into account the upcoming changes to the Consett interworking patterns, what will the final PVRs & allocations be?

Also, depending on the financial & economic recovery moving forward, will the X1 StreetDecks remain for the long haul or will the X1 likely be "earmarked" for OM936 StreetDecks or E400MMCs should economic recovery & route performance allow one of the routes where B9TLs are deemed "overkill" to be replaced with StreetDecks?

Xlines spare 6376 is currently out on the X5 if anyone is wanting to catch it, was the 10:29 ex Durham


Well.... it was until it broke down as we were turning into Witton Gilbert

(12 Sep 2020, 9:11 am)L469 YVK wrote So in a nutshell taking into account the upcoming changes to the Consett interworking patterns, what will the final PVRs & allocations be?

Also, depending on the financial & economic recovery moving forward, will the X1 StreetDecks remain for the long haul or will the X1 likely be "earmarked" for OM936 StreetDecks or E400MMCs should economic recovery & route performance allow one of the routes where B9TLs are deemed "overkill" to be replaced with StreetDecks?

Just to stop you needing to ask the question every other day, the StreetDecks on the X1 will remain on the X1. There's no reason to suggest that they will be incapable of running the route, and whilst they have a slower top speed on the Washington Highway (difference of 7mph against current Volvo B9), they are actually quicker off the mark than the existing Volvo B9, and will also likely do the uphill climb on the Washington Highway a bit better than the existing Volvo B9. There should be no need to replace them with more heavy-weight buses, nor any need to take Volvo B9s off the routes they're on at the moment. Initial feedback from driving team colleagues seems to be good.

It's very unlikely that bus operators up and down the country will be in a position to afford very many new buses at all. It will be a very long road to recovery once the government support package is revoked, and Go North East is certainly doing all it can now (given it has the opportunity to do so with all of the new buses coming in) to promote and market its services to get people back on board buses.

(12 Sep 2020, 10:01 am)Dan wrote Just to stop you needing to ask the question every other day, the StreetDecks on the X1 will remain on the X1. There's no reason to suggest that they will be incapable of running the route, and whilst they have a slower top speed on the Washington Highway (difference of 7mph against current Volvo B9), they are actually quicker off the mark than the existing Volvo B9, and will also likely do the uphill climb on the Washington Highway a bit better than the existing Volvo B9. There should be no need to replace them with more heavy-weight buses, nor any need to take Volvo B9s off the routes they're on at the moment. Initial feedback from driving team colleagues seems to be good.

It's very unlikely that bus operators up and down the country will be in a position to afford very many new buses at all. It will be a very long road to recovery once the government support package is revoked, and Go North East is certainly doing all it can now (given it has the opportunity to do so with all of the new buses coming in) to promote and market its services to get people back on board buses.

I think I did only mention once prior (on a separate thread). Obviously given the current climate and the need for flexibility at Consett, it was a sensible move to swap the intended allocations around And to be fair, the E400MMC will actually be a better fit on the X70 & X71. Although the newer StreetDecks have been less troublesome to an extent compared to the 2016 batch, the X1 is a very rapid and high utilisation route. Obviously the X45/X46/X47 aren't exactly "easy" routes but in terms of the intensity, I wouldn't deem them to be as intense compared to the X1. The big question is are the StreetDecks on a route like the X1 going to stand the test of time (circa 7-8 years) relatively trouble-free? Fair play if they do. Perhaps the StreetDecks have gotten better & more reliable later down the production line as did the E400 & E400MMC.

(12 Sep 2020, 11:59 am)L469 YVK wrote I think I did only mention once prior (on a separate thread). Obviously given the current climate and the need for flexibility at Consett, it was a sensible move to swap the intended allocations around And to be fair, the E400MMC will actually be a better fit on the X70 & X71. Although the newer StreetDecks have been less troublesome to an extent compared to the 2016 batch, the X1 is a very rapid and high utilisation route. Obviously the X45/X46/X47 aren't exactly "easy" routes but in terms of the intensity, I wouldn't deem them to be as intense compared to the X1. The big question is are the StreetDecks on a route like the X1 going to stand the test of time (circa 7-8 years) relatively trouble-free? Fair play if they do. Perhaps the StreetDecks have gotten better & more reliable later down the production line as did the E400 & E400MMC.

tbf the Cummin's engine isn't exactly the best engine around neither. Blyth wrecked their Enviros on the 308 and the Blyth Expresses hence when they got replaced off the X21/X22 and dumped on the local routes at Jesmond. Then some of the Gemini's have has their engines replaced and others struggle at times on minor hills which they shouldn't on such as Matthew Bank on the X7 and X8. The Blyth routes are a much closer comparison than the 21/X21 for the X1.

Not sure if there's been any big changes to the Cummins engine in the last 10 year but I believe they all use the same engine, maybe a slightly upgraded one on newer models.

(12 Sep 2020, 12:34 pm)Storx wrote tbf the Cummin's engine isn't exactly the best engine around neither. Blyth wrecked their Enviros on the 308 and the Blyth Expresses hence when they got replaced off the X21/X22 and dumped on the local routes at Jesmond. Then some of the Gemini's have has their engines replaced and others struggle at times on minor hills which they shouldn't on such as Matthew Bank on the X7 and X8. The Blyth routes are a much closer comparison than the 21/X21 for the X1.

Not sure if there's been any big changes to the Cummins engine in the last 10 year but I believe they all use the same engine, maybe a slightly upgraded one on newer models.

Blyth didn't have the best reputation back then. The Enviro 400s out of 7501-7513 that didn't fall into the hands of Blyth or Redcar have been mostly fine. The Cummins ISBe engine fitted in the VDL DB300 Gemini 2s at Blyth are only the 205BHP version as opposed to the 240/250BHP that has been used as ADL's integral choice on the E400 & E400MMC.

I'd genuinely like to know what everyone has against the StreetDecks.

Sure some of the 16 plates have had some issues, but the 67 plates have been super solid. 
6332 had ran on the X21 for basically it's whole life until it got moved to Consett, and rarely ever missed a beat. 

The StreetDecks are far better built than the E400s, even the 16 plates. 
The brand new E400s creak like there's no tomorrow when they go round corners or over the slightest bump, and whilst the issue with the windows rattling has been resolved, they still look like they're made of jelly.

Whilst subjective, I think the StreetDeck looks far nicer than the E400s, both inside and out. The high gloss plastics in the Enviros may look fancy when new, but they're already starting to look a right state.

I'll briefly mention the ceiling height upstairs as that's definitely something that puts me off the E400s, but that's down to the operator's spec not the vehicle itself.

In the interest of fairness, I will say I prefer the engine/transmission noise of the E400s, and until I experienced the brand new StreetDecks, I preferred the ride quality as well,

(12 Sep 2020, 1:44 pm)streetdeckfan wrote I'd genuinely like to know what everyone has against the StreetDecks.

Sure some of the 16 plates have had some issues, but the 67 plates have been super solid. 
6332 had ran on the X21 for basically it's whole life until it got moved to Consett, and rarely ever missed a beat. 

The StreetDecks are far better built than the E400s, even the 16 plates. 
The brand new E400s creak like there's no tomorrow when they go round corners or over the slightest bump, and whilst the issue with the windows rattling has been resolved, they still look like they're made of jelly.

Whilst subjective, I think the StreetDeck looks far nicer than the E400s, both inside and out. The high gloss plastics in the Enviros may look fancy when new, but they're already starting to look a right state.

I'll briefly mention the ceiling height upstairs as that's definitely something that puts me off the E400s, but that's down to the operator's spec not the vehicle itself.

In the interest of fairness, I will say I prefer the engine/transmission noise of the E400s, and until I experienced the brand new StreetDecks, I preferred the ride quality as well,

The StreetDeck is perfect for what it was built for. Basically to offer a fuel efficient lightweight double deck solution without the cost of mild hybrid / full electric technology. That covers routes such as the 21/56/309/310/311 and not forgetting Arriva's 308. The E400MMC on the other hand is now a "sweet spot". Not too heavy but capable enough for most work albeit on the "heavy side" for any type of work mentioned above.  

It was only given the recent events that GoNE had to streamline things thus swapping the intended allocations for both sets of new vehicles.