Five Bus Pile Up-Manchester

[Thomas6187]

Up to five buses have crashed in Manchester city centre causing chaos at rush hour.

The vehicles collided on the city-bound carriageway of Portland Street shortly after 8.15am.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co...ive-three-bus-pile-up-portland-street-6677915

Five bus pile-up in Manchester city centre causing chaos

The roads around Piccadilly have ground to a halt after the collision at around 8.15am today.

At least five buses have crashed in Manchester city centre causing chaos at morning rush hour.

The roads around Piccadilly have ground to a halt after the collision at around 8.15am today.

Portland Street and Piccadilly bus station have been shut while emergency services handle the situation.

The crash involved Arriva, Stagecoach and Magic buses on Portland Street, between Chorlton Street and Minshull Street.

Paramedics were seen treating injured passengers on the buses, although the number of casualties has not yet been confirmed.

Diversions have been put in place down Princess Street and through the Gay Village.

 

[pemma]

The Arriva bus mentioned has been confirmed as a vehicle being used on the 130 Macclesfield-Manchester service.

 

[Furrball]

Unless they have been doing something weird with the road there the Arriva bus is on the wrong side of the road.

Looks like a glancing blow to the Stagecoach Manchester decker before going into the Magic Bus

 

[ValleyLines142]

Wow - what a nasty accident. Hope all involved are okay.

 

[afyutr]

Hope everyone involved is ok. Love the media tho - doesn't look like much of a "pile-up"...

 

[talltim]

Right outside the training course I was on last week. What was the Arriva bus doing?

 

[Strathclyder]

Hope the drivers & all the passengers involved are OK. Looks like a nasty accident.

 

[rebmcr]

Hope everyone involved is ok. Love the media tho - doesn't look like much of a "pile-up"...

Not quite a pile-up, but certainly 5 buses. Looking further at the MEN gallery, it appears to have "pushed past" the passenger side of a Stagecoach waiting at the exit signals from Parker Street (ripping off the front bodywork next to the passenger doors), then scraped along the drivers sides of another Stagecoach and a Magic whilst on the wrong side of Portland Street, before the head-on with the other Magic presumably queueing behind them, but not in alignment with them.

It would seem to be a major accelleration, I'm sure some very serious questions are being asked about just how it could have happened — a technical fault e.g. pedal getting stuck, medical e.g. driver heart attack, or something more regrettable e.g. severe road rage or temporary insanity.

 

[quarella]

From the MEN page (My bold)

The buses have now been towed away.

Broken glass is now being sweeped up before police reopen Portland Street.

Is English no longer a requirement for journalists?

 

[pemma]

From the MEN page (My bold)


Is English no longer a requirement for journalists?

Maybe they are referring to Sweep from the Sooty Show doing something?

 

[Zoidberg]

From the MEN page (My bold)


Is English no longer a requirement for journalists?

Apparently, to no English is knot kneaded to right for a newspaper.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

As I have been known to make comment in past days on this website about the Manchester Evening News and of its seeming lack of sub-editorial skills and that newspaper's reporting ethic of never letting the truth get in the way of a front-page banner headline, such as that occurred during the riots at Strangeways Prison when such a major headline read....20 DEAD....when no such event had occurred, the matter of either spelling mistakes or ungrammatical text would be somewhat at the bottom of their list of priorities....

 

[jonesy3001]

What do you expect from a paper thats owned by the mirror group, it used to be owned by the guardian group.

 

[transmanche]

What do you expect from a paper thats owned by the mirror group, it used to be owned by the guardian group.

If it was still owned by The Grauniad, then perhaps I could understand...

 

[pemma]

The M.E.N. today are reporting a £600n investment in Northern Hub projects. I suppose that's one way of allowing the government to change their mind, presumably n is a variable which cannot equal more than a million.

 

[Shrimper]

MEN today reporting that police are investigating a stuck/faulty accelerator pedal, though initial rumours were that the driver had suffered a heart attack which was my initial thought.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

The M.E.N. today are reporting a £600n investment in Northern Hub projects. I suppose that's one way of allowing the government to change their mind, presumably n is a variable which cannot equal more than a million.

The symbol "n" could well equate the £600 worth of Peruvian Nuevo Sol which at the current exchange rate of 4.6128 to the £ would be a grand total of £130.07 which would please the Treasury immensely...

 

[DunsBus]

MEN today reporting that police are investigating a stuck/faulty accelerator pedal, though initial rumours were that the driver had suffered a heart attack which was my initial thought.

There was a similar incident on the former guided busway in Edinburgh a few years ago which involved three Lothian vehicles - two 04-plate Volvo/Wright single-decks and a 51-plate Trident/Plaxton President. From what I can recall the first bus, one of the Volvos, stopped at a stop and the Trident then ran into the back of it, with the second Volvo running into the back of the Trident. The cause was driver error. The two Volvos were repaired while the Trident was written off, although it was initially thought that it was repairable.

 

[BurtonM]

The Arriva bus was a Wright Pulsar.
Also involved were an Enviro400 (side damage, broken window) , Enviro400H (front corner damage), ALX400 (damage to rear), and an ELC bodied Trident that took the most damage.
One of the Magic Bus ELC bodied Tridents already has oddly-repaired crash damage - it has holes for square lights, but round ones just stuck on above them! How likely is it that the Trident will get repaired, considering its age and the fact it's a Magic Bus? Most of the fleet of a similar age aren't in the best of conditions, with a lot of rattles, wonky seats, little legroom and very few bell pushes in some cases.

 

[mbonwick]

I would say there's a higher than average chance that the Lolyne will be scrapped. Mainly because it's not DDA compliant and the rumours of ex-London vehicles for MagicBus services are gaining strength again.

The ELC Lolyne with odd lights is not actually an accident repair - it was send to Bus & Coach world in Blackburn to have ALX400 lights fitted, presumably to help with spares and replacement etc.
However, it was deemed not to be worthwhile and no other vehicles have been done.

 

[MK Tom]

How come a Trident isn't DDA compliant?

 

[mbonwick]

Built before the 2000 DDA regs came into force, so doesn't have a certificate of compliance to start with. Plus I believe the seating on that batch of Lolynes is too tight, making the 'wheelchair bay' too small.
My use of inverted commas is because I have a feeling its actually a pushchair space with backrest.

 

[Surreyman]

Built before the 2000 DDA regs came into force, so doesn't have a certificate of compliance to start with. Plus I believe the seating on that batch of Lolynes is too tight, making the 'wheelchair bay' too small.
My use of inverted commas is because I have a feeling its actually a pushchair space with backrest.

With a couple of exceptions, the oldest Tridents in the London fleet are the 2001/2002 vintage, SHORT wheelbase batch (low passenger capacity), would Stagecoach want to cascade these to Magic Bus where max capacity is surely a requirement?
(@ 70 odd Enviro 40H hybrids due for delivery to Plumstead, possibly releasing a similar number of Tridents).

 

[Robertj21a]

How come a Trident isn't DDA compliant?

Buses that are DDA compliant from new will generally be Y-reg onwards (perhaps a few X-reg).

Robert

 

[mbonwick]

With a couple of exceptions, the oldest Tridents in the London fleet are the 2001/2002 vintage, SHORT wheelbase batch (low passenger capacity), would Stagecoach want to cascade these to Magic Bus where max capacity is surely a requirement?
(@ 70 odd Enviro 40H hybrids due for delivery to Plumstead, possibly releasing a similar number of Tridents).

I am aware of the state of the London fleet. However, booked deliveries for contract retentions this year should theoretically see inroads being made into the 10.5m 2003 registered Tridents.
Plus, there's no guarantee that vehicles are withdrawn in age order!

 

[Surreyman]

I am aware of the state of the London fleet. However, booked deliveries for contract retentions this year should theoretically see inroads being made into the 10.5m 2003 registered Tridents.
Plus, there's no guarantee that vehicles are withdrawn in age order!

Thanks, thats good news, hopefully we can look forward to refurbished 10.5m Tridents replacing the existing Magicbus fleet late 2014/early 2015.

I seem to remember reading something about Tfgm having a vehicle spec?
It was in the context of staircase layout on double deckers with the older (S/T reg ex London Tridents not conforming) but I believe the remaining ex London examples in Manchester are now in magicbus colours?
A rough count of remaining non-DDA D/Decks in the Stagecoach UK fleet suggests @360 Olympians and older low floor 'deckers to be replaced by 31/12/2016, which suggests a replacement rate of aprox 120 a year (2014/2015/2016).

 

[mbonwick]

The actual number will be slightly higher than 120 per year as there are early Tridents to replace as well. However, some school services will fall outside the DDA legislation and will be fine to continue using Olympians.

 

[34D]

MEN today reporting that police are investigating a stuck/faulty accelerator pedal, though initial rumours were that the driver had suffered a heart attack which was my initial thought.

So you switch it off! And apply the handbrake! Hopefully telematics are fitted to the vehicle and will give insight