Volvo B10TL
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Volvo Super Olympian, also known as B10TL, is the low floor replacement of the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian double decker bus (its 2-axle version was replaced by Volvo B7TL).
It was unveiled in 1998, with one chassis being sent to Hong Kong for a motor show held by UITP in the same year. The chassis was later sent back to the UK.
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[edit] Chassis
The chassis of Super Olympian was based on the Volvo Olympian. The front radiator was moved to the back of the first axle for 12m version, or in front of the second axle for 10.6m version (it was due to shorter wheelbase). Due to the change of chassis design, the steering function of the second axle was disabled. However, the suspension is soft, making passengers comfortable.
An 11.3m version of Super Olympian was also available, but none were built.
Initially, the Super Olympian chassis were built in Volvo's factory in Irvine, Scotland. After the closure of the factory in mid-2000, production was moved to Wrocław, Poland.
The engine was Volvo D10A285, with the maximum power of only 285hp, lower than 305hp of Cummins M11-305E used on Neoplan Centroliner and Dennis Trident 3, and 335hp of Cummins ISMe Euro III used on Dennis Trident 3/Enviro 500.
There are several nicknames of this bus model in Hong Kong, all of which mean that the bus is not powerful enough. The most common are "豬" (pig), "扒" (meat cutlet) and "豬扒" (pork chop, derived from the word "Super").
[edit] Hong Kong
[edit] Kowloon Motor Bus 3ASV1-492
Kowloon Motor Bus ordered the first batch of 61 Super Olympians with ZF 4HP590 gearbox, Alexander ALX500 body and plastic route display in 1998. The first bus passed the tilt test of the Transport Department in May 1999 and was licensed in August 1999. They were numbered 3ASV1-61 and all of them entered service in 1999. All except the prototype 3ASV3 had narrow 2+2 seats on the upper deck.
A total of 80 Super Olympians (3ASV62-141) entered service in 2000/2001. These buses had electronic route displays and the gearbox was changed to ZF 5HP590. 3ASV78 was the 3000th Walter Alexander-bodied bus supplied to KMB, and 3ASV141 was the first KMB bus to meet Euro III emission standards.
The last 351 Super Olympians (3ASV142-492), including 21 which were fitted with Volgren CR223LD body, entered service in 2001/2002. All of these buses had their chassis built in Poland. They had their D10A285 engines built to meet the Euro III emission standard and had ALCOA front wheels. 3ASV297 was coated with special metallic paint, which shows different colours (mainly green and purple), depending on the angle of light reflection.
[edit] Kowloon Motor Bus ASV1-100 (10.6m version)
The first 49 10.6m Super Olympians (Alexander ALX500 body, numbered ASV1-49) were introduced in 2001. They are equipped with D10A285 Euro II engines and had ALCOA front wheels.
ASV50, which was put into service in 2002, is a prototype short-wheelbase Super Olympian (chassis built in 1999), and also the only short-wheelbase Super Olympian built in Scotland. It is equipped with an Euro III version of D10A285 engine and ZF 4HP590 gearbox rather than 5HP590 in other ASVs.
ASV51-100 are equipped with the Euro III version of D10A285 engines as well. They are almost identical with ASV1-49, but they have a slightly different interior design. Only the first 24 were put into service in 2003. The remaining 26 were stored for more than 1 year, and they were put into service between September 2004 and March 2005.
[edit] Kowloon Motor Bus AVW1-100 (wider version)
In January 2003, KMB received the first Super Olympian with Wright 2550mm-wide body (once known as the Wright Explorer). Like the TransBus Enviro 500, straight staircase and plug door (only for the exit) were fitted. It was numbered AVW1 and was registered in March 2003.
The next 49 buses (AVW2-50) with slightly different design followed shortly after AVW1, they entered service in 2003/2004. One of them (fleet number AVW47) had participated in Coach and Bus 2003 and EFE Showbus 2003 in UK before being delivered.
The last 50 buses (AVW51-100), which are almost identical with AVW2-50, entered service in 2004/2005.
[edit] New World First Bus
New World First Bus bought 103 Super Olympians in 5 batches, all are 12 metres long and were fitted with Alexander ALX500 body.
The first 40 Super Olympians (5001-5040), with electronic route displays, were introduced in 1999. Then the next 20 (5041-5060), which have their side route number boxes moved to lower position, entered service in 2000/2001. The chassis of 5060 was the first to be built in Poland.
The next 19 Super Olympians (5061-5079), with the Euro III version of D10A285 engine and ALCOA front wheels, entered service in 2001. They were followed by 10 similar ones (5080-5089) later in the same year. Among these buses, 5080-5086 had their registration numbers originated from ex-CMB buses and service cars. The last 14 Super Olympians (5090-5103), introduced in 2002, had their rear route number boxes raised to a location above the emergency window.
[edit] Singapore
Super Olympian buses are also in service in Singapore with bus operator SBS Transit. In late 1999, Volvo delivered one Volgren CR223LD-bodied Super Olympian (body assembled in Australia) to the then Singapore Bus Service as demonstrator. This bus had electronic route display and the chassis was built in UK. It was registered SBS 9888Y and entered service in October 1999. The electronic route display was removed in December 2005.
Later, Singapore Bus Service (now SBS Transit) ordered 51 Volvo Super Olympian chassis. They had Voith DIWA863.3 gearbox, rather than ZF 5HP590 gearbox in SBS 9888Y, and unlike the examples introduced at the same time in Hong Kong, their front wheels were not ALCOA products. On the other hand, only the chassis of SBS 9810X was built in UK, the others were built in Poland.
Among these 51 buses, 50 of them were fitted with Volgren CR223LD bodywork and registered SBS9800A to SBS 9849K. The body of SBS 9810X was assembled in Australia, and it was equipped with electronic route display, other bodies were delivered to Singapore as kits. SBS 9800A entered service in April 2002 and the others entered service in early 2003. The last one was fitted with ComfortDelgro Engineering bodywork; it was registered as SBS 9889U and finally entered service in March 2005.
[edit] Replacement
Production of Volvo Super Olympian ended in 2004 after finishing the last order from Kowloon Motor Bus. Its successor was the Volvo B9TL.
[edit] See also
Other KMB's low floor bus models:
