Monday,
August 2nd 2004 dawned somewhat overcast but the sun soon burnt through and
all was set for the launch of the long awaited entry into service of a brand
new fleet of Neoplan Skyliner double deck coaches representing an investment
by The Stagecoach Group of £8 million.
Early
stories of these new coaches had been around for many months and trials were
made in January of this year with a loaned 13.7 metre example on a wet and
cold evening when photography was far from easy.
Neoplan Skyliner DD53BUZ
rounds Carfax corner at 1915hrs on 15th January 2004
These
trials were watched with interest and one wondered what would happen next.
In April
it was rumoured amongst the enthusiasts that a fleet of these very large
coaches had been ordered but still Stagecoach remained tight lipped about
their plans. Later that month your Editor heard that the Neoplan factory at
Stuttgart in Germany was busy with a large order for Stagecoach and quite by
chance in May, I happened to be in Stuttgart on business and passed by the
factory.
Indeed
there were several coaches in build for Stagecoach and one was even parked
outside the factory and a photo was taken. I felt it inappropriate to
include this on my weekly News Page and it was not until mid June that I
recieved some photos from Stagecoach which could be published on my page.
These pictures were of further trials at Gloucester Green with the first
eamples of the new coaches to reach the UK.
Various
stories then emanated from the industry in Oxford about the suitability of
the coaches in Gloucester Green but by late July all problems had been
resolved and it would be possible to start services on Monday August 2nd.
Some
adjustments had to made to services and stands in Gloucester Green and
Bicester routes were transferred to pick up from their stop outside the
Randolph Hotel from Monday 2nd. This released stands 2,3 and 4 for use by
the new Skyliners although in fact there only two stands out of three to
give more room for loading and reversing. Set down in Oxford at the final
stop is now in New Road and the coaches then proceed to Oxpens for their
layover before returning to Gloucester Green for the start of their London
bound service.
Stagecoach
made the following Press Release regarding the new operation which is
included below for the record.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All
systems go for new £8m luxury coach fleet
28 July
2004
-
Oxford Tube makes UK’s biggest investment in a single route
-
State-of-the-art vehicles major boost for disabled passengers
-
Online booking with launch of new secure e-commerce website
A
new £8million fleet of luxury state-of-the-art double-decker coaches is set
to run from Oxford to London from Monday (2
August 2004),
it was announced today.
Oxford Tube, which runs a 24-hour service every day of the year, is making
what is believed to be the
UK’s
biggest investment in new vehicles on a single route with the introduction
of 25 new coaches.
The
introduction of the new vehicles on
Europe’s
most frequent express service is a major boost for wheelchair users, making
them the only fleet of disability accessible coaches in the city.
A new secure e-commerce website,
http://www.oxfordtube.com, is also being launched from Monday, allowing
customers to book single, return and period tickets online as well as access
timetable and service information.
The fully low-floor air-conditioned vehicles feature reclining seats, more
legroom, seatbelts, power points for laptops and mobile phones, and toilets.
They are also equipped with CCTV technology for additional passenger
security.
Oxford Tube also confirmed today that the new vehicles have been given
the go-ahead to use the main Gloucester Green Bus Station from Monday
when the first of the coaches will start running.
Martin Sutton, Managing Director of Stagecoach in Oxfordshire, said: “We
believe this investment is the biggest one-off improvement in a single
bus route anywhere in the
UK. We
are setting the standard for other bus operators and it shows Oxford is
leading the way in high-quality public transport.
“Stagecoach has invested millions of pounds in accessible buses with
wheelchair facilities on all our main services in Oxford. Now our luxury
Oxford Tube service is set to get state-of-the-art coaches that are
among the safest and most disability-friendly in the country.
“To match the investment in new coaches, we are also launching a new
hi-tech website, which will give customers the added convenience of
being able to book tickets from the comfort of their home or office.
“We are delighted our passengers will be able to catch the new vehicles
from exactly the same familiar location in Gloucester Green Bus Station
and we’re looking forward to launching our new improved coaches on
Monday.”
The new 13.7metre Oxford Tube vehicles, manufactured by Neoplan in
Germany, are replacing vehicles that are only five years old.
Each of the new coaches has 81 seats, instead of the existing 68, which
means more than 6,000 passengers a day can travel on the service to
London.
Oxford Tube runs services round the clock and up to every 10 minutes at
peak times.
NOTES
-
Oxford Tube was launched in 1987 with a 30-minute frequency and since
1993 has run 24-hours-a-day. It runs every day of the year, including
Christmas Day.
-
The
service runs up to every 10 minutes between Oxford and London –
stopping at Lewknor, Hillingdon, Shepherds Bush, Notting Hill, Marble
Arch and Victoria.
-
Annual passenger volumes have grown from 230,000 in 1987 to more than
1.6million today.
-
On
average a passenger boards the Oxford Tube every 20 seconds.
-
The
Oxford Tube fleet of coaches travels the equivalent of nearly three
times around the globe every week!
|
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Chris Maxfield sent this
picture of 50105 backing off at Gloucester Green on 2/8/04
Interior shots showing the
size and facilities on these new Skyliner 81 seat coaches
including the wheel chair location.
Ben Morroll was also busy on Monday with this picture of the rears of two
Skyliners.
In better weather 50116
rounds Carfax heading for London. Photo by Ben Morrell.
Chris Maxfield caught this
shot of an early Tube departure on Monday 2nd August.
50104 heads into Oxford
caught by Chris Maxfield's camera.
The new Tubes caught in
London by Chirs Maxfield
Several
messages reached me about the new coaches including a fleet list from Rob
Williams which makes for interesting reading. Rob writes "Full
details for the Neoplans are as follows:
FLEET NUMBER |
REGISTRATION |
CHASSIS NUMBER |
BODY NUMBER |
50101 |
KP04GJE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000089 |
122916 |
50102 |
KP04GJF |
WAGPA8ZZ743000090 |
122917 |
50103 |
KP04GJG |
WAGPA8ZZ743000091 |
122918 |
50104 |
KP04GJJ |
WAGPA8ZZ743000097 |
122919 |
50105 |
KP04GJK |
WAGPA8ZZ743000098 |
122920 |
50106 |
KP04GJU |
WAGPA8ZZ743000100 |
122921 |
50107 |
KP04GJV |
WAGPA8ZZ743000101 |
122922 |
50108 |
KP04GJX |
WAGPA8ZZ743000106 |
122923 |
50109 |
KP04GJY |
WAGPA8ZZ743000107 |
122924 |
50110 |
KP04GJZ |
WAGPA8ZZ743000108 |
122925 |
50111 |
KP04GKA |
WAGPA8ZZ743000109 |
122926 |
50112 |
KP04GKC |
WAGPA8ZZ743000120 |
122927 |
50113 |
KP04GKD |
WAGPA8ZZ743000121 |
122928 |
50114 |
KP04GKE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000123 |
122929 |
50115 |
KP04GKF |
WAGPA8ZZ743000124 |
122930 |
50116 |
KP04GKG |
WAGPA8ZZ743000126 |
122931 |
50117 |
KP04GKJ |
WAGPA8ZZ743000127 |
122932 |
50118 |
KP04GKK |
WAGPA8ZZ743000133 |
122933 |
50119 |
KP04GKL |
WAGPA8ZZ743000134 |
122934 |
50120 |
KP04GKN |
WAGPA8ZZ743000137 |
122935 |
50121 |
T40UBE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000138 |
122936 |
50122 |
T44UBE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000139 |
122937 |
50123 |
T50UBE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000140 |
122938 |
50124 |
T55UBE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000141 |
122939 |
50125 |
T60UBE |
WAGPA8ZZ743000142 |
122940 |
A number were delivered to Oxford with bright orange numbers in the bottom
left of the front windscreen. These have been removed, but were the build
numbers and match the last two digits of the fleet number.
I've not confirmed any of the chassis/body numbers visually.
The first 18 are currently in Oxford, 17 of which appear to have seen
service at some point today. The rest will arrive in the next week or two."
Thanks to Rob for that
and it is interesting to see which coaches will carry the T**UBE
registrations.
Ben Morroll reported
seeing the following new coaches in service on August 2nd.
50101 KP 04 GJE
50104 KP 04 GJJ
50105 KP 04 GJK
50106 KP 04 GJU
50108 KP 04 GJX
50109 KP 04 GJY
50111 KP 04 GKA
50113 KP 04 GKD
50114 KP 04 GKE
50116 KP 04 GKG
50117 KP 04 GKJ
50118 KP 04 GKK
Another regular
correspondent wrote the following regarding a journey from Lewknor Turn to
London saying "As
you know the new Tubes started this morning and as today was a rest day for
me there was only one thing to do. Get down to Lewkner Turn about 8.30 and
have a sample ride into London.
50103 turned up. I intended photgraphing the 1st one and then get on the
second one but I found after photgraphing it I still had time to get on
board. After showing my pass I was told all passengers were being offered
breakfast today which was fruit juice and Danish pastry. Things were looking
up. There were only 4 of us downstairs and all apppreciated the food and
drink. I have been involved in this type of promotion before and the only
thanks you get is to have a floor covered in empty cartons and half-eaten
food. I am pleased to say everybody used the bin bags supplied and there was
no mess.
There are a lot more seats downstairs than on the M A N Tubes with 2 pairs
of facing seats with tables in between. The front nearside pair of seats
also has a table in front of them. On the old Tubes each seat had a fold
down tray but the new ones don't have these. They do however have a 3-pin
240v power point for each pair of seats. Each seat also has push down foot
rests.
Along with the usual digital clock and WC availability lights there is also
a STOPPING sign which is probably not necessary. There is also a STOPPING
sign upstairs.
Between the last row of nearside seats and the rear door is the Wheelchair
area as wheelchair access is via the rear door. There are also 2 pop-up
seats in the wheelchair area which don't look very inviting for a 2 hour
trip from Oxford.
On joining the motorway from the slip road, the coach was able to go into
Lane 2 immediately showing the power that was available still taking into
account it was only lightly loaded.
Some of the passengers still chose to leave by the front door although in
Central London most left by the rear door, particularly those from upstairs.
I was surprised to find that the driver has no view of upstairs (no
periscope or camera) which will mean he will find it difficult to tell if it
is full when loading and if passengers are still upstairs waiting to come
down at stops. I was told by the driver that new software was in production
to give a view.
Overall though an excellent vehicle which I think Stagecoach can be proud of
and hopefully will draw many customers.
I have attached 3 photos, 2 at Lewknor for local interest and 1 in
Buckingham Palace Road to show the new an old together.
Still out
today I saw 50044, 50042, 50048 and 50035.
Coming through Notting Hill Ollympian 16614 went the other way on Megabus
duties."
Thanks for that. So much reported and
indeed many photos. I could not use all those received as I do have a limit
to my server space.
For further developments please refer to my
weekly News
Page |