[ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

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[ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Daniel »

Perhaps this is the best place for this. Would be suited to the Overseas Discussion, but that forum is not used frequently anymore:
VOLGREN ARTICULATED BUSES FOR JAPAN
Date: 13.08.2014

Articulated buses built by Volgren will be sent to Japan as the country looks for alternatives to heavy rail

Bus builder Volgren has entered the Japanese bus market as the country seeks complementary alternatives to its heavily rail-based public transport system.

In September, Volgren will ship its first articulated bus for the Japanese city of Niigata.

The bus is the first in an initial order of four for the city, and another three buses will be delivered in 2015 with plans for more in the coming years.

This is the first time Volgren has built a bus for the Japanese market and follows an approach to the company three years ago, from new partner Mitsui - one of Japan’s largest corporations.

Volgren Contracts and National Business Development Manager Jon Tozer says they are very proud and excited that Niigata and Mitsui have put their trust in Volgren’s design, safety and manufacturing quality standards.

"We also believe there is terrific potential for the future," he says.

"Volgren has had several discussions with a number of other cities in Japan, with the prospect of further sales looking very favourable."

The 26 tonne articulated buses for Niigata will use Volgren’s clean and modern bodies and the unparalleled Co-bolt aluminium frame and will be 18 metres long by 2.5 metres wide and 3.8 metres high.

Japanese public transport is heavily rail-based at the moment, but more and more governments there are looking at Bus Rapid Transit as an option.
http://www.busnews.com.au/news/industry ... n=15082014
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by venturatiger »

Hi, doesn't say what chassis they are though

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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Daniel »

Some computer drawn images and artist's impressions:
http://www.city.niigata.lg.jp/kurashi/d ... td2606.pdf

Details from the original contract in 2013. Scania chassis':
Mitsui & Co. Plant Systems to supply Niigata BRT buses
BRTバス 三井プラントが落札 新潟市
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/region/news...2320001-n1.htm

On 2013.11.27, Niigata City announced that the Mitsui & Co. Plant Systems (三井物産プラントシステム) was selected as the winner of the ¥307.2 million contract (excluding taxes) to supply four articulated buses for the city’s bus rapid transit (BRT) project. A formal contract will be signed once the City Council approves the purchase in December, with the vehicles set to arrive in late June 2015.

In addition to Mitsui & Co. Plant Systems, Ōsaka City’s Chūō Transport Bus (中央交通バス) also submitted a big. The bus bodies will be built by Australia’s Volgren, while the chassis will be built by Sweden’s Scania AB.

The city had budgeted ¥120 million per bus to account for fluctuations in the exchange rate, but the final price was about ¥80 million per bus, even when including taxes, putting them at approximately the same price as the ¥75 million articulated buses currently used in Chiba City, Gifu City, and other locations.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by crazyturbo76 »

I believe this order is a great opportunity for the Big Three bodybuilders and will keep at least some jobs open here in Australia. Congrats to Volgren on their successful contract bid.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by boronia »

While congratulations may be in order, just 4 buses doesn't seem many for what appears to be a fairly substantial transport system.

I am intrigued by the concept of a "complimentary alternative" :shock:
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Daniel »

Initially four, but given the competitiveness between cities in Japan, it's the high possibility of other cities becoming interested and ordering which is the big attraction.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Bedford-29 »

There are articulated buses in service with Keisei bus which have Volvo B10M and Mercedes Citaro and JR Kanto to name a few.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by venturatiger »

Bedford 29 what has that got to do with this order, just more useless trivia

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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by boronia »

It is only in the last few years that artics have been permitted in Japan.

The 50 Volvo/Fuji built in 1985 were restricted to just one route in Tokyo (all motorway working) after the 1985 Science Expo.

Was this the first Australian bus to be exported to Japan?:
atlantean japan (Small).jpg
atlantean japan (Small).jpg (81.59 KiB) Viewed 19679 times
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Bedford-29 »

Boronia the red ex Sydney Leyland Atlantean is one of two 1170 and 1171 that were exported to Japan.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by panther998 »

boronia wrote:While congratulations may be in order, just 4 buses doesn't seem many for what appears to be a fairly substantial transport system.
The 4 Scania / Volgren artics are not the only buses used on the Niigata BRT - 'standard' Hino and Isuzu (J-Bus) units in the fleet are also deployed, bearing BRT 'boards' below the windscreen, as per the Isuzu Erga on the left (below). I believe the route, from Niigata JR Station to Aoyama, is about 7 km long. I have only seen the first 2 km, which is all in broad streets, but with nil dedicated lanes or signal priority, etc, so not really a true BRT 'system' at the inner end. There are 16 stops in total, but I only saw the inner 4 - only a short visit to Niigata, not enough time to check out the full route.
JPN_Niigata_-715_Erga_Dscn6979-crcd2.jpg
Here are 2 shots showing Scania K360 / Volgren Optimus 001 in service today (06/05/16) heading outbound on Higashi-odori.
JPN_Niigata-001_Sca-Vgn_Dscn6984-crcd2.jpg
JPN_Niigata-001_Sca-Vgn_Dscn6986nr-crcd2.jpg
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Lt. Commander Data »

Yep, the Optimus still looks great. I wonder what it'd look like in AdMet or RedMet livery...?
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by BroadGauge »

panther998 wrote:I have only seen the first 2 km, which is all in broad streets, but with nil dedicated lanes or signal priority, etc, so not really a true BRT 'system' at the inner end. There are 16 stops in total, but I only saw the inner 4 - only a short visit to Niigata, not enough time to check out the full route.
The whole route is like that. There's a couple of small bus lanes and the stops have special signage compared to other routes, but that's about it.

Further out towards Aoyoma it actually runs on a couple of quite narrow roads!
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by boronia »

The Japanese have never really taken to artics. There was the batch built in 1985 for an Expo, but these travelled in dedicated lanes to the venue, and some later as Narita Airport shuttles, but only on motorway lanes. They were banned elsewhere until fairly recently, I'm not aware if any others have been built there; there are a few Neoplan "Twin Liner" and some Merc Citaro (shitaro when translated back from Japanese).

The usual outcome of these foreign purchases is that local builders will go over them, then build their own versions.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Lt. Commander Data »

The Fuji artics are the ones that ended up back in various places around Australia, aren't they? There was one that started in Japan, then went to Briscoes in Mt Barker, then went to the Mt Barker Passenger Service, then Hills Transit, then TransitPlus, then Torrens Transit. It might have also gone through Brisbane at some point. It definitely had a 'full' life.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by boronia »

Yes, the Fuji artics were built for the Expo in 1985 and ran there for about 6 months.

Afterwards about 6 stayed in Tokyo for the Airport Limousine shuttles.

The rest came to Aust and NZ, where they seem to have given long service with many operators.

There was some video on YouTube of one preserved in Tokyo.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Fleet Lists »

see http://fleetlists.busaustralia.com/fuji2.htm thus has not been updated since 2008.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by panther998 »

Five ex Tsukuba Volvo artics have been / are with WA operators, including Westwide and Buswest. See http://www.perthbus.info/prequery.php?q ... 0&ccid=800 for details.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Tog »

Of the 100 Volvo B10m / Fuji artics built for the Tsukuba Expo and run on its behalf by local operators, 20 were later used by Airport Limousine, 1 was taken back by Fuji and the remainder exported, all bar the two in New Zealand going to Australia. Keisei Bus in Chiba also ran Volvo B10M / Fuji artics but have since taken Citaros.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Mitch »

As it turns out, Volgren have exported another two artics to Fukuoka to run on their BRT system as well, with a news site from Fukuoka stating they are looking to bump up their fleet of artics to 15 by 2020.

Image
IMG SRC: http://hara558.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-46.html

Looks quite good.

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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by TA3001 »

In English, what chassis type is the artic in the photo?
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Daniel »

In English it is a Scania K360UA.

Perhaps an update on the export tally is needed. The initial 4 units were built in 2014 for for Niigata City, north of Tokyo. 2015-2016 then saw 7 units for Nishitetsu in Fukuoka and 2 units for Nara Kotsu. So the present number built is 13. Nishitetsu themselves have confirmed a further 13 units over the next few years with other orders no doubt to follow. The Niigata system alone is expected to have a total of 22 units.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by system improver »

The local Japanese bus market is protected, which is why you won't see many Chinese buses in Japan. Imported artics are a result of local manufacturers stipulating that they cannot supply the product. Australia is the only OECD country that does not protect its automotive industry and we soon won't have one.
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Bedford-29 »

This might interest you on the Fukuoka BRT from you tube
https://youtu.be/NVqlphyw7fA
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Re: [ABC] Volgren Articulated Buses For Japan

Post by Mr OC Benz »

I'll just put this here as it is still somewhat relevant to this thread. First Volgren rigid buses for Japan? To be built on the low floor Scania N280UB Euro 6 chassis.
Bus News wrote:
MAJOR VOLGREN ORDER FROM TOKYO
Date: 05.12.2017

Volgren has received a major export order for 29 Australian-built low floor city buses from Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Bureau of Transport


Image
The order is Volgren’s single biggest deal since entering the Japanese market in 2014 with their articulated route bus.

This latest partnership with Tokyo Metropolitan Government, who operates around 1,450 buses in the Greater Tokyo region, is one of four operator relationships that Volgren has established, including their ongoing association with Japan’s largest bus operator, the Nishitetsu Railway Company.

Volgren Chief Executive Peter Dale says the entry of the Volgren low floor city buses, to be built on a Scania N280UB E6 chassis would be the first of their kind in Japan.

"In a short space of time, Volgren have built a reputation in Japan for manufacturing high quality, niche vehicles in areas that local manufacturers currently do not supply into," he says.

"There's currently no local Japanese bus body manufacturer producing a complete low floor buses with the only other option being buses from Europe, that are non-compliant to Japanese regulations and not equipped with any Japanese specific equipment upon delivery to the customer."

"The low floor route buses for Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to be built right here in Dandenong, will be 100 per cent compliant to their vehicle specifications including their complex onboard passenger information systems, ticketing equipment and emergency exit requirements."

"This ready to roll solution is well received by operators and is one of the key planks to our success in Japan," Dale explains.

Dale says Volgren's engineering quality and technological innovation means that their buses are now desired throughout the world.

"Tokyo Metropolitan Government is one of the most progressive bus operators in the world. They’ve recently taken delivery of the first Toyota fuel cell bus and by ordering a complete low floor solution through Volgren, they’re sending a message to local suppliers – update and be more flexible to passenger requirements, or we’ll go elsewhere," Dale says.

The complete low floor city buses will improve ease of access, increase capacity and better cater to Tokyo’s ageing population.

The first of two homologation units, ordered by Scania Japan, will go into build in two weeks, as part of the pre-registration process.

Production of the remaining buses will commence in May and be completed by August 2018.
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