(02 Feb 2014, 10:06 am)tyresmoke wrote Well as its a quiet Sunday morning I thought I would round up our orders for this year... Most of these have been mentioned and/or hinted at on various Facebook groups already.

10 VDL Pulsar - Stockton -Service 5/5A (Sapphire spec)
14 VDL Pulsar - Redcar/Whitby - Service X3/X4/4 (Sapphire spec)
8 VDL Pulsar - Jesmond - Service 306
5 VDL Pulsar - Darlington - Service 1/5 (may go to Durham svc 23)
6 ADL Enviro 400 - Ashington - Service X21/X22 (Sapphire spec)
6 unknown double deck -Ashington/Alnwick -Service X18

Total 49

This should enable us to bin what's left of the Prestiges and make a good start on the Darts too, especially with so many Solos freed up by cascades.
X21/X22 Sapphire will be also getting 8 E400 refurbished, likely to be 7514-21

E400's? The only reason Arriva are probably getting them is because they've got them on the cheap after 7510's going up in flames! Arriva should've made the most of the last year of Euro 5 and put an order in for some Volvo B9TL Gemini 2's with 310bhp. They're far better than them rubbish turbocharged E400's and are pure workhorses! Out of the 34 that GNE had in service before they ordered a further 34, there's only been a few minor problems on the TTX batch and only one has had to be sent for a warranty repair. Arriva should've ordered 37 for the X10, X11, X15, X18, X21 and X22.