(13 Jun 2022, 7:41 pm)Unber43 wrote Wait are the 47 being upgraded to Streetdecks?I doubt it unless GNE are wanting to dilute the 'XLines' brand? Would most likely be B5TLs off the X21 with 8x StreetDecks (+ 1x 67 plate) going the other way. That would keep all the XLines decker routes 69 plate or newer with passengers on the X21 also getting a few 'extras' thrown in too.
Now the next bit I'm putting across from a commercial point of view and not an enthusiasts (i.e engines, reliability etc).
Depending on interworking patterns, if the X30/X31 are standalone with the evening & Sunday X30/X72 taken care off by Riverside (unless there's something else that could interwork with the evening & Sunday 6 & 12), StreetDecks would be the best option for the X45/X71/X72 if the 16B/47/X5/X45 are interworked on evenings & Sundays due to their commercially sensitive nature (with a small number of E400MMC thrown in to allow planned downtime). That would then see 9x E400MMC going on the X21 (with B5TLs for the 47) with 5x E400MMC remaining at Consett (3x for X30/X31 & 2x spare).
The big point is that StreetDecks would be better suited to more commercially sensitive work (Sunday 16B, X5 etc) and are more fuel efficient in most cases. Likewise, StreetLites would be far more appropriate capacity and efficiency wise for the evening & Sunday X30/X72.