(25 Aug 2017, 9:52 pm)omnicity4659 wrote Top speed is 50mph, and as StreetLites can't keep to time on any of the expresses its been decided its useless!
Wonder what the hell was going through the heads of whoever sent it to Ashington in the first place at this point! Assuming someone at Ashington depot piped up and told someone that trialling it on the Alnwick expresses would be a completely pointless task if it was limited to 50?
They are going to be seriously hard pressed in a couple of years when it comes to replacing 7412-6, 4653/9, and probably 7511-3 (Including 7511-13 in that because, while only 9 years old, they've had a rough 9 years). One double deck on the market has already been ruled out, currently it seems pigs will fly before Arriva buy anything with a Volvo chassis (even though B8RLEs are probably the best option to replace 4653/9) and Streetlites/E200MMCs aren't capable. That leaves E400 MMCs, and the ones on the X21/22 don't strike me with an awful lot of confidence.
(25 Aug 2017, 10:10 pm)L469 YVK wrote Don't want to go off topic too much here but it's a bit of a sad way that Wrightbus and the bus industry has gone in general. Yes there is some big demand for lightweight and fuel efficient vehicles and these should be ordered where suited and are suitable for a good few routes. But, looking at the double decker markets, there are only 3x options for more heavy duty work or intense interurban work now:
- ADL E400MMC with ZF (meaning competitors subsidising Stagecoach not that Arriva seem to mind as such lately but might change)
- Scania ADL E400MMC with ZF (good but too heavy duty)
- Ensignbus BCI Excellence (looks good but unproven)
Wrightbus should consider offering the Streetdeck and Streetlites with bigger engines (Cummins 6.7?) and gearbox options that are approproately setup as required.
I'm a bit baffled as to why Arriva moved to Voith gearboxes in the MMCs for the X21/22. When they get to speed they seem quite happy to sit there, but it takes far too long to get there! It seems strange to move away from a set up that was working very well in 7522-33, which all perform brilliantly on express services.