(11 Sep 2023, 5:50 pm)L469 YVK wrote The demo that Arriva trialled at Ashington was a 4-Cylinder example as the 6-Cylinder (6377) wasn't available until around COVID.

To be honest, Blyth's work would cope fine with a StreetDeck and likewise.....they'd more likely get a good deal throwing in some 6-Cylinder examples for the X93/X94 in addition to an order for Blyth.

Why would they buy an oddball batch of StreetDecks when they are standardising on E400 MMCs? They have engineering experience with the E400, it's far more common across the country so parts availability will likely be better down the line, and they're more than capable on any work thrown at them. They'd also probably get a good deal from ADL given they generally buy as part of a national order?

The 6-cylinder variant hasn't been ordered by anyone other than GNE AFAIK? Why would they back themselves into a corner by ordering a unique batch for the X93/94, when they could just buy some MMCs which have shown themselves as capable of handling the route?

They trialled the StreetDeck, and as reported earlier found it to be poor with regard to build quality. If you look at the reports recently about the Angel batch, you'd say that judgement is probably correct.