Alexander Dennis Enviro400

Alexander Dennis Enviro400

Tower Transit electric Enviro400 MMC on route 69 at Canning Town station in December 2015

Lower deck interior of an Arriva North West first generation Enviro400
Overview
Manufacturer Alexander Dennis
Production 2005–present
Body and chassis
Doors Single or dual door
Floor type Low floor
Chassis Alexander Dennis Enviro400
Scania N230UD
Volvo B7TL
Volvo B9TL
Volvo B5LH
Powertrain
Engine Cummins ISBe/ISCe/ISLe (Enviro400)
MAN D0836 (Enviro400)
Volvo D7C (Volvo B7TL)
Volvo D9B (Volvo B9TL)
Scania DC9 (Scania N230UD)
Capacity 64–90
Transmission Voith/ZF
Dimensions
Length 10.2 m (33 ft 6 in) to
11.4 m (37 ft 5 in)
Width 2.55 m (8 ft 4 in)
Height 4.2 m (13 ft 9 in) to
4.3 m (14 ft 1 in)
Curb weight 18 tonnes (17.7 long tons; 19.8 short tons)
Chronology

The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle double-decker bus built by Alexander Dennis since 2005. The second generation Enviro400 MMC was launched in 2014 followed by the Enviro400H City for the London market in 2015. All variants of the Enviro400 are also offered as a diesel-electric hybrid bus, known as the Enviro400H.

The Enviro400 is available both as an integral bus and as a standalone bodywork and chassis. The Enviro400 chassis replaced the Dennis Trident 2 (and continued to be badged as the Trident for a time) and was formerly available with East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne and Optare Olympus bodywork; the Enviro400 body replaced the Alexander ALX400 and Plaxton President designs and is sold on Scania N230UD and Volvo B5LH chassis, as well as formerly the Volvo B7TL and B9TL chassis.

First generation (2005–2015)

The first production Enviro400, the "Spirit of London", in 2014

The first Enviro400 was delivered to Stagecoach London in December 2005 to replace the Alexander ALX400-bodied Dennis Trident 2 that was destroyed in the 7 July 2005 bombings, with the replacement bus being named the "Spirit of London" as a result.

The Enviro400 was originally launched as an integral product. Soon after launch, the Enviro400 chassis became available with East Lancs Myllennium Lolyne and Optare Olympus bodywork.

As well as an integral bus, the Enviro400 body was available on Scania N230UD chassis, which sold well with Stagecoach Group. As well as the N230UD, a single Enviro400 was constructed on Volvo B7TL chassis before this chassis was succeeded by the Volvo B9TL, on which more examples of the Enviro400 were bodied.

2009 facelift

A facelifted first generation Enviro400 operated by First Greater Manchester

Alexander Dennis released a facelifted version of the first generation Enviro400 at Coach & Bus Live in 2009, with the main external visual differences being the incorporation of a line of white LED daytime running lights underneath the headlights in the main front light clusters, redesigned front bumpers and the relocation of the offside emergency exit door. The facelift coincided with the introduction of a Euro 5 compliant drivetrain for the Enviro400.

The facelifted first generation Enviro400 was sold alongside the original first generation Enviro400 until 2015, when both were discontinued in favour of the second generation Enviro400 MMC and Enviro400H City.

Second generation (2014–present)

On 1 May 2014, the second-generation Enviro400 (also known as the Enviro400 MMC) was announced by Alexander Dennis, with changes including a complete body redesign and Euro VI engines as standard.[1]

Amongst the first operators to order Enviro400 MMC were Go-Ahead, Stagecoach and Reading Buses[2] - with the Oxford Bus Company being the first company to operate them.

The Enviro400 MMC is also available on Scania N230UD chassis, as with the previous model, and is also planned to launch on the updated Scania N280UD chassis in 2016. The Enviro400 MMC is also offered on Volvo B5LH hybrid chassis, which has so far sold in higher quantities than the previous model on the B7TL and B9TL combined, particularly with larger groups like Stagecoach.

Enviro400H City

Arriva London Enviro400H City on route 78 in Shoreditch in December 2015

An overhauled version of the Enviro400 MMC, named the Enviro400H City, was unveiled at Bus and Coach Expo in October 2015. It is aimed at the London market, and has styling cues from the New Routemaster and Enviro200 MMC. Arriva London were the first to operator to operate the Enviro400H City, on route 78.[3] The Enviro400H City is only sold as an integral hybrid and is also only offerred in the London market, to directly compete with the New Routemaster.

Blackpool Transport became the first operator outside London to order the Enviro400 City in January 2016 for the seafront 9 service, to be upgraded to high-specification Palladium standard with the arrival of the new buses.[4]

Operations

Globally, more than 8,500 integral Enviro400s have been sold as of January 2016.[5]

United Kingdom

London operator Metroline was the first company to order the Enviro400, with the first of 28 entering service in January 2006. One dual door demonstrator, named "Spirit of London", was delivered to Stagecoach London to replace the Dennis Trident destroyed during 7 July 2005 London bombings[6] and a single door demonstrator was delivered to the then Travel West Midlands for evaluation. Both prototypes were exhibited at "Coach & Bus Live 2005" in the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, UK and then entered service in January 2006. Metroline, National Express West Midlands/Travel West Midlands and Stagecoach were large customers of the Dennis Trident.

The Enviro400 had sold well in London with a number of operators, such as Travel London and London General (which received the first Euro IV-engined Enviro400 in May 2006), operating these buses. It is also popular with Stagecoach, who placed its first order of 130 low-height models in February 2006, later followed by another 389 buses with Euro IV/V engine. Arriva also received Enviro400s for their UK operations, Arriva Merseyside relaunched their Wirral - Liverpool 'Cross River' services with a batch of 23 in January 2009, and a further batch of 12 were introduced to Arriva Merseyside's cross-Liverpool service 60 linking Bootle with Aigburth in September 2009.

On 13 October 2006, Solent Blue Line received a Volvo B7TL/Enviro400 meeting the Euro III emission standard, with the interior in Wilts & Dorset livery. This remains a one-off as all subsequent Enviro400s on Volvo chassis were built on the B9TL chassis. An Arriva demonstrator was shown at Euro Bus Expo in 2006 to the latter standard.

East Yorkshire Motor Services took delivery of 5 Enviro400-bodied Volvo B9TL in December 2007, which entered service in January 2008. London General also received 3 Enviro400-bodied Volvo B9TLs in October 2008, which are being evaluated against integral Enviro400s and Wright Eclipse Gemini-bodied Volvo B7TL/B9TLs that are extensively featured in Go-Ahead's London Central/General fleets.

Stagecoach announced on 28 February 2007 that it had ordered 25 Enviro400s with Scania N230UD chassis, which were subsequently delivered in early 2008. These were followed by another 56 for delivery in 2009, 100 for 2009/10, 100 for 2010/11 and another 91 for 2011/12. 57 were delivered in 2012/13. Oxford Bus Company and Wilts & Dorset also received some examples.

There is also a hybrid version of the Enviro400 (Enviro400H) that has entered service with a number of operators including East Yorkshire Motor Services, Reading Buses, Stagecoach, Lothian and First Glasgow.

In 2008, one Enviro400 was built for the 2008 Summer Olympics and 2008 Paralympic Games as a Handover Bus.

In 2012, Southern Vectis received 20 for school contracts on the Isle of Wight. These were delivered during late December 2012 and early January 2013 and entered service on a wide variety of school services on the island from 7 January 2013. Southern Vectis then proceeded to order another 16 Enviro400s to be used on public routes, mostly route 9, with the first 6 going to Oxford Bus Company for a few months. Ten of these buses have been delivered and on 3 January 2014, they commenced operating.

Between 2014 and 2015 Arriva North West received a total of 128 integral Enviro400s for a number of services on Merseyside - with 28 arriving in 2014 and the remainder being delivered between January and July 2015. Arriva Buses Wales received a total of 29 high specification Enviro400s between June 2014 and March 2015 for deployment on two new Sapphire services between Rhyl and Llandudno and Chester and Connah's Quay respectively.

Stagecoach are currently receiving a total of 76 Enviro400s for services with Stagecoach London, Stagecoach North West and Stagecoach South West.

Enviro400 MMC

An Enviro 400 MMC operated by Stagecoach Merseyside

In 2015, National Express West Midlands took delivery of 106 Enviro400s. Stagecoach are currently in the process of receiving a total of 136 examples for services with Stagecoach London, Stagecoach Manchester, Stagecoach South East, Stagecoach East Scotland and Stagecoach in Oxfordshire as well as a single demonstrator vehicle whilst Cardiff Bus has received ten examples. Whereas it is only available in United Kingdom.

Ireland

Irish state run operator Dublin Bus was the first bus operator to order the Volvo B9TL-based Enviro400, it ordered 50 with the first of these entering service on 14 August 2007, later followed by another 50.

Hong Kong

A Kowloon Motor Bus Enviro400 in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.

In 2009, Kowloon Motor Bus and Citybus of Hong Kong received two (one for each operator) air-conditioned Enviro400 for evaluation, both of which entered service in February 2010. Citybus introduced one more in July 2010.

In November 2010, Alexander Dennis had confirmed an extra order of 38 Enviro400s from Citybus at the press conference of Euro Bus Expo 2010 held in Birmingham, UK; these buses entered service in 2011. A further order of 20 Enviro400s had been placed and these buses started to enter service in 2013.

MTR Corporation also ordered 9 Enviro400s for MTR Bus service, these buses entering service in 2012.

Kowloon Motor Bus received a further 50 Enviro400s between 2012 and 2013.

North America

Open Loop New York Enviro400 open top bus in New York

The Enviro400 was introduced to North America exclusively as an open top bus for sightseeing purposes. It is not available as a public transport vehicle, unlike the similar Alexander Dennis Enviro500.

On 11 November 2010, Alexander Dennis announced they received an order for 10 Enviro400s from Coach USA subsidiary Twin America, in New York.[7]

E Noa Tours of Honolulu received three in early 2012.

Some examples have also been sold to Canadian operators.

Specifications

Internal layout

Upper deck of the Enviro400

The Enviro400 features an innovative seating layout that maximises use of seating space on the lower deck by placing two forward-facing moulded seats onto the front nearside wheelarch box with a small luggage shelf on the rear half, and also (on full-height models) a single forward-facing moulded seat on the front off-side wheelarch hub between the driver's partition and the staircase.

Powertrain

The engine is a six-cylinder Cummins EEV driving through a Voith or ZF automatic transmission. The maximum speed is 80 mph (129 kph). Hybrid-electric and full-electric versions of the powertrain are also available.[8]

See also

Competitors (chassis/complete bus):

Competitors (bodywork):

References

  1. ↑ "The all-new Enviro400 – designed by the industry for the industry". Alexander Dennis. 1 May 2014. Archived from the original on 2 May 2014. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  2. ↑ "£80m FLYING START FOR ENVIRO400 AS ADL ALSO CONFIRMS £175m EXPORT WINS". Alexander Dennis. Alexander Dennis. Retrieved 27 October 2015.
  3. ↑ http://www.route-one.net/vehicles/adl-gets-the-london-look/
  4. ↑ Blackpool to take first single-door Enviro400 City Bus & Coach Professional 22 January 2016
  5. ↑ http://buslistsontheweb.co.uk/
  6. ↑ "Mayor of London unveils 'Spirit of London' bus". Greater London Authority. 3 October 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2015.
  7. ↑ "ADL gears up for export drive with diesel and hybrid models". Alexander Dennis. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
  8. ↑ "Enviro400 - Innovation with Style". Alexander Dennis. Archived from the original on 22 February 2012. Retrieved 11 January 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Alexander Dennis Enviro400.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, May 05, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.