Well a year has passed since I last wrote an entry here. The fleet of Scanias continue to provide a comfortable and reliable service through the XL corridor and you would struggle to find a breakdown which is good news for consumers. Timetable alterations because of the pandemic meant a slightly reduced service operating at various times, notably between 1st February and 12th April when one of the Norwich - Dereham short turns was dropped from the schedule due to lower passenger numbers. Thankfully since the full service resumed, loadings have recovered greatly.  The Scanias ha ..read more

  Many moons ago, I wrote one of my very occasional blog entries about the new red Scania buses brought in to operate the XL service from Norwich to Peterborough. That's all a very long time ago now, in fact almost 6 months and hasn't a lot happened since ? Or to be more accurate, not a lot has happened since ! Going back to March 27th then and a much reduced service was introduced in response to the pandemic situation. From Sunday 5th April, King's Lynn depot temporarily closed and staff were furloughed while a skeleton service was operated by Norwich. This prevailed until 30th May after ..read more

36917 near Hockering on Friday. Photo : Zak Nelson So the first week of operation using the new fleet of Excel Scanias has passed relatively uneventfully. From what I can gather, Saturday was the first day where there were no Enviro substitutions. During the week 33805/811/817/818 were all used at various points. Of the new vehicles, all have been used on the route apart from 36901 which has had a few minor issues.  36908 on a Dereham - Norwich service near Hockering. Photo : Zak Nelson On the main route on Mondays to Fridays, King's Lynn send out ten buses and Norwich seven. Three of the lat ..read more

 Today saw the introduction of the new XL fleet, which by and large was carried out successfully. The eye catching red liveried buses have brought new standards of comfort and facilities to the route. Drivers seemed to be taking it very steady with the new charges today and most I saw were a few minutes late, however, 36907 working the 15.40 Peterborough - Norwich was seen entering Wisbech spot on time. The 08.10 Peterborough - Norwich started at Thorney with 33805 after an issue with one of the new buses and 33816 was also out during the day, but small teething troubles are always part of ..read more

Today was the last day of the 63 Reg Enviro 400s on the XL route. Preparations are complete for the first day of the new Scania vehicles tomorrow.  High winds did see a substitution late last night and for a time today when single decker 63325 was used.  63325 at King's Lynn South Gates with 33811 about to take eastbound passengers forward today . Photo : Zak Nelson The Enviros performed well on their last day on the route, although 33805, 33811 and 33817 are to be kept at King's Lynn for a few days on standby in the event of any problems with the new boys. 33819 never received full route b ..read more

  After what seems to be a long while with little to report, it's nice to produce a blog which is a little different. Preparations for the entry into service of the new fleet are proceeding apace. The first one to pass through Wisbech to my knowledge was on Thursday afternoon when 36910 was used for tests on the public address system. It is seen below on its way back to Norwich and I'm sure that guy on the top deck is waving !! Since it was announced recently that First have cancelled the sale of their bus division - this was originally announced in May 2019, it is not surprising that t ..read more

The fleet numbers for the new buses are 36900 - 36919 inclusive. They have started to appear in Norwich and King's Lynn for driver training purposes. 36912 was photographed outside King's Lynn railway station this morning by our man on the spot It's not just drivers who are familiarising themselves with the new charges, the maintenance teams are also getting to know all about  those important details which keep the fleet on the road. At last week's press launch, the team at King's Lynn came in for special praise because of their dedication in keeping everything moving with the minimum of fus ..read more

Today, myself and Roy Northcott who does the East Norfolk Bus Blog were invited to attend the press launch of the new Excel fleet. Representatives from several of the manufacturers who have contributed to the project as well as the bus industry hierarchy and various other interested parties were also in attendance. After our arrival at Davey House in Norwich, First Eastern Counties Steve Wickers (Managing Director), David Jordan (Marketing Manager) and Paul Martin (Commercial Manager) gave us an explanation of the host of features offered by the new buses. We were then addressed by Giles Fearn ..read more

https://www.firstgroup.com/norfolk-suffolk/news-and-service-updates/excel-new-standard-travel-comfort-arriving-spring-2020?fbclid=IwAR3yN1mmPx3-thTiNbdzk1IT-wTqf2VZWW0PSULyZyYzToDmZJ1dXrhtU1s and the new timetable from February 16th here : https://www.firstgroup.com/uploads/node_images/norfolk-suffolk/FEC-XL-XL%20Web%20TT%2002-20.pdf A further update tomorrow night ..read more

The sun is setting on the reign of the 2013 Scarborough built Enviro 400s on the XL route. 33803 which was the first of the fleet is seen at Walton Highway on Christmas Eve Well where are the new buses they cried ? First are going to great lengths to keep them under wraps. At least one has paid a visit to King's Lynn depot and has the appropriate vinyls fitted, but the shutters have been down when these visits have occurred up to now. You can learn a little more about them here : https://www.firstgroup.com/norfolk-suffolk/news-and-service-updates/excel-new-standard-travel-comfort-arriving-spri ..read more