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Two more Geminis in for repaint/retrim are 4479 & 4653. Another trident is 4391

1534 hasn't had a refurb, last time i went on it half the seats were hanging off.

Not very likely. I don't think any bus would get anywhere near getting into service like that

http://simplybusphotos.com/gallery2/displayimage.php?album=1643&pid=47144#top_display_media

This was one of the buses apparently A line but the same one as in coventry cos I thought it was a different company associated with thandi.

That A Line had nothing to do with the Coventry one. Please be careful when posting things like this that are incorrect.

I read that too-I think Rotala are trying to rationalise-just think if they ditched some of Diamond's less lucrative routes-ie redditch ones and some contracts and kept 002, 16, 007, 56, 301, 404, 50 etc then even if turnover was lower then the profit margins would be higher. This is what I think they are trying to do tbf.

From what I know I doubt the 56 & 301 make much money. I suspect a lot of Rotala's profits come from their coaches and Bristol, where competeing with first who charge much higher fares than NXWM gives more scope for profits.

Tony

30217 passes euro 3 emissions doesn't it?

Maybe, maybe not. NXWMs Y reg tridents were some of the first euro3 buses in the country so another Y reg could easily not be.

Tony

Is Lea Hall reopening and AG closing as I understand this rumour is going around?

Who makes up this crap!

n train ticket? can u use that in cannock?

Yes, Zone 5 on nTrain includes Rugeley Trent Valley; nNetwork is only valid to Bloxwich North.
It costs me £112 per year to extend my nNetwork to Hednesford but my daughters nTrain is valid.

I know different to the subject title but 170631 was working the snow hill lines today heading to worcester shrub hill thought it was unusual to see a class 170 in service on the snow hill lines on what is a bank holiday services and have enough class 172 which could be used

MF it's booked 170/6+153 in the afternoon for some diagrams using Worcester crew iirc.reason being is Snow Hill/Stourbridge Junction guards/drivers ain't trained on 170s. Bank holidays it's a normal timetables service bearing in mind any RR (except they don't send a 153 with the /6.

There are several diagrams that use 170s out of Snow Hill, stand on Snow hill in the morning peak and you will see 3 so I am pretty sure they are not all Worcester Crews as they also go towards Tyseley.

On Saturday there was a 172/153 combo as well

There is a morning 170/5 diagram too that I believe is combined with a 153 (3 car total) and the afternoon peak 170/6+153 (4 car total). As I said Snow Hill/Stourbridge Junction drivers/guards are not trained on the 170s from what I've been told by Snow Hill line traincrews. This has been confirmed to me by a Senior Conductor Trainer.

When I have been ticket checking on the tram at Snow Hill there has been a 4 car (2x170/5) come in from the Moor Street Direction each day as well

yep pay a higher fare before 930 am and  cant even get a seat no thanks!!

As I said above there is no train you cannot get a seat on from Bloxwich or any station north thereof when the service is running OK. Most people paying a return fare of between £3 & £4 as they are nearly all on weekly or longer tickets. Anybody making two peak journies a week will find it cheaper to buy a monthly nTrain ticket.

Even on the odd occasions I have had to stand 40 minutes on a train is far better than standing for over an hour on a bus!

The people who do stand on the trains from Rugeley are those getting on at Walsall or Tame Bridge who have the option of the trains that start at Walsall which are never full and standing and only take 5 minutes longer despoite all the stops

Wish they had more 4 cars in the morning peak time services by the time they reach Tame Bridge being the 7:43 and i think 8:17 or 8:19 are rammed full but if there is a 153 class attached i aim for that as there's normally more room on them sometimes if theres a train fault a 2 car 170 turns up and its awful but its only a 12 minutes journey into New street from Tame Bridge so not too bad

The 0817 at Tame Bridge is the 4 car! You also have the 4 car 350s on 3 journies from Tame Bridge, oh to have the luxury of one of those up to Hednesford! One day the D(a)fT might realise people commute into other cities than London and finally agree for wires between Walsall & Rugeley. At least we are getting new signalling at last so more than 4 trains an hour can use the line.

Hit the nail on the head the train is more reliable from cannock to brum just like kidderminister to birmingham traffic problems have killed off the road option it might be after september it may be bye bye to the X31 again I live in Bloxwich and I must admit the old 951 etc was good but I now rather travel into Walsall (301/302 run very frequent) then X51.  Just makes more sense to me.  The train from Bloxwich to Brum is good but always packed (the bus I can get a seat) the Chase Line needs longer trains or more frequent stopping service through Bloxwich but there is a problem with various issues if any of the train experts could help as there are never more than 3 carriages on the train, platforms i know are one at some stations.

To be fair to London Midland they do have the current capacity of the trains about right. There is one two car out all day, the rest are 3 cars, and in the peak a 4 car does two trips in the morning (0752 & 0954 from Hednesford) and two in the afternoon (1539 & 1742 from New Street). You will get a seat at Bloxwich on any train on a normal day. The only one that struggles is the evening peak trip the two car does (1639 from New Street) which normally leaves with about 20-30 standing

[ME]

These are unusual workings to ME:

4375, 4381 & 4387  - working the 6 (Solihull - Birmingham)
4068 - Working S1
4672 - Parked up at Digbeth Coach Stn (AG Branded 11A)
4367 - Working 16 - rare appearance as there normally Tridents/Gemini's
4247 - re-painted, which was also working 94
1404 - Working 65
4726 - working 65
5505 - Now a talking bus which was working 22
4105 - working 900/900E
4119 - Working 900/900E
1817, 1747, 1806 - Working 97/97A
4120 - Working 14
241 - Driver training in Coventry
1842 - Working the 900E spotted while at Birmingham Airport

Coventry Workings;
4397 - working 21
4319 - working 42 normally B6LE operated

Nathan,

Are you sure on some of those fleetnumbers?

4367 on the 16, that's a YW Trident
1747 on the 97/97A, there is no such fleetnumber
1842 on the 900E, that's a PB Omnilink, can't imagine BC would need to loan any single deckers, as they seem to have excess at the mo with all the various sightings

1842 was at Birmingham Intl Airport Displaying 900E

1842 hasn't got 900E programmed in for it to display

It's taking place in January 2013 now, as Tony confirmed in another message. Also, the 146 is just 1 bus per hour so it would be fine, as if it's greater than 2 buses per hour, the rule applies.

No its not, that's only the minimum emission rules! All vehicles from 22nd July will need to be low floor & DDA complaint i.e. wheelchair accessible with fold out ramps etc. All vehicles from Jan 2013 entering the City Centre will also need to meet the min Euro 3 emission standards.

Thinking about the above that will still exclude the majority of WB Mercs from entering the City Centre zone, 1628 & above will be fine. Also still non compliant are the B6LE's at BC for the 636. Tony has already confirmed on WMbus that the current X62 & 636 will be re-numbered to the 98 / 99 & both run the same line of route to the QE to provide a 10 min frequency, at the same time vehicle allocations could well change

No-one has ever mentioned pull out ramps. I did specify in another thread that they must have ramps, but the ramps carried on NXWM Mercs, B6s & B10Ls all are OK

Tony, you did state manual ramps on your WMbus post. I was however under the impression that the yellow fold up ramps behind the drivers on the above vehicles still didn't comply with the latest DDA reg's and that they have to be a minimum of the manually operated fixed plate ramps within the entrance doors? Or is that the reg that doesn't come in to operation until 2017?

I specifically asked the question about manual ramps at the presentation I was at last week, because of the 636 route and was told B6s are OK until January including the use of manual ramps.

Presumably the GRS darts and a few other odds & sods will be OK until January as well

It's taking place in January 2013 now, as Tony confirmed in another message. Also, the 146 is just 1 bus per hour so it would be fine, as if it's greater than 2 buses per hour, the rule applies.

No its not, that's only the minimum emission rules! All vehicles from 22nd July will need to be low floor & DDA complaint i.e. wheelchair accessible with fold out ramps etc. All vehicles from Jan 2013 entering the City Centre will also need to meet the min Euro 3 emission standards.

Thinking about the above that will still exclude the majority of WB Mercs from entering the City Centre zone, 1628 & above will be fine. Also still non compliant are the B6LE's at BC for the 636. Tony has already confirmed on WMbus that the current X62 & 636 will be re-numbered to the 98 / 99 & both run the same line of route to the QE to provide a 10 min frequency, at the same time vehicle allocations could well change

No-one has ever mentioned pull out ramps. I did specify in another thread that they must have ramps, but the ramps carried on NXWM Mercs, B6s & B10Ls all are OK

I know First Manchesters buses are in an awful state. Im suprised Stagecoach have dirty buses. In gloucestershire rthey are virtually spotless

I don't know whether you have noticed, but dirt depends on the weather! On a wet day in winter when salt has been put down every bus in the country will be dirty within one hour!