(23 Jan 2026, 1:46 pm)Kuyoyo wrote The whole point of the new E400MMCs going to Whitby is to displace the now-aged B9TLs away from the highly demanding work they've been used on since new on the X93/X94 corridor (don't forget the X94 boards spend most of their day running between Whitby and Scarborough - the part with probably the most demanding of the hills along the corridor) plus given they are only 5 years younger than 7609/10, they'll soon be too old for the P&R contract in any case, hence the reason for 7594/5 being earmarked for that if Arriva retain it. I understand from a source within Arriva, the B9s may already have a new home lined up under the original plans.

I also have been told why the new E400MMCs for Ashington are intended to replace 7541-52 - those have smaller fuel tanks than the newer examples, which means they have issues when being used on certain Morpeth Express boards as a result (not due to the fuel tank but Stockton once had something similar happening when 1512 was based at the depot as the Sapphire spare - it almost always ended up on the same board, which happened to be the first bus out of the depot and the last bus into the depot, and was known to be running on fumes when it got back in).

Are the B9 leaving the North East or going to another depot

(23 Jan 2026, 1:46 pm)Kuyoyo wrote The whole point of the new E400MMCs going to Whitby is to displace the now-aged B9TLs away from the highly demanding work they've been used on since new on the X93/X94 corridor (don't forget the X94 boards spend most of their day running between Whitby and Scarborough - the part with probably the most demanding of the hills along the corridor) plus given they are only 5 years younger than 7609/10, they'll soon be too old for the P&R contract in any case, hence the reason for 7594/5 being earmarked for that if Arriva retain it. I understand from a source within Arriva, the B9s may already have a new home lined up under the original plans.

I also have been told why the new E400MMCs for Ashington are intended to replace 7541-52 - those have smaller fuel tanks than the newer examples, which means they have issues when being used on certain Morpeth Express boards as a result (not due to the fuel tank but Stockton once had something similar happening when 1512 was based at the depot as the Sapphire spare - it almost always ended up on the same board, which happened to be the first bus out of the depot and the last bus into the depot, and was known to be running on fumes when it got back in).

Aye I get that, but surely they'd be good enough for 2/6 boards on the X93/X94 if you switched them around daily. Arguably no worse than the ex B7TL's from London which coped well enough for a couple year anyway?

But I get why aswell, obviously the ideal solution is to deal with the chronic shortage of reasonable deckers across the North East, but can't really expect them to renew the whole fleet overnight. Hopefully 2027 will see a bigger push to sort out Blyth and Ashington who are both desperate for more really.

Unsure what you could do with 7401-6 and 7522-7533 as they really badly need to be retired to pottering around estates on a city route but there's not really anything in the North East.

(23 Jan 2026, 1:46 pm)Kuyoyo wrote I also have been told why the new E400MMCs for Ashington are intended to replace 7541-52 - those have smaller fuel tanks than the newer examples, which means they have issues when being used on certain Morpeth Express boards as a result (not due to the fuel tank but Stockton once had something similar happening when 1512 was based at the depot as the Sapphire spare - it almost always ended up on the same board, which happened to be the first bus out of the depot and the last bus into the depot, and was known to be running on fumes when it got back in).

Genuinely mental reasoning. They’re capable of doing most X18 boards, it was only ever the couple of double Berwick X15 boards that they (occasionally) got swapped off.

Even outside of those, there are 6 X20 boards and 20 X21/35 and X22 boards they could be used on. A batch of 12 buses, 26 boards which they are completely suitable for. 

Crucially, they’re all more than capable of actually doing the express work - the 8 Streetlites, 09/10/61-plate Pulsars, and the 14/64/15-plate E400s are not. 

Moving an entire batch of buses away because of (at most) a couple of boards which they ‘may’ struggle with is completely illogical - especially when there are far, far larger issues.

(23 Jan 2026, 9:08 pm)PH - BQA wrote Crucially, they’re all more than capable of actually doing the express work - 09/10/61-plate Pulsars. 

Must say I do think they should've been kept but more for these. It's absolutely bonkers that there's currently 31 Pulsars in Northumbria for a realistic PVR of 11 (5x 57/57A, 5x X9, 1x 553)

Like imo in an ideal world it should be something like

1602 - 1606 | 57/57A (the shorter vehicles are also inappropiate at Darlington and would benefit some of the tight streets especially Tillmouth Avenue)
1574 - 1577 | 1
1578 - 1581 | 2
1607 / 1582 / 1583 | Ashington Spares

1499 | 553
1500 - 1505 | X9 / Spare

Every other single Pulsar out and no singles anywhere near the expresses, yet it appears there's been an order put in to displace 25 deckers...

(23 Jan 2026, 9:32 pm)Storx wrote Must say I do think they should've been kept but more for these. It's absolutely bonkers that there's currently 31 Pulsars in Northumbria for a realistic PVR of 11 (5x 57/57A, 5x X9, 1x 553)

Absolutely agree. It’s a clear indication to me that, for all the noise, the new management are just as incompetent at those that went before. 

The amount of standing load Pulsars and Streetlites I’ve observed leaving Newcastle recently is too many to list. 

Getting rid of significantly younger and more capable buses ahead of things which barely make it through a day of service is beyond idiotic. 

The current media attention on their operation in SE Northumberland is starting to expose them for the morons they are. I’ve been pointing it out for ages on here - the engineering issues, the horrific decision making, the lack of accountability.

(23 Jan 2026, 10:26 pm)PH - BQA wrote Absolutely agree. It’s a clear indication to me that, for all the noise, the new management are just as incompetent at those that went before. 

The amount of standing load Pulsars and Streetlites I’ve observed leaving Newcastle recently is too many to list. 

Getting rid of significantly younger and more capable buses ahead of things which barely make it through a day of service is beyond idiotic. 

The current media attention on their operation in SE Northumberland is starting to expose them for the morons they are. I’ve been pointing it out for ages on here - the engineering issues, the horrific decision making, the lack of accountability.

Yeah I don't want to be overcritical of the management but can't disagree. It's not like it's something totally impossible needing investment as what's coming in could do it easily ie.

12x New E400MMC's (Ashington), 12x Pulsar Out
13x New E400MMC's (Blyth), 7601-7615 Withdrawn
6x 16 Plate E400MMC Durham to Darlington, 6x Streetlite to Ashington, 6 Pulsar Out
1512/1513 and 1579/80 straight swap, 2 Pulsar Out
14x New Electrics, 12 Oldest E400 Withdrawn, 2 Pulsar Out

61 Plate Pulsars to Darlington to displace oldest Pulsars with a future bid in to upgrade the likes of the 1, 5, 7, X66 and X67 which deserve new buses.

Would make a massive massive difference that imo and you've got the DB300's out as planned. It's not like they can exactly come out with x needs buses more because Ashington is absolutely chronic because of the fleet in recent months.

(23 Jan 2026, 1:46 pm)Kuyoyo wrote The whole point of the new E400MMCs going to Whitby is to displace the now-aged B9TLs away from the highly demanding work they've been used on since new on the X93/X94 corridor (don't forget the X94 boards spend most of their day running between Whitby and Scarborough - the part with probably the most demanding of the hills along the corridor) plus given they are only 5 years younger than 7609/10, they'll soon be too old for the P&R contract in any case, hence the reason for 7594/5 being earmarked for that if Arriva retain it. I understand from a source within Arriva, the B9s may already have a new home lined up under the original plans.

I also have been told why the new E400MMCs for Ashington are intended to replace 7541-52 - those have smaller fuel tanks than the newer examples, which means they have issues when being used on certain Morpeth Express boards as a result (not due to the fuel tank but Stockton once had something similar happening when 1512 was based at the depot as the Sapphire spare - it almost always ended up on the same board, which happened to be the first bus out of the depot and the last bus into the depot, and was known to be running on fumes when it got back in).

Interesting when you point these things out. Maybe shows there is more logic in their plans than we all know, and there are some necessities in the moves they're making which we aren't privy to the information on.

(24 Jan 2026, 10:18 am)Shrek wrote Interesting when you point these things out. Maybe shows there is more logic in their plans than we all know, and there are some necessities in the moves they're making which we aren't privy to the information on.

It's only an issue if the buses are actually meant to be on those routes though? The buses were purchased for the X21/X22 and there's been nothing else sent to Ashington, bar a whole load of Pulsar's which are not appropiate, to replace them off there.

Surely the discussion should be, we don't have enough deckers for the X14/X15/X18 and are having to take allocations off the X21/X22 which in turn means we are having overcrowding issues with saloons on peak runs? Therefore it's unreliable saloons leaving, especially the 4 which were traded for the E400MMC's which were sent to Whitby which arguably led to the shortages in the first place...

Will also be interesting over the years to see whether or not ADL will modify the E400MMC to include the new 7 speed Voith gearbox like the Wright Ultroliner.

Seen a video of one of GNE's examples, and looks very comfortable on the Washington Highway with plenty of steam left!

(24 Jan 2026, 11:53 am)Storx wrote It's only an issue if the buses are actually meant to be on those routes though? The buses were purchased for the X21/X22 and there's been nothing else sent to Ashington, bar a whole load of Pulsar's which are not appropiate, to replace them off there.

Surely the discussion should be, we don't have enough deckers for the X14/X15/X18 and are having to take allocations off the X21/X22 which in turn means we are having overcrowding issues with saloons on peak runs? Therefore it's unreliable saloons leaving, especially the 4 which were traded for the E400MMC's which were sent to Whitby which arguably led to the shortages in the first place...

Exactly. Purchased for the X21/22, and with new deckers arriving they definitely shouldn't be straying from there? From memory the Pulsars also can't do the mileage of a couple of the boards, yet they're happy to keep those (make that make sense). It's such a non-issue, that it screams someone has made a bad decision and they're desperate to try and cover their back. To show how irrelevant it is, check 7547 on 21 January, 7549 on 17 January, 7543 on 6 January - all three comfortably finished X18 midnights. I can't find any example over the past few weeks where a 17-plate has been swapped off an X18 midnight in the evening either - indicating both that they are trusted to finish them, and that the 72-plates are generally allocated anyway...

The situation at Ashington is increasingly bad. There were multiple hour long gaps in the X21, X22, and 35 today as two consecutive boards were dropped on each service - AGAIN. Clear that the supervisors aren't getting monitored as they should be by management, if I was that incompetent at my job I'd expect to be on a PIP or out of the door. They're back to using clapped out Pulsars on express work again, which is having the expected (to anyone with half a brain cell) consequences. 1512 failed on an X20 this morning, 1404 was hauled off an X18 on Saturday and failed twice today on the 35, 1462 made it to Longframlington and back today before failing (after earlier failing on an X21). They're completely inappropriate for the work they're being used on, and nothing is being done to remedy the situation. 

I can almost see the press release now. They'll reduce frequencies citing lower passenger numbers, entirely because they aren't running half of the services, and the death spiral will continue - rather than seeing if passenger numbers return to where they were when they actually had functional vehicles. They seem to have no appreciation that franchising could, and should, wipe every single one of them out of a job - along with GNE it would be a disgrace if they held onto the current monopoly that they have if they don't quickly make improvements. 

People were very vocal on here in recent months when engineering staff were replaced, it is interesting how silent they now are given the situation is getting significantly worse on a daily basis. New engineering manager clearly doesn't know what he is doing, local management clearly have no contingency plan, and once again the 'armchair experts' on here were correct in their criticism.

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(24 Jan 2026, 10:18 am)Shrek wrote Interesting when you point these things out. Maybe shows there is more logic in their plans than we all know, and there are some necessities in the moves they're making which we aren't privy to the information on.

It would be interesting if it was having literally any impact on operations. By the time they'd be anywhere close to being out of fuel, which from memory was close to the end of a double Berwick X15 board, it was always far enough into the evening that buses were readily available at Morpeth or Alnwick to swap onto them. I'd also point out here that the Volvo Olympians that worked the Alnwick routes for years had the same 'issue' - maybe operational staff were less lazy back then... 

Realistically they should be allocated to the X21/22 anyway, as pointed out by Storx, so it's a complete non-issue. 

Truthfully I don't think they've got a clue what they're doing, as if this was such a huge problem why has it not been addressed at any point since they were new 9 years ago? They're past the halfway point in their life now, they should be settling onto less demanding work (like the X21/22...) anyway with new stock being delivered.

(10 hours ago)PH - BQA wrote Exactly. Purchased for the X21/22, and with new deckers arriving they definitely shouldn't be straying from there? From memory the Pulsars also can't do the mileage of a couple of the boards, yet they're happy to keep those (make that make sense). It's such a non-issue, that it screams someone has made a bad decision and they're desperate to try and cover their back. To show how irrelevant it is, check 7547 on 21 January, 7549 on 17 January, 7543 on 6 January - all three comfortably finished X18 midnights. I can't find any example over the past few weeks where a 17-plate has been swapped off an X18 midnight in the evening either - indicating both that they are trusted to finish them, and that the 72-plates are generally allocated anyway...

The situation at Ashington is increasingly bad. There were multiple hour long gaps in the X21, X22, and 35 today as two consecutive boards were dropped on each service - AGAIN. Clear that the supervisors aren't getting monitored as they should be by management, if I was that incompetent at my job I'd expect to be on a PIP or out of the door. They're back to using clapped out Pulsars on express work again, which is having the expected (to anyone with half a brain cell) consequences. 1512 failed on an X20 this morning, 1404 was hauled off an X18 on Saturday and failed twice today on the 35, 1462 made it to Longframlington and back today before failing (after earlier failing on an X21). They're completely inappropriate for the work they're being used on, and nothing is being done to remedy the situation. 

I can almost see the press release now. They'll reduce frequencies citing lower passenger numbers, entirely because they aren't running half of the services, and the death spiral will continue - rather than seeing if passenger numbers return to where they were when they actually had functional vehicles. They seem to have no appreciation that franchising could, and should, wipe every single one of them out of a job - along with GNE it would be a disgrace if they held onto the current monopoly that they have if they don't quickly make improvements. 

People were very vocal on here in recent months when engineering staff were replaced, it is interesting how silent they now are given the situation is getting significantly worse on a daily basis. New engineering manager clearly doesn't know what he is doing, local management clearly have no contingency plan, and once again the 'armchair experts' on here were correct in their criticism.

Aye it's a complete mess isn't it?

Seems like Blyth is now heading down a similar path with breakdowns and cancellations so whatever they're doing isn't working. Believe Blyth has the scope for 9 vehicles VOR before things hit the fan and according to Bus Times, usual caveats, they were 10 down for most of the day and there's noticeable gaps on the 306/308.

Must admit I can see the X21/X22 frequency reduction coming mind and that's the true reasons for the rumoured 35/X21 split, very defeatest, but with Bedlington Station opening soon I can see the X21 taking a right clattering because anyone sane needing to go to town around there ain't going to be using the bus which 'might' turn up. It's arguably the most central station on the line in terms of housing aswell. 

It'd be an idiotic decision mind, because the train will have it's own issues, but it's realistically the only route which can be cut.