(15 Jan 2017, 12:37 pm)L469 YVK wrote Not being biased at all here BTW even though it's one of the routes that I use often.

Surely GNE would want the 'binge drinking' (although very lovely indeed) B9s removed from the Cobalt Clippers where the 310 barely goes above 30MPH barring between Station Road and Benfield Road as well as the fact that the Cobalt Clipper (alongside Fab 56) were in the pipeline to get GKN modifications completed to save fuel. Surely GNE wouldn't have considered trying it out if the B9s weren't too heavy on the fuel.

As well as that, there are hardly any hills or challenging parts on either the 309 / 310 and with the fuel savings incurred using Streetdecks, GNE could increase the PVR by an extra vehicle if they needed to by either giving the 310 a long layover in Shields or splitting both routes and only have them interworking during some of the peak times and on Sunday daytime.

If the Cobalt Clippers were upgraded:
* 6101(T); 6102; 6103 could then act as spares alongside 6084(T) at Riverside / Hexham for the TEN and in the case of 6101, the TTX.
* 6104; 6105; 6106 could then make up the PVR shortfall on the TEN to have a full allocation of 16x B9TLs.
* 6107 - 6116 including 6117 as a spare could then transfer to Stanley for the 6/X70/X71

The option would also be there to reinstate a half hourly service between Blackhall Mill and Greenside with 6103 being used to increase the PVR to 17 still meaning that Hexham would have 1x B9 spare for 7x vehicles (including the bus that gets used on layover) as well as Riverside having 6102 as spare for 9x vehicles as well as 6101(T) also helping out should it not be needed on the TTX.