Borders Railway Special

On September 9th The Queen opened the longest new domestic railway to be built in the UK in over 100 years. Borders Railway runs from Edinburgh to Tweedbank along 30 miles of new track, 21.5 of which is single track. 7 new stations have been built, and while I was up in Scotland I decided a trip on the new line was essential.

First of all the cost. The distance from Edinburgh to Tweedbank is roughly the same as Ipswich to Witham. An off peak day return from Ipswich to Witham is £16.10. A return from Edinburgh to Tweedbank is £11.20. I know public transport in Scotland is cheaper than England but for a 55 min journey this is good value and judging by how busy both journeys were is paying dividends.

Journeys are operated by either Class 158 or 170 Dmu's. My vessel for the return trip was 158702, and very nice it was too. Here it is at one of Edinburgh Waverley's hidden platforms - quite possible the Northern Hogwarts Express leaves from Platform 9E!

158702 bound for Tweedbank

The route out of Edinburgh starts slowly, but does give some good views of carriage sidings. Unfortunately I was the wrong side of the train going out and we were going too fast coming back to get any decent pictures, which was ac shame as one of the last Network Rail liveried class 31 locos was there, as was a lone Cross County HST loco attached to an increasingly rare Class 08 shunter.

However we were soon on the new line and to be honest the first half hour is fairly sedate with regular stops. It is only after leaving Gorebridge that the line opens up, the scenery becomes spectacular and the train gets a move on. Scenes such as this are regular.

One of the numerous rivers the Borders RAilway crosses

The expanse of the Scottish Borders

Excuse the quality of those pics - we were doing about 80mph at the time! All to soon we had passed through the picturesque town of Galashiels and were at the terminus of Tweedbank, where there was a 10 min layover to strech legs and get souvenir picture!

158702 at Tweedbank terminus

Now there is one feature of the railway that caught my eye, and that is the novel way the line is protected from landslips. There are miles of dry stone walls constructed from ballast held in chicken wire cages. I have no idea how long thess took to construct but I think they add character to the line and show the amount of thought that went into it.

The dry stone ballast walls protecting Borders Railway

The railway was constructed in just 5 years and on time. My only quibble is that it doesn't connect with anything at the Tweedbank end. Surely these days no more dead end lines should be built. I just wonder if there was a case for extending the line to Berwick via Kelso maybe, to provide an alternative to the ECML during engineering works, for example, which would also attract people to the line from the likes of Newcastle too. Just a thought.

Anyhow I liked the line, and hopefully will spend a day next Summer exploring it, and the places it stops at more.

Of course Edinburgh Waverley station normally throws up a few good photo opportunities and the Saturday morning I was there proved no exception. We begin with an icon still possessing great presence, even if the soundtrack doesn't sound quite right these days.

Virgin Trains East Coast HST 43314 at Edinburgh Waverley

There are quite a few Emu's in Scotland I have yet to sample. One of these was parked up just waiting to be photographed.

Scotrail 380 107 at Edinburgh Waverley

There were two locos in situ that I assume had been used as part of the Caledonian Sleeper the previous night. 67030 and 90044 were rather conveniently sitting on adjacent platforms.

90044 and 67030 at Edinburgh Waverley

And finally my favourite pic of the day - two old relics in the same picture. I thought originally I had got part of Edinburgh Castle in shot but it turns out it's another rather old building close to the castle. Still like the pic though.

Two old relics together in Edinburgh

Streetdeck Wright?

When is a Streetdeck not a Streetdeck? Here is a little pictorial test for you all. Which of the following are Streetdecks and which are not.

Brighton & Hove Streetdeck?

Streetdecks or not Streetdecks?         pic by KLConnected

What about this?         pic by David Oakley

Is this a Streetdeck?

Congratulations to anyone who spotted that pictures 1 and 3 are Streetdecks. Pictures 2 and 4 are Volvo B5LH's apparently. Nope I can't see any difference whatsoever either. I'm grateful to Peter Abbey for pointing out that the Lothian Streetdecks I had been so scathing about were not actually Streetdecks. That was embarrassng but I think forgivable. So here is another question for you. Which of these is a Gemini 3 body?

Is this a Gemini 3?     Pic by EDDIE

Or is this a Gemini 3?                 Pic by EDDIE

The rather confusing answer is that they are BOTH Gemini 3 bodies. However one in my opinion is far better than the other. So the final question is what the hell are Wrightbus playing at? Is one Gemini 3 body cheaper than the other - it certainly feels so - and what is the official body on a Streetdeck? Years ago you could get Atlanteans and Fleetlines with similar bodies but it was easy to tell from engine noise which was which. These days it's not that easy and Wrightbus have now made things very confusing. Thanks boys! All sounds rather Irish to me....

The Ultimate Bus Comparison Part Four

If you haven't yet read Parts One, Two, and Three yet you really need to or this will all seem rather confusing.

On Sunday afternoon after lunch in Edinburgh City Centre the rain closed in so my friend and I decided to go to the cinema to see the new Bond film. I'm not here to review the film but can someone give the director a slap and tell him the 15 does NOT go over Westminster Bridge, or indeed any bridge over the Thames! However to get to the cinema meant a ride on one of Lothian's Volvo 7900 Hybrids. I wasn't expecting one of these to be part of the comparison but I'm glad it was.

I went on one of Lothian's older models last year, as well as the ones First Essex have on the 100 Chelmsford - Lakeside service and hated them so much I even tweeted Volvo to say so. But I had a pleasant surprise - the newer ones are a vast improvement. The gap between electric motor cutting out and diesel engine cutting in is much shorter, the horrible vibrations have gone - it's feels far less than a B6 now, and it was a good comfortable ride. My only concern, which my friend who travels regularly on them brought up, is that they are stuffy with no opening windows. I'm not sure in a capital city that is a good move as the climate never has a chance to settle. I would think in Summer they can get extremely hot, but still a massive improvement on the original 7900's.

Lothian Buses 38 Volvo 7900 Hybrid BG64 FXL in Princes Street Edinburgh

I had saved what I hoped would be the best till last. On Monday I caught a Scotrail Class 170 up the east coast in glorious sunshine to Aberdeen. Ever since I read about a joint venture between First and Stagecoach in Aberdeen involving some Van Hool tri-axle A330 hydrogen buses I had wanted to ride one.

First of all they are very big, however are still only 42 seaters which is surprising as it looked more. Anyhow I quickly located the bus station, and boarded one of the Stagecoach versions to Westhill, a suburb of Aberdeen about a 30 min journey away. I must say they look rather impressive.

Stageoach 29905 Van Hool A330 Hydrogen bus SV64 BRZ in Westhill, Aberdeen

As you would expect from a gas bus they are quiet. What I didn't expect, though, was that they only appear to have one gear, so sound more like a tram than a bus, and top speed seems very low, 40 - 45 at a very maximum. The air conditioning was ok and if it hadn't been for one major point I would have loved them.

Rear of 29901

Quite simply they have no suspension. None at all. Aberdeen is not blessed with silky smooth roads and whenever we hit a pot hole it wasn't just the bus that rattled - and to be fair it didn't rattle much - but I rattled too. On several occasions my spine was jarred and I've never experienced that on a bus before. I can't help wondering if that has something to do with the tri-axle element of the vehicle. But whatever the reason it lets this otherwise decent bus down badly, and that's a shame as there ae many things to like about them.

First 64994 SV14 FYR in aberdeen

There was much more to see in Aberdeen, including one of the most bizarre rare workings I've ever seen, and a fleet of buses I heard very interesting whispers about, but I will do a separate post for that. Suffice it to say Aberdeen was the most interesting and varied place for buses I've been to for decades and I'm definitely making a return visit soon.

And so I need to declare the winner - what is the best new bus around at the moment. Obvously for town work it's the Borismaster, but since it's not possible to travel on one out of town yet they can't really be included in an overall survey. So these are the contenders.

ADL E400MMC
ADL E200MMC
Wright Streetlight
Wright Steetdeck
Volvo B5tl Gemini 3
Volvo 7900 Hybrid
Van Hool A330 Hydrogen Cell Bus

I knew which had come bottom but as I travelled from Norwich to Beccles 24 hours into my return journey on Tuesday I was still pondering which vehicle should win. Nothing is perfect and ticks all of my boxes. Then reality kicked in and I realised I was traveling on a bus that was quiet, smooth, comfortable, didn't rattle, not stuffy despite a full load, still pulled away well despite a full load, in fact all round the best bus I had travelled on all trip. So the winner of best new bus on the market is a 7 year old Volvo B9tl Gemini 1.

37568 seen in Norwich Bus Station last year

However it would be unfair if I didn't pick a winner from my list and it must be said that Alexander Dennis have put their act together whereas Wright have gone decidedly wrong. Those who are mournng the fact Norwich lost out on the Streetdecks can breath a sigh of relief. Chris - your aim should be to get as many Geminis as possible for Eastern Counties as they last the pace better than anything else! New vehicles go for MMC's as they are the best new buses around. So if I was waiting at a bus stop not knowing what was about to turn up, this would be my order of preference from the vehicles I sampled last weekend.

1. ADL E400MMC
2. ADL E200MMC
3. Volvo B5tl Gemini 3
4. Volvo 7900 Hybrid
5. Van Hool A330 Hydrogen Cell Bus
6. Wright Streetdeck
7. Wright Streetlite

Look out for special posts on Aberdeen and Borders Railway but I hope you've enjoyed this completely unscientific survey. I always say I'm a passenger first and foremost and these reviews are based soley on the pleasure I derived from traveling on them. Of course cost, fuel economy, emissions etc all play a part in what operators purchase but my backside doesn't take that into account.

The Ultimate Bus Comparison Part Three

Welcome to Part Three of my quest to find the best new bus around. In Part One I sampled the new Wright Steetliight and ADL E400MMC. In Part Two the very new ADL E200 was put through its paces and today it's the turn of two more Wright examples, the Streetdeck and Volvo B5tl  Gemini3.

It was a battle to beat the elements over the weekend, with Saturday morning looking the best chance to stay dry. I wanted to ride Lothian Buses' new Streetdecks on the 100 Airport Express route, but I also wanted to squeeze in a trip on the new Borders Railway to Tweedbank of which a separate post coming soon. So a short tram ride to the airport - Edinburgh fares are extremely cheap unless you want to go to the airport, where they rise dramatically. However I got there and soon spotted the blue double deckers I was looking for.

Lothian Buses 437 Wright Streetdeck SA15 VTT at Edinburgh Airport. 431 is behind

First impressions were good. Comfortable seats and an eye-catching interior with three tables upstairs.

The upper deck of Lothian's Airlink Streetdecks

But then we started moving. In May when I rode Brighton & Hove's Steetdecks I was undecided about them. Now I'm pretty much decided. They are quite superb buses if the road you are travelling on is as smooth as glass. However if anything bigger than a small ant is on the road you know about it, both in the jolt through your spine and the accompaning rattles. Since we live in the UK where potholes in the road are relatively common it was not the best of rides. I arrived in Edinburgh a little bemused.

After my journey to Tweedbank and back the weather closed in and that was that for the day. I adjourned to a bar on the Royal Mile with my friend and forgot about transport for a bit. However it hadn't escaped my notice that Lothian have some more Streetdecks in normal service, and made a mental note to get on one of them the following day to give them every chance possible. So early Sunday morning I was back in Edinburgh City Centre and gave the Streetdeck one last chance.

Lothian 561 Wright Steetdeck SA15 VUM on Princes Street Edinburgh

Unfortunately despite giving the Streetdeck another chance it failed to take that chance and all my misgivings from the previous day were confirmed. Lord only knows what these buses will be like in 3 or 4 years time but I certainly won't be that willing to find out.

So I turned my attention to another Wright product I thought might prove to be more satisfying - the Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5tl. I had already travelled on the hybrid version in London and been impressed with it. And immediately it was noticeably better than the Streetdeck. However despite being quiet with not bad suspension there was still too much noise from the interior and body - in fact more than the Gemini 2 I had been on the previous evening. Good but not quite Carling as they say.

Lothian Buses 418 Volvo B5tl BN64 CRZ in Princes St

There are still two more buses to go in my quest to find the best new bus around, the Volvo 7600 hybrid, which I have reviewed before but Lothian have a newer batch, and the giant hydrogen buses operated jointly by First and Stagecoach in Aberdeen. Look out for Part four coming soon

The Ultimate Bus Comparison Part Two

In the last post I reviewed the new Wright Streetlite and ADL E400MMC in Stirling, and got a soaking inside an old Scania (not a B10BLE!) en route to Glasgow. If you haven't read Part One see here. 

I arrived in Glasgow in appalling weather. Storm Abigail was at her strongest and it really wasn't pleasant. There was one more surprise in store - Buchanan Bus Station in Glasgow is huge. I mean really huge. To put it into perspective Victoria coach station has 20 stands. Norwich Bus Station 12, Ipswich about the same. Glasgow Bus Station has 57. Fifty seven stands, or stances as they call them up there. There is a team of marshalls with very loud whistles seeing buses out as they reverse from the stances, and effectively a circular dual carriageway with buses able to reverse out whilst others are going past on the inside. Unfortunately the weather was too awful to get any pics and I wasn't going to upset the marshalls but I will be back. Definitely.

However my destination was in fact Hamilton where First Scotland's new ADL E200MMC's were in service on a local route. This involved catching the X1 from Glasgow to Hamilton which felt a bit bizarre but this X1 was truly an X and the B7tl Gemini zoomed down the motorway in the driving rain. I only realised I had arrived in Hamilton when I got my first glimpse of an E200MMC. A few minutes later I was at the right stop and 44655 pulled up.

First Glasgow 44655 E200MMC SN65 OHV in Hamilton

Now regular readers will know what I think of E200's. They are not my favourite bus, and it's only the BorderBus examples I don't mind travelling on. So I boarded this new model with a fair amount of scepticism, not expecting much of a change. Oh me of little faith! They are a huge improvement. Like the E400MMC's they feel far more solid than the old model, a notable absence of rattles, a smoother ride, much quieter and a lower engine pitch with none of the whine of the old one. There was a loud vibration from something at the back but that was somehow reassuring as nothing to comment about would have been distinctly worrying. The braking system sounded remarkably like the Streetlite system but didn't have the jerkiness. In short I was very impressed by the E200 MMC and it was worth getting drenched and blown about to get that ride.

The MMC at Hamilton Bus Station

I also happen to think they look rather good too, and for once I'm going to say well done Alexander Dennis, you might just have something there.

The E200MMC drives off into the Hamilton gloom

And so barely an hour after I arrived it was time to return to Glasgow on the X1. This time I managed to get a picture of my chariot - B7tl 37169 SF07 FCY. A very decent journey it was too, and there maybe a hint as to what lies in the future there!

37169 at a still very wet Hamilton

The journey back to Edinburgh was not fun. I didn't take note of which God awful bus took me to Falkirk but I think it was a Scania 94 Solar like the 6567* series that Ipswich had from and then sent back to Colchester. The hardest and most uncomfortable seats of all time. After a 45 min wait at Falkirk it was me and 3 drunks on a Streetlite - as mentioned in the previous post the interior lights were so bright you could barely see a thing outside. I was cold, wet, tired, and, after slipping and falling on the tram back to South Gyle, decidedly grumpy when I got back to the hotel. However turning the news on the TV and seeing what was developing in Paris, my woes soon paled into insignificance.

In Part Three the Wright Streetdeck and Gemini 3 get put to the test.