Ninja - thanks for the first picture of the new X5 B11R coaches, but they have Plaxton Elite bodies not Elite i (Interdeck). I have to say that, as stunning a design as the Elite is, and they will turn a lot of heads when they go into service, I feel that Stagecoach East is missing a trick here. The soon-to-be-replaced 58-plate B9Rs are 12.2 metres long and have 49 seats and the Elites are 14 metres and 57 seats. I thought the X5 has a problem with capacity, and yet we have new coaches that are considerably longer, and therefore more likely to suffer body damage, that have just eight more seats! If East had gone for the 14-metre Interdeck we would be looking at about 68 seats and a very considerably reduced loading time for wheelchairs as it has a low-floor entrance instead of having to deploy the expensive and time-consuming Magic Floor platform. All right, there are more internal steps in the Interdeck and I am aware that the X5 has frequent stops on some sections e.g. Eaton Socon, but overall I feel that the capacity problems of the route will not be solved with eight more seats per vehicle. As someone posted weeks ago on this subject, would we not have been better increasing the frequency (every 20 minutes?) and keep to the existing vehicle length?
