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First Aberdeen

KendalKing

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Indeed it is true, as per posts #683 and #685 at least 6 of them are in Glasgow being refurbished with at least one complete. 9 are due in total (11106/8-15)

Not the best photo but managed to catch 39701 in daylight while passing King Street Depot around an hour ago.

A pity that 20368 was parked in the way.
 
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Jordan Adam

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A pity that 20368 was parked in the way.

Agree, i deliberately went around 15:00 hoping that it would've moved by then and be out on a school duty but luck would have it that every other coach except 20368 was out on the road!
 

awsnews

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Indeed, glad to see progress for a change! 20 Streetdecks are due in total, this batch of 15 initially then 5 more at a later date.

Plans were for the B7LAs and 7 of the 12 Geminis to leave the fleet. The 5 retained Geminis would make up for there only being 9 Citaros to replace 14 B7LAs. This may have changed due to Covid.

The Vanhool A330s are still due to be joining the First fleet again at some point soon with the last two stored at King Street being collected by the council last week for overhaul. That said i don't think they'll replace anything, certainly nothing has been confirmed.
This notice recently appeared on the publiccontractsscotland site, Would these not be the Van Hools?

Title: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses
Reference No: AUG392273
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000627462
Published by: Aberdeen City Council
Publication Date: 11/08/2020
Deadline Date:
Deadline Time:
Notice Type: 01 Prior Information Notices (below OJEU threshold or call offs of any value)
Has Documents: Yes
Has ESPD: No
Abstract: Aberdeen City Council is looking for notes of interest from organisations interested in operating or utilising a retired fleet of up to 10 fuel cell hydrogen buses.
CPV: 34120000.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
 

Jordan Adam

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This notice recently appeared on the publiccontractsscotland site, Would these not be the Van Hools?

Title: Hydrogen Fuel Cell Buses
Reference No: AUG392273
OCID: ocds-r6ebe6-0000627462
Published by: Aberdeen City Council
Publication Date: 11/08/2020
Deadline Date:
Deadline Time:
Notice Type: 01 Prior Information Notices (below OJEU threshold or call offs of any value)
Has Documents: Yes
Has ESPD: No
Abstract: Aberdeen City Council is looking for notes of interest from organisations interested in operating or utilising a retired fleet of up to 10 fuel cell hydrogen buses.
CPV: 34120000.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Indeed, i believe however that was more for procedural reasons, seeing as the initial lease period had came to an end anyway, rather than the council looking to "sell them". It was reported in the press recently that £1M had been secured for 10 additional Hydrogen vehicles. The EE are a dodgy source at the best of times but it has been suggested that this £1M of funding is for the overhaul of the Vanhools rather than "10 new vehicles" as £1M wouldn't even cover the costs of two Hydrogen buses.

(relevant portions are in bold)
Aberdeen’s pioneering hydrogen programme is set to be expanded once more after councillors sanctioned the purchase of 10 more buses.

A total of 15 buses are already in the process of being deployed across the city as part of JIVE, a Europe-wide initiative to deploy hydrogen-powered vehicles in a number of cities.

Another £1 million has now become available through the initiative, giving Aberdeen City Council the option to increase the fleet to 25.

The local authority’s strategic commissioning committee has approved the purchase of the extra vehicles.

Local authority chiefs say the decision will increase demand for hydrogen in the north-east and enable a commercial supplier to enter the market as part of efforts to turn the city into a “hydrogen hub”.

The council hopes it will stimulate efforts to become a climate positive city, promote an energy transition and to aid green economic recovery post-covid.

Philip Bell, Aberdeen City Council’s environmental spokesman, said: “Aberdeen has led from the front in promoting clean energy by having the most successful hydrogen bus fleet in Europe and seizing the opportunity to expand this further through the JIVE project is testament to this council’s commitment to be a climate positive city.

“The future of road transport will be electric but where that electricity is derived is the question. Hydrogen fuel cells offer high power for heavy duty vehicles, cars with exceptional range and refuelling times on a par with petrol or diesel.

“This investment is the next phase in Aberdeen’s hydrogen journey and will ensure that Aberdeen stays at the forefront of hydrogen technology to emphasis its credentials to become the world energy transition capital.”


The council has already agreed to press ahead with plans for an energy transition zone, a business park dedicated to diversifying from the city’s reliance on oil and gas.

**** Separate post ****

These photos courtesy of Primsa Aberdeen on Flickr show off the new style Hydrogen branding, much more simple but a huge improvement from the cluttered Vanhools.


**** Another Separate post..... :rolleyes: ****


The world’s first hydrogen-powered double decker bus arrives in Aberdeen

1920_acc-1886.jpg


The world’s first hydrogen-powered double decker bus was revealed today in Aberdeen which showcases the city as a trailblazer in hydrogen technologies.
The arrival of the first of the zero emission buses underlines the city’s role as the energy capital of Europe and shows its commitment to the transition of green energy from oil and gas as part of the Net Zero Vision.

The hydrogen double deckers will be spotted around the city for several weeks during a period of final testing along with training for drivers, with the buses expected to be in service next month.

The buses are as efficient as electric equivalents, with refuelling taking less than 10 minutes and offering a greater range. Water is the only emission from the vehicles which reduces carbon emissions and the new buses continues to contribute to the city’s commitment to tackling air pollution.
The UK’s first hydrogen production and bus refuelling station was opened in Aberdeen in 2015, as part of a £19million green transport demonstration project. The Aberdeen City Council-led project tested the economic and environmental benefits of hydrogen transport technologies and aims to drive the development of hydrogen technologies.

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Jenny Laing said: “We are very proud to bring the world’s first hydrogen-powered double-decker buses to Aberdeen as it shows the city continues to be at the forefront of developing green technologies.”
“The roll out of the new double-decker buses will help to cement Aberdeen’s position as an entrepreneurial and technological leader as the new buses come with even more advanced technology which pushes established hydrogen boundaries and greatly assists us in tackling air pollution in the city.”
“We look forward to seeing the new hydrogen double-deckers being tested around the streets of Aberdeen over the next few weeks before they come into service.”

Aberdeen City Council Co-Leader Councillor Douglas Lumsden said: “It is fantastic to see the world’s first hydrogen-powered double decker bus arrive in Aberdeen and they further show our commitment to achieving net zero.
“By leveraging our unique assets and capabilities, we will help lead the world on the rapid shift to a net zero future and support the global energy transition as a climate positive city.
“We are responding, as a city and place, to the environmental imperative and also our role as a world leader in the energy sector as an economic driver for the city, region, Scotland and the UK.”

The buses have been manufactured by a UK-based company – Wrightbus based in Northern Ireland - and will complement the existing fleet that the city already boasts including a range of hydrogen and electric vans, road sweepers, and cars through a car share scheme.
Jo Bamford, Wrightbus owner and Executive Chairman, said: “We’re immensely proud to be putting the world’s first fleet of hydrogen double deckers onto the streets of Aberdeen.
“And these buses represent much more than Aberdeen striving to reach a clean air, zero-carbon future. They represent the start of what could be a world-leading hydrogen economy here in Scotland which will bring with it multi-million pound investments and tens of thousands of jobs.
“Not only do our buses hold the title of being the world's first zero-emission hydrogen fuel-cell double deckers, they emit only water vapour.
“We hope that more councils across the UK follow Aberdeen City Council’s lead.”
First Aberdeen, part of the multinational company First Group which originated in the city, is to run the 15 buses along one of its most popular service routes and the new vehicles will further underline the city’s role as a pioneer in hydrogen.

David Phillips, Operations Director for First Aberdeen, said: “We are delighted to be operating these state-of-the-art double decker hydrogen buses in partnership with Aberdeen City Council and we are thrilled to share a sneak peak of them with the public today.
“We look forward to rolling them out to the people of Aberdeen later this month and it is exciting to play a part in the latest leg of the city’s hydrogen journey. First Aberdeen are committed to working with local stakeholders to accelerate our driver for a zero emission fleet across our entire network by 2035 and we are excited to see the impact these buses will have.”

The vehicles will be operated by First will be mainly on the Service 19 (Peterculter to Tillydrone) along with other services and is part funded by the European Union’s JIVE project, which aims to aid commercialisation of hydrogen buses through joint procurement between cities. Cities that will follow Aberdeen’s footsteps include London and Birmingham, with Dundee and Brighton and Hove being lead partners in JIVE2.
The new £8.3million project has been funded by Aberdeen City Council, the Scottish Government, and the European Union (FCH JU), with an investment of about £500,000 per vehicle.

Scotland’s Energy Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, said: “I warmly welcome the deployment of the very latest generation of zero emission hydrogen buses in the city – building on Aberdeen’s already-impressive record of achievements as a pioneer in the use of hydrogen transport solutions. Our funding contribution of £3 million towards this new fleet is evidence of our commitment to decarbonising transport, as a key element of Scotland’s journey to net-zero carbon, with potential economic benefits for the North East and right across the remainder of Scotland.”

Additionally going back on what i said the other day it seems that the £1M of additional funding is for new buses rather than the overhauls of the Vanhools (which appears to have been quietly scrapped). 10 more new Hydrogen buses will join the fleet next year, said to be for the Service 23.


Hydrogen-powered bus making its way across Irish Sea to city’s stops
IMG_8095_36569514-Read-Only-632x474.jpg


The first of a fleet of 25 new hydrogen buses bound for Aberdeen left its manufacturer’s factory in Northern Ireland yesterday.

It will be at the centre of a grand unveiling by Aberdeen City Council, operator First Bus and Wrightbus – the company that built it – in the Granite City today.

The environmentally-friendly double-decker and another 14 like it are making their way to Scotland from Ballymena across the Irish Sea.

Costing £7.5 million in total, the 15 buses are funded by the council, the Scottish Government and the European Union.

Today’s debutante will be followed by the rest of the initial 15-strong fleet later this month.

An additional £1m of funding was recently made available through the same partnership, paving the way for another 10 buses next year.


The council hopes they will help to raise demand for hydrogen in the region and allow a commercial supplier to enter the market as part of the delivery of a “hydrogen hub” to help a green economic recovery from coronavirus.

Aberdeen has already been chosen as the home for the “world’s first” offshore floating facility to produce green hydrogen.

The pioneering Dolphyn project – driven by global consultancy Environmental Resources Management – will sit nine miles off the coast, allowing the UK to harness the power of the super fuel using floating wind turbines.
 
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Jordan Adam

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Do we know which routes they are going to operate?

This initial batch of 15 are confirmed as being for the 19 while the second batch of 10 are said to be for the 23. It's unconfirmed if the second batch are single or double deckers.

**** Separate post ****

The first of the nine Citaros 11106 has now appeared from Refurbishment. Looks top notch!

Not my photos, will delete if requested by original owner.
Ht7IiHe.png
mnkSFG4.png
 
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JumpinTrainz

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That looks incredibly smart! They’ve come up really well and the red branding works!! I wonder what the interior is like I can’t see what colour the grab poles are but they don’t look green.

I really hope they take on the E500s next and get them branded up for the 1&2 also!
 
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Any idea if they're fabric or leather and what colour?
Not sure but I think Caley have only put fabric on the recent refurbs, the last leather retrims I think was the 07/08/58 plate B9s with the grey and blue style before the selected ones that got sent down to Blackburn for their total refurbs.
 

Jordan Adam

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Not sure but I think Caley have only put fabric on the recent refurbs, the last leather retrims I think was the 07/08/58 plate B9s with the grey and blue style before the selected ones that got sent down to Blackburn for their total refurbs.

I don't think the interiors were done at Caley? I believe most of the work was done externally. In one photo it does appear that they've got grey/black leather seats but it's not really that clear so i couldn't be certain.
 

JumpinTrainz

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I don't think the interiors were done at Caley? I believe most of the work was done externally. In one photo it does appear that they've got grey/black leather seats but it's not really that clear so i couldn't be certain.

The poles also looked grey from the photo too but I could be wrong...
 

Jordan Adam

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The poles also looked grey from the photo too but I could be wrong...

I noticed that too, although the poles at the front doors of 11106 are still green.



Citaro 11106 has now arrived at King Street Depot.

Streetlites 63196 and 63199 have arrived back from repaint in to the new livery in the last week with 63212 currently away being done.
 
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JumpinTrainz

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I noticed that too, although the poles at the front doors of 11106 are still green.



Citaro 11106 has now arrived at King Street Depot.

Streetlites 63196 and 63199 have arrived back from repaint in to the new livery in the last week with 63212 currently away being done.

I’m wondering whether anymore of Aberdeen’s buses will be branded. It would be nice to see the E500s match the Citaros and some E300s/Streetlites get done.
 
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Jordan Adam

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Spotted one of the Citaro's heading north on the A9 yesterday afternoon just outside Perth.

Looked quite smart from what I saw of it.

That would've been 11106, it's now hidden up at the back of the depot, presumably once checked over it'll be used for driver familiarisation and route testing. They've still not checked if a Citaro can get round Ashwood.

I’m wondering whether anymore of Aberdeen’s buses will be branded. It would be nice to see the E500s match the Citaros and some E300s/Streetlites get done.

I'd hope so too, but the focus thus far has just been to get vehicles in to the new livery rather than branding stuff. With more new Hydrogen buses due new year for the 23 i suspect the Streetlites repainted will probably remain unbranded for the time being. It's not yet known what the 10 additional buses will replace, i'd expect it'll be B7RLEs but it could be some newer vehicles.
 

danielwilkie

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Something should be done to increase the size of Astwood, cant even get a streetlite round in one go!
 

Jordan Adam

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Looks like it won't be coming to Aberdeen after all. It doesn't look too bad in Glasgow's livery to be honest.

Indeed, that was confirmed months ago. The confusion was down to the fact a Profile from Aberdeen was going the other way to Kernow, so originally 53209 was noted down on the system as for Aberdeen despite that not being the actual intention.

Something should be done to increase the size of Astwood, cant even get a streetlite round in one go!
The issue with Ashwood is that when it was built in the 90s the intention was for the north end of Jesmond Drive to be extended to meet up with Scotstown Road, hence they only built a temporary turning circle which remains today as the plans to extend the road were scrapped.

If you look on Streetview or in photos (or if you go in person) you can actually see how the side that the bus stop is on is just a straight piece of road, showing the original intention to build the road further.
(Link to Streetview)

I believe the plans have been revived to finally extend the road in the future as part of the Grandholm Village plans, with the intention being that the 2 will be extended up to Dubford/Shielhill.
 

Jordan Adam

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In other news here's an up to date list of repaints as of 14/11/2020.

11106/08/09/10/11/15 (all have red fronts with branding for the 1/2)
37636
39701-3 (Hydrogen Project branding)
63196/199/203/212/214
67783/86/91/93/96-804
69124/134/254/258/282/284/290/294

11113 left York last week for repaint.
37635 was due to return yesterday, no reported sightings as of yet but it's supposedly to get a special NHS livery.
69130 was due to go for repaint next in 37635s place having been off the road since early October with accident damage.

Streetdeck-FCEVs 39701/2/3 have been been registered SV70BWK/L/M, although the latter two are yet to arrive at King Street.
 

experts

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Misunderstanding. Was always due here to replace 53102.
In fact, it was stated by Buses of Somerset on their Behind The Scenes FB page on 29 Apr. It may have been either “lost in translation” or, more simply, plans change!
 

Volvodart

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In fact, it was stated by Buses of Somerset on their Behind The Scenes FB page on 29 Apr. It may have been either “lost in translation” or, more simply, plans change!
It was initially said that they were getting a coach from Aberdeen in return. I do not know what happened to that part of the deal. As things turned out, Aberdeen would have needed the coach anyway, as the railway line south from Aberdeen was closed for several weeks and First did some of the replacement for that with their PSVAR coaches.
 
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Jordan Adam

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It was initially said that they were getting a coach from Aberdeen in return. I do not know what happened to that part of the deal. As things turned out, Aberdeen would have needed the coach anyway, as the railway line south from Aberdeen was closed for several weeks and First did some of the replacement for that with their PSVAR coaches.
The coach in question was 23402, so would've made no difference to the number of PSVAR coaches in the fleet.

Profile 20360 did leave a few months prior though in late 2019. That being said i doubt that it made a huge difference as Scotrail weren't exactly pleased when First were using the Profiles on Rail rep given how worn they are internally.
 

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