City Circle takes delivery of its 100th Scania Irizar coach
City Circle (UK) has taken delivery of the 100th Scania Irizar coach at a special ceremony held at Scania (Great Britain)’s UK customer support centre in Milton Keynes.
The 100th vehicle formed part of a delivery of six coaches, the first of 20 being supplied by Scania to City Circle this year. All 20 vehicles will be Scania Irizar i6S models, of which 18 will be tri-axles with the remaining two based on 4×2 chassis.
“It is the flexible approach taken by Scania and Irizar over the years which has led to this important milestone for each of our companies,” says Neil Pegg. “The relationship began seven years ago when we were looking to replace some 10.8m vehicles in our fleet. The problem was nothing much was available in that length at the time, but Scania and Irizar were prepared to develop a bespoke solution for us, which they did in double-quick time – the order-to-delivery time was something like just five months, which included designing a custom-length coach to our specification.
“That can-do attitude really impressed us and was the catalyst for everything which has followed. We had never operated Scania Irizar vehicles before, but we quickly began appreciating the quality and reliability of the product. So much so, in fact, that we have purchased Scania Irizar coaches every year since. Once this order is complete, 64 of our 69-strong fleet for 2020 will carry the Scania and Irizar badges.”
The 18 tri-axle City Circle vehicles are being built on Scania’s K 410 6×2*4 rear-steer chassis and equipped with Scania’s 410hp engine and fully-automated Opticruise gear selection system. The 13.2m overall length features Irizar i6S bodywork including 53 reclining seats with leather and extra padded flaps, seat back tables, magazine nets and footrests, and the body is finished with extra dark tinted double glazing. A sunken toilet/washroom and Frenzel kitchen is located at the centre continental exit. Additional features include, reversing and road cameras, integrated satellite navigation and Alcoa Dura-Bright alloy wheels.
The remaining two coaches will be based on Scania’s K 360 4×2 chassis fitted with Scania’s 360hp engine and fully-automated Opticruise gear selection system. The 10.8m coaches incorporate 36 reclining seats with half-leather trim, rear floor-mounted toilet/washroom, and an extensive servery at the rear of the coach with built-in units for fridges and drinks facilities fitted by AD Coach Systems.