'SightSeeker' Enviro400 7504 (NK57 DYA) is currently at Thornton's - the exact reason is as yet unknown.
Due to electrical problems during the fitting of the tachographs to the B7TLs destined for use on the 93/X93, 7486/7 are now in use at Ashington and will be rotated with fellow Redcar-bound examples to iron out the problems prior to the start of the Summer timetable on the X93 on Sunday 24th May. As such, Redcar are now using 'Coast & Castle Connection' Enviro400 7508 (NK57 GXA) and unbranded 7511 (NK57 GXD).
(06/04/2014 16:16)kuyoyo Wrote: [ -> ]7458 (T313 FGN) is currently in the paintshop being repainted. A further recent repaint is withdrawn MPD 1711 which will be part of the refurbishment pool for the summer when refurbishments are taking place, which brings me to this......
Introducing... Arriva Max
Max will be the new Arriva brand for express services, to be launched later in 2014. It will offer an upgraded specification for interurban services with free wi-fi and e-leather seating, so one step down from the "Sapphire" services but still upgraded. The North East will be the first to launch this in the UK group.
Services to be included in 2014 are:
- X10/X11 from Ashington... Refurbished VDL Gemini
- X14 from Ashington... Refurbished ADL Enviro 400
- X15 from Ashington... Refurbished coaches (believed to be transfers from GreenLine, those 55 plate Van Hools for example are heavily rumoured)
- X18 from Ashington... 6 new ADL Enviro 400
- X26/X27 from Darlington... Refurbished Scania Omnicity
- X66 from Darlington... Refurbished Scania Omnicity
Further Max services are expected to be announced for 2015.
Arriva are certainly expanding their Sapphire branding now. I wonder whether they have drawn some inspiration from First going Hell for Leather on their new buses?
These changes will mean an upgrade of routes X26/27 from Solo. I hope these refurbished OmniCities are in service by the August Bank Holiday!
(12/04/2014 18:52)Metroline1511 Wrote: [ -> ]Arriva are certainly expanding their Sapphire branding now. I wonder whether they have drawn some inspiration from First going Hell for Leather on their new buses?
These changes will mean an upgrade of routes X26/27 from Solo. I hope these refurbished OmniCities are in service by the August Bank Holiday!
They won't be - the OmniCitys for the Darlington MAX are currently those based at Stockton (4652/4/8/9) which won't be released for refurbishment until early September once the last of the 'Sapphire' Streetlites arrive.
As for e-leather seats, I'm lead to understand all new vehicles for Arriva this year - regards of whether they are in 'Sapphire' livery, Arriva livery or MAX livery - will have e-leather seats and WiFi as standard.
(12/04/2014 20:34)kuyoyo Wrote: [ -> ]They won't be - the OmniCitys for the Darlington MAX are currently those based at Stockton (4652/4/8/9) which won't be released for refurbishment until early September once the last of the 'Sapphire' Streetlites arrive.
As for e-leather seats, I'm lead to understand all new vehicles for Arriva this year - regards of whether they are in 'Sapphire' livery, Arriva livery or MAX livery - will have e-leather seats and WiFi as standard.
Thanks for preparing me Kuyoyo. I can add it to my list for my following North East visit instead.
By the way, it occurs to me that with few if any Pulsars still on order for Arriva anywhere in the country, the Sapphire Pulsars on route 7 will remain a distinctive operation.
(11/04/2014 22:00)kuyoyo Wrote: [ -> ]'SightSeeker' Enviro400 7504 (NK57 DYA) is currently at Thornton's - the exact reason is as yet unknown.
Due to electrical problems during the fitting of the tachographs to the B7TLs destined for use on the 93/X93, 7486/7 are now in use at Ashington and will be rotated with fellow Redcar-bound examples to iron out the problems prior to the start of the Summer timetable on the X93 on Sunday 24th May. As such, Redcar are now using 'Coast & Castle Connection' Enviro400 7508 (NK57 GXA) and unbranded 7511 (NK57 GXD).
Should have posted this earlier, but Sightseeker 7503 (NK57 DXZ) has also been back up north - at Smiles, Brunswick. I noted it there on March 5 and it was still there on March 30.
(15/04/2014 22:37)N391OTY Wrote: [ -> ]Should have posted this earlier, but Sightseeker 7503 (NK57 DXZ) has also been back up north - at Smiles, Brunswick. I noted it there on March 5 and it was still there on March 30.
That one had been reported to me as being in the Leeds area for major Engineering work.
New details have emerged regarding why 7504 is at Thorntons - the batch being refurbished for the 'Sapphire' upgrade of the X21/X22 are 7501-8 not 7514-21 as originally thought.
(15/04/2014 23:09)kuyoyo Wrote: [ -> ]That one had been reported to me as being in the Leeds area for major Engineering work.
New details have emerged regarding why 7504 is at Thorntons - the batch being refurbished for the 'Sapphire' upgrade of the X21/X22 are 7501-8 not 7514-21 as originally thought.
Having visited today, I can confirm that 7503 is still at Smiles, Brunswick awaiting its turn inside the workshop. Keeping it company are Solo 2811 (YK08 ETD) and Temsa 4720 (YJ10 DFX) as well as Northern 4846 and a varied selection of Stagecoach vehicles from all over the country - no North East ones though!
Arriva Fleet Movements 18th April 2014
1309/1739: Redcar to Darlington (officially temporary move until H1/H2 finishes, in reality these will remain at Redcar and instead 1711 and (we believe) 1302 are the replacements)
2827/8: Darlington to Whitby
7367: Ashington to disposal
7469: Jesmond to Reserve (due to move to Durham in May)
7484-9: Reserve to Whitby
7490/2/4: Reserve to Ashington
7501-4: Whitby to Under Repair (Sapphire Refurbishment)
7505-8: Ashington to Under Repair (Sapphire Refurbishment)
7512/3: Whitby to Ashington
Jesmond's 7445 and 7446 have both been repainted and are now on the road in standard Arriva livery.
Solos 2811, 2821 and 2841 were all receiving attention at Smiles, Brunswick earlier this week.
New fleet moves effective this weekend:
1766: Darlington to Durham (PVR reduction at Darlington, move ahead of June's minibus PVR increased at Durham requiring a Euro3 Dart)
7469: Northern Reserve to Durham (PVR increase at Durham, extra vehicle added to 6)
In addition, 1737/43/4044 are now officially reactivated at Redcar.
New refurbishment details:
4643-51/5-7 are the examples set to be done as part of the 'MAX' upgrade to services X26/X27/X66. 4660-4 are to be treated to a standard refurbishment (new seat covers etc) for service 85/685 with the leather seats in 4660-2/4 replaced by standard cloth trim. 4652-4/8/9 are currently marked as not for refurbishment however it's likely they will be repainted and refurbished to normal standard for Stockton, who will be using them on the 21a (Middlesbrough-Peterlee).