Plaxton Elite

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Plaxton Elite
Newton Abbot station - Parks LSK815.JPG
National Express Plaxton Elite in Newton Abbot
Overview
Manufacturer Plaxton
Production2008-present (Elite)
2012-present (Elite i)
Body and chassis
Doors1 or 2 (optional continental exit)[ clarification needed ]
Floor type Step-entrance (with optional wheelchair lift)
Chassis Volvo B12B
Volvo B9R
Volvo B11R
Volvo B13R
Scania K-series
Powertrain
Engine Volvo
Capacity53-70 seated
Dimensions
Length12–15 metres (39–49 ft)
Width2.55 metres (8 ft 4 in)
Height
  • Elite
  • 3.7 metres (12 ft)
[1]
  • Elite i
  • 3.96 metres (13.0 ft)
[2]
Chronology
Predecessor Plaxton Paragon
Plaxton Profile

The Plaxton Elite is a coach body produced by the British bus and coach manufacturer Plaxton. It is primarily targeted at the premium touring market and went into production in late 2008, replacing Plaxton's pre-existing Paragon and Profile coach bodies.

Contents

Design

The Elite was first unveiled at the Euro Bus Expo at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham in November 2008 on Volvo B12BT tri-axle chassis, the first new Plaxton product since the company was purchased by Alexander Dennis. The body uniquely features a curved roof and windscreen, making use of glass fibre panels hiding an air conditioning unit as well as glazed windows around the front entrance of the coach; Elites on scheduled express routes have a low-level destination display mounted on a panel below the windscreen, resulting in a larger front windscreen than most comparable coaches. Seating capacity for the Elite upon launch was 59 seated or 55 with an optional in-coach toilet module fitted. [3] [1]

Elite i

In 2012, Plaxton introduced a new "interdecker" version of the Elite named the Elite i, in which the passenger cabin extends above the driver's cab to span the full length of the vehicle; in addition there is a small lower saloon. The Elite i is 15 m long and 3.96 m high, and is built on Volvo B11RT chassis. [2] [4]

Operators

Touring

Elites were delivered to a large number of touring and coach hire operators across the United Kingdom, including Acklams Coaches, whose luxury tours arm "Elite Travel" took its name from the coach body. [5] The 100th Elite, built on Volvo B9R chassis, was delivered to Howard Snaith Coaches in 2011. [6]

The first two Elite is for an independent coach operator were delivered to New Adventure Travel of Cardiff in spring 2013. [7] Elite is were also delivered to Acklams Coaches for use primarily as sports team coaches. [8]

Eight Elites built on 13.5 metres (44 ft) Scania K440EB chassis were exported to New Zealand for use by Ritchies Transport in 2017, uniquely featuring a HVAC air conditioning system as well as single-glazed windows, including a split windscreen, to confirm with New Zealand's vehicle weight regulations. [9] [10]

Express services

A Megabus Plaxton Elite i at Buchanan bus station, Glasgow SF62 CPV at Buchanan bus station, 06 May 2013.JPG
A Megabus Plaxton Elite i at Buchanan bus station, Glasgow

Plaxton Elites for intercity express coach services first entered service with National Express in early 2010, with seven operating between London and Liverpool, with a further 16 vehicles later procured to operate in Yorkshire, Oxford and Peterborough. Elites delivered to Stagecoach Yorkshire for National Express work have replaced Caetano Levantes on the long-distance 560 service to London. [11] A batch of 15-metre Elites on Volvo B13RT chassis later entered service with National Express in 2014.

Plaxton Elites are also operated on express services by some operations of the Stagecoach Group. A fleet of Elites entered service with Stagecoach West on the Oxford-Cambridge X5 service in 2015, [12] [13] and Stagecoach West Scotland took delivery of four Elites in October 2017 for use on the X24 service between Dunfermline and Glasgow Airport. [14] The Elite i, meanwhile, was first commissioned by Stagecoach to be a standard vehicle operated on intercity Megabus services, with the first batch of eleven Elite is being delivered Stagecoach West Scotland for use on the network in December 2012. [15] [4]

Elite is on Volvo B11RT chassis were first delivered to the Oxford Bus Company in November 2013 for dual-purpose use on the company's X90 service to Victoria Coach Station as well as its Airline network connecting Oxford with London Heathrow and Gatwick Airports. [16] These were later supplemented in early 2015 with the delivery of eight more Elite is exclusively for use on the X90. [17]

In Plaxton's first delivery to a bus and coach operator in Poland, twenty left-hand drive Elite is on Volvo B11RT chassis were delivered to PolskiBus, owned by Brian Souter's Highland Global Transport, in August 2014 for use on an intercity network across Continental Europe based from Warsaw and Wrocław. [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

Plaxton is an English builder of bus and coach vehicle bodies based in Eastfield, Scarborough, England. Founded in 1907 by Frederick William Plaxton, it became a subsidiary of Alexander Dennis in May 2007. In 2019, the maker was acquired by Canadian bus manufacturer New Flyer which then became NFI Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stagecoach East Scotland</span> Bus operator in East Scotland

Stagecoach East Scotland is a bus operator providing services in eastern Scotland, with its regional base in Dunfermline, Fife. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander ALX400</span> 2-axle double decker bus body

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton President</span> 2-axle double decker bus body

The Plaxton President was a low floor double-decker bus body built by Plaxton at the former Northern Counties factory in Wigan, England. It was first unveiled in 1997 on the longitudinal Volvo B7L chassis and later built between 1998 and 2005 following a body redesign. When it became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under the TransBus name. The President was built on the Dennis/TransBus Trident, the DAF DB250 and the Volvo B7TL chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dennis Enviro300</span> Motor vehicle

The Alexander Dennis Enviro300 is a light-weight full-size single-decker bus that was built by Alexander Dennis and its predecessor TransBus International between 2001 and 2015. The design was the first of the new Enviro range of buses from TransBus and also the first bus to be built as an integral bus by TransBus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dennis Enviro400</span> British-built double-decker bus (built 2005–2018)

The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 is a twin-axle low-floor double-decker bus that was built by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis between 2005 and 2018. It replaced the Alexander ALX400, Dennis Trident and Plaxton President. In 2014, the Enviro400 was succeeded by the updated Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC and production of the classic Enviro400 ceased in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">VDL DB250</span> Twin-axle double-decker bus chassis

The VDL DB250 was a twin-axle double-decker bus chassis manufactured by VDL Bus & Coach.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright Eclipse Gemini</span> Low-floor double-decker bus body

The Wright Eclipse Gemini is a low-floor double-decker bus body that was built by Wrightbus since 2001, based on the single-decker Wright Eclipse design. The second-generation Eclipse Gemini 2 was launched in 2009, followed by the third-generation Gemini 3 in 2013. Additionally, the body was available on Volvo Super Olympian chassis in Hong Kong between 2003 and 2005, marketed as the Wright Explorer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stagecoach West</span> Bus operator in the West of England

Stagecoach West is a bus operator providing services in Gloucestershire, Bristol, Swindon, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, North Somerset and Herefordshire, in the West of England. The company is a subsidiary of the Stagecoach Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Counties Paladin</span> Single-decker bus body

The Northern Counties Paladin, also badged as the Plaxton Paladin towards the end of production, is a step-entrance single-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK, between 1991 and 1998. The replacements for the Paladin are the Prestige and the Pointer as low-floor models for the Paladin LF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Counties Palatine</span> Step-entrance double-decker bus body

The Northern Counties Palatine was a step-entrance 2-axle and 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties from 1988 to 1999 in Wigan, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wright Endurance</span> Step-entrance bus body on Scania N113 and Volvo B10B chassis

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxford to London coach route</span> Coach route in Southern England

The Oxford to London coach route is an express coach route between Oxford and London along the M40 motorway. Operated by Stagecoach West under the brand name Oxford Tube, there are up to five coaches an hour via Lewknor, High Wycombe Coachway, Hillingdon, Shepherd's Bush and Baker Street terminating on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plaxton Pointer</span> Single-deck midibus body built on Dennis and Volvo chassis

The Plaxton Pointer is a single-deck midibus body that was manufactured between 1991 and 2006, predominantly on the Dennis Dart chassis, by Reeve Burgess, Plaxton and latterly Alexander Dennis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dash</span> Step-entrance midibus body on Dennis Dart and Volvo B6 chassis

The Alexander Dash is a step-entrance midibus body built by Walter Alexander Coachbuilders of Scotland from 1991 to 1997. Unveiled by Alexander at the 1991 Coach and Bus exhibition in Birmingham, it was one of the variants of Alexander's AM-type body, also using components from the Alexander PS type, and was usually combined with the Dennis Dart and Volvo B6 step-entrance single-decker bus chassis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo B5LH</span> Motor vehicle

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volvo B11R</span> Motor vehicle

The Volvo B11R is a 10.8-litre engined coach chassis available as both two- and tri-axle from Volvo since 2011. It was introduced as the second of the Volvo BXXR series, replacing the rest of the B12B range in 2011, and later its fellow BXXR platform model, the B13R in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC</span> British-built model of double-decker bus, built since 2014

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acklams Coaches</span> Coach and bus operator based in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Dennis Enviro200EV</span> Battery electric single-deck bus

The Alexander Dennis Enviro200EV is a battery electric single-deck bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis in partnership with Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD Auto since 2015. An electric variant of the diesel integral Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC, which had been launched that same year to replace the outgoing Enviro200 and Enviro300, the Enviro200EV utilises BYD's own 12 m chassis and drivetrain and has a range of up to 160 miles with a recharge time of 3.5 hours. A shorter 10.8 m variant was subsequently added to the range in 2016.

References

  1. 1 2 "Elite specification" (PDF). Plaxton. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2011. Retrieved 27 December 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Elite i - ahead of its time" (PDF). Plaxton. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  3. "Plaxton's high-quality tourer launch". Bus & Coach Professional. 3 November 2008. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Plaxton unveils new Interdeck Elite coach". Coach & Bus Week . Peterborough: Emap. 28 February 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  5. "Acklams takes Elite and Enviro". Bus & Coach Professional. 9 December 2013. Archived from the original on 23 December 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  6. "Plaxton delivers its 100th Elite". Bus & Coach Professional. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 19 January 2012.
  7. "Adventure Travel Elite i order". Bus & Coach Professional. 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  8. "Plaxton Elite-i team coach: Not just for football". routeone. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 21 October 2022. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  9. Cotter, Fabian (4 January 2019). "Into temptation - ADL Elite NZ coach". Australasian Bus & Coach . Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. "ADL highlights success in New Zealand". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  11. "New £16m+ coach fleet". National Express. 25 May 2010. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  12. Carter, Tim. "Elites on the X5". Buses . No. 721. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp. 52–55.
  13. "New look coaches on Stagecoach Oxford-Bedford-Cambridge route hit the road". Bedfordshire on Sunday. 3 January 2015. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  14. McRoberts, Ally (2 October 2017). "New buses on Express route between Dunfermline and Glasgow Airport". Dunfermline Press. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  15. "Stagecoach pays £3.2m for new fleet of Megabus coaches". BBC News. 2 November 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  16. "Our new Interdecks have arrived!". Oxford Bus Company Blog. 28 November 2013. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  17. "Oxford Bus Company introduces new Volvo coaches on X90 route" (Press release). Volvo Buses United Kingdom & Ireland. 27 March 2015. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
  18. "ADL delivers Elite i Coaches to PolskiBus". Coach & Bus Week. Peterborough: Emap. 27 August 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2024.

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