Evening all,
Whereas it initially looked like I would get sent to the West Midlands for work today I jumped at the chance when my boss offered me a job to Plymouth instead which I accepted. So a few notes from there.
After a walk through the City Centre from Plymouth station I got to Royal Parade and was glad to see that Stagecoach had some of their new fleet on display. Noted here were:
- Enviro200 MMC 26034, YX65 RCV (P&R livery)
- Enviro400 MMC 10457, SN65 NZP (P&R livery)
- Plaxton Elite 54320, YY65 VXV (SouthWest Falcon)
- Enviro400 MMC 10488, SN65 ZHB (Stagecoach livery)
I did get some photos. It was a pity about the rain but it was, at the same time, good to see some of the new fleet out. I looked into the Enviro200 MMC, having never seen one other than in photos, and tried having a seat on it. I was glad to find that the legroom for passengers seems to be better on here, where I could sit facing frontwards, than on the older ones such as the '09' examples that Bristol once had where I had to sit slightly sideways to get a comfortable journey. I also saw 2x Enviro200 MMCs in service: YX65 RCY & YX65 RCZ (26035 & 26036 respectively, both on Service 200. I did see a couple of Enviro400s in service (not P&R ones) but was not able to note the registrations or fleetnumbers of either. I have to say that I think the P&R livery looks very smart on both the Enviro200s and Enviro400s.
Having collected the vehicle I had to collect I passed MCV Evolution 33870, RR57 BLU on the A38 heading northbound. I guess this was going back off-loan but I am not sure where it was headed. Also on the A38 I passed 2x Flacon-liveried Plaxton coaches and an Enviro400 MMC which were heading south toward Plymouth. I am not sure which ones they were.
I asked for a timetable for the SW Falcon service and was told that they were still in production. However the plan is that there will be an hourly service throughout much of the day with a couple of late-night journeys. I also made an enquiry about the fares for Plymouth to Bristol and was told £22 single, £25 return once the promotional period (£1 per trip) runs out, with a trip time of about 3hr 20min. That could give the trains a run for their money: an off-peak return, valid for a month, from Bristol to Plymouth is £56.50. I mentioned this to my boss: an advert for the Falcon has now gone up in the depot and it is likely that my colleagues and I will make use of it.
Hope this is of interest.
Dave