Alexander Dennis secures £100m National Express order

[Trident 4609]

I wonder if the first batch of E200's that arrive are allocated to WA like it was said at our garage tour? I cold also now see the £3 million investment at WB being further E200's. (Just my thoughts :))

With 100 buses due this year which buses do you think will be withdrawn this year?

I can see PE and WN getting rid of their mercs this year. I have been told if the cascade process goes to plan WN are looking at replacing their mercs with cascaded tridents so:

My thoughts are new E400's new for BC (Wasn't it stated the first deliveries will be June at the earliest?) then tridents cascaded to WN to replace the mercs. I could also see PE gaining some more cascaded tridnts to join the ones already there

[the trainbasher]

Personally I'd give Pensnett cascaded Coventry tridents (Coventry getting some enviros for the 11/12.

[Wolves256]

A few observations from the Central TV clips

1,The bus on video also has bonded glazing, NXWM normally chooses gasket glazing (as per current E200s)
2,In the video Peter Coates also states small and medium single deckers are included in the order
3,550 new buses to the West Midlands (so I assume 50 for NXD)

In addition we still need understand if an order was placed with another manufacture to make up the 274 vehicles promised for Centro

[winston]

A few observations from the Central TV clips

1,The bus on video also has bonded glazing, NXWM normally chooses gasket glazing (as per current E200s)
2,In the video Peter Coates also states small and medium single deckers are included in the order
3,550 new buses to the West Midlands (so I assume 50 for NXD)

In addition we still need understand if an order was placed with another manufacture to make up the 274 vehicles promised for Centro

It was quoted in the video that 100 new buses are due during 2014 & a further 175 due during 2015. But those quantities only cover the Centro commitment what about Dundee?

Wolves256, well spotted on the bonded glazing, never clocked that one myself!

http://www.falkirkherald.co.uk/news/local-news/100m-bus-deal-for-camelon-company-1-3347931
http://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/alexander-dennis-lands-100m-national-express-eco-bus-contract/

Just to reiterate, ADL will be the sole supplier of new buses to NX group for the next 5 years.

[Wolves256]

Winston

The numbers are not adding up as yesterday's announcement on BBC sated 100 this year and 125 next year (no split between NXWM & NXD)

Tony maybe you could clarify:-

How many will be delivered per year?
Is the Centro commitment still valid?

[Liverpool Street]

If the clips on central news just are new, there are already enviro 200's on the production line with at least 1 painted.

http://www.itv.com/news/central/update/2014-03-20/state-of-art-buses-on-the-way-for-the-west-midlands/

Have you noticed that the E200 in the background has yellow handrails, NX's current interior spec is orange, could one have been painted in NX colours just for the benefit of the ADL order announcement?

Orange? The current interior spec is red handrails.

Also have you noticed the different type of seats compared to the ones we usually have ie. The tridents (In blue) and the previous E200's (In grey).

http://www.itv.com/news/central/story/2014-03-20/100m-deal-for-550-new-buses-in-the-west-midlands/#new-west-midlands-buses-of-the-road-by-end-of-year_339602. (bottom photo)

I disagree that they are red, but can't be bothered to argue.

Put it another way, there certainly not yellow.

Thought they were off-pink/red?

Anyway, the mirrors are different to NX spec; The whole bus is well off NX spec! Look at where the destination is on the nearside. It's obviously a PR bus.

[winston]

If the clips on central news just are new, there are already enviro 200's on the production line with at least 1 painted.

http://www.itv.com/news/central/update/2014-03-20/state-of-art-buses-on-the-way-for-the-west-midlands/

Have you noticed that the E200 in the background has yellow handrails, NX's current interior spec is orange, could one have been painted in NX colours just for the benefit of the ADL order announcement?

Orange? The current interior spec is red handrails.

Also have you noticed the different type of seats compared to the ones we usually have ie. The tridents (In blue) and the previous E200's (In grey).

http://www.itv.com/news/central/story/2014-03-20/100m-deal-for-550-new-buses-in-the-west-midlands/#new-west-midlands-buses-of-the-road-by-end-of-year_339602. (bottom photo)

I disagree that they are red, but can't be bothered to argue.

Put it another way, there certainly not yellow.

Thought they were off-pink/red?

Anyway, the mirrors are different to NX spec; The whole bus is well off NX spec! Look at where the destination is on the nearside. It's obviously a PR bus.

LS,

Here's a clip of 4916 from Youtube with the NX interior, in the opening seconds it shows the handrails and they look distinctly more orange than red to me

[Rainman13]

From reply 39
With the link
The second to last picture if u scroll down
It's a (SWB) shirt wheel base, just like the 3600's
Possibly in the 1ST batch of new buses
Possibly to west brom (WB) and perry Barr (PB)
To withdraw the last of the 500,600& 3600's

[Liverpool Street]

If the clips on central news just are new, there are already enviro 200's on the production line with at least 1 painted.

http://www.itv.com/news/central/update/2014-03-20/state-of-art-buses-on-the-way-for-the-west-midlands/

Have you noticed that the E200 in the background has yellow handrails, NX's current interior spec is orange, could one have been painted in NX colours just for the benefit of the ADL order announcement?

Orange? The current interior spec is red handrails.

Also have you noticed the different type of seats compared to the ones we usually have ie. The tridents (In blue) and the previous E200's (In grey).

http://www.itv.com/news/central/story/2014-03-20/100m-deal-for-550-new-buses-in-the-west-midlands/#new-west-midlands-buses-of-the-road-by-end-of-year_339602. (bottom photo)

I disagree that they are red, but can't be bothered to argue.

Put it another way, there certainly not yellow.

Thought they were off-pink/red?

Anyway, the mirrors are different to NX spec; The whole bus is well off NX spec! Look at where the destination is on the nearside. It's obviously a PR bus.

LS,

Here's a clip of 4916 from Youtube with the NX interior, in the opening seconds it shows the handrails and they look distinctly more orange than red to me

Hm... odd. I'll have a look on a E400 tomorrow and get back to you. You've got me wondering now! Saying that, that's if I recall to do it  or herein lack of!

From reply 39
With the link
The second to last picture if u scroll down
It's a (SWB) shirt wheel base, just like the 3600's
Possibly in the 1ST batch of new buses
Possibly to west brom (WB) and perry Barr (PB)
To withdraw the last of the 500,600& 3600's

Indeed it is a SWB. Doesn't get away from the fact that NXWM specifically asks for the destination to be on the upper first nearside window, and the nearside mirror to be on an arm in front of the bus, so the mirror is in the wiper swoop. And yellow mirrors as like in 80x series. For the serious SWB design, take a window or 2 from out of an in-service E20D. And it has bonded windows, a big no no for NX.

[trident4370]

I always thought they were red  ::)

[tank90]

"The Alexander Dennis site in Falkirk, where 900 staff are employed, will deliver 50% of the contract with the manufacture of double-deck buses, with the remaining half handled at its facility in Scarborough. The Yorkshire site will manufacture midi buses." - See more at: http://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/alexander-dennis-lands-100m-national-express-eco-bus-contract/#sthash.l7kdTVkV.dpuf

So reading that means there are to be 300 Doubles and 300 medium to midi buses for NX. Seems odd when I would have split it 450 DDs and 150 medium - midi.

[Trident 4609]

I always thought they were red  ::)

To me at least it looks like a bright vivid shade of red ;) Anyway also the moquette inside the E200 shown in the clip is not the black dotted moquette either so as said by others most likely painted as a PR bus. I would assume NX would stick with the long wheelbase E200's like the current batch we have (801-830)?

[karl724223]

Just on Alexandra Dennis factory with a brand new enviro 200 in nat ex red livery no fleet number

[trident4370]

I always thought they were red  ::)

To me at least it looks like a bright vivid shade of red ;) Anyway also the moquette inside is not the black dotted moquette either so as said by others most likely painted as a PR bus. I would assume NX would stick with the long wheelbase E200's like they have now?

Same here, its a very in your face red to me... and yeah I just saw it, also looked like it had bonded glazing, tbh to me it looked like dealer stock.

[winston]

"The Alexander Dennis site in Falkirk, where 900 staff are employed, will deliver 50% of the contract with the manufacture of double-deck buses, with the remaining half handled at its facility in Scarborough. The Yorkshire site will manufacture midi buses." - See more at: http://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/alexander-dennis-lands-100m-national-express-eco-bus-contract/#sthash.l7kdTVkV.dpuf

So reading that means there are to be 300 Doubles and 300 medium to midi buses for NX. Seems odd when I would have split it 450 DDs and 150 medium - midi.

Another thing that doesn't quite stack up from the split of vehicle types, is that NX has been moving away from midi buses in favour of full size single deckers & double deckers. At present NXWM only have 76 midi buses which includes Solo's, B6LE & Darts. 30 of the 76 are not much over 1 year old E200's, so why do NX need that many new midi buses?

Also if E300's are due as part of this order, they are build at Falkirk