This batch have suffered a fair bit of reliability issues, in fact all bar two of the 7 fires suffered by a E400H over the last year were built in the same timeframe. Small wonder why the type loses out so much to the B5LH in recent years.
Industrial sources in recent years have always indicated that the B5LH performs more consistently comparing to the E400H. Having said that, this is the first time I saw some actual data that backs this up.
What comes as a surprise to me is how much the hybrid system on the E400H degrades in such a short spell in service. Given the extra costs for additional spares, small wonder it sold so poorly outside London, and now some smaller operators now look to decommission the hybrid drivetrain altogether.
That is pretty much on par with a B7TL or Euro 2 Trident. In fact, Euro 2 Tridents, which weighs a few hundred kgs more, have to make do with a bit less torque as well.
NV58 發表於 2017-11-24 15:43
That is pretty much on par with a B7TL or Euro 2 Trident. In fact, Euro 2 Tridents, which weighs a ...
Those extra weights should come from the larger engines they are using (Cummins C-Series, 8.3L displacement)
What I comes to mind is that, the conversion of UK E400Hs to E400s somehow echoes with the circumstances of E500Hs in Hong Kong, in which the fuel efficiency test results are unsatisfactory. Perhaps those 6 fleets could have chance to be converted back to Euro 6 E500s in the same manner, when their batteries and electric motors degenerate to some point?
hellomato 發表於 2017-11-24 09:19
Those extra weights should come from the larger engines they are using (Cummins C-Series, 8.3L disp ...
The engine alone shall not make up 300kg difference, so regardless, the E400 is still a bit lighter ex-engine, maybe 100-200 kg something like that.
You picked up on the points about the E500H, but I think the failure has more to do with putting many of those buses on long distance express routes, the kind of services that serial hybrids are ill suited for. Just contrast this to what happened to the trial of the B5RLEH in Singapore... Whether they will be converted back to diesel power depends on how much the engineering change will be, but I imagine it will be a much greater undertaking that the twin-axle sisters. Given the number of buses involved is small, I guess they will just linger on until they can't go on anymore.
