(11 Feb 2015, 5:12 pm)Jimmi wrote I don't think the X21 needs a large amount of power, I know it goes down the A1(M) and fast parts of the A167 but I think Enviros would possibly be fine.
Although the Wright demonstrator it had last year was a little slow down the A167 between Cock O' the North and Croxdale when I rode it. Some will say that it often fell behind the timetable on the X21 and Toonlink services but I don't think these delays were all down to being underpowered I think part of the problem was that it was carrying the Lothian colours which would have been confusing people along with the unusual destination screens so some people had difficulty in finding if it was on their service and which operator the bus was with.
Think about it long term though, any of the existing B9s in GNE's fleet would happily get hammered between Bishop and Newcastle for 7 years with no major issues bar common electrical faults often found on Wrightbus bodies. On the ither hand, an Enviro 400 would start suffering from various mechanical problems after 3-4 years and passengers wouod then endure 3 years of suffering from an unreliable service. It would be a TTX B7 (2009 - 2012) da ja vu all over again and I know that 6043 - 6048 haven't been perfect but they've pretty much done the job.