photo copyright of Kenny

The Volvo Super Olympian B10TL demonstrator of SBS Transit has been redeployed on Service 25 (Ang Mo Kio Interchange to Bedok Interchange) with effect from Monday, August 11 2008. To mark the redeployment, I will feature the B10TL in this month’s edition of BusBlogFeature.

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BusBlogFeature August 2008: Volvo Super Olympian B10TL

The Volvo Super Olympian B10TL was Volvo’s first super low floor, triaxle double-decker bus chassis. Designed to replace the hugely successful Volvo Olympian family, the B10TL or VSO as it is affectionately known by the local bus enthusiasts, features an all-new chassis layout and specifications. The B10TL is offered in 3 lengths, 12 metres, 11.3 metres and 10.6 metres. It is powered by the new 285bhp, 9.6-litre D10A285 engine which conforms to the Euro-2/Euro-3 exhaust emission standards. Customers may choose to install either the 5-speed ZF or the 3-speed Voith gearboxes.

B10TL essentially means:

B – Bus chassis
10 – 10-litre engine (actual displacement is 9600cc)
T – Transversely-laid engine
L – Low floor

Volvo made significant changes to the B10TL. The most significant was the relocation of the radiator to the offside, just behind the front axle. However, this layout proved to be a disadvantage because it resulted in a decrease in passenger capacity at the lower saloon. The tag axle found on earlier Olympians was also omitted to allow an all-through low floor layout. The B10TL also featured electronic air suspension system that tilts the bus when making a turn, and the kneeling function which lowers the bus to kerb level when activated.

Unlike its sibling Volvo B7TL, the B10TL was primarily intended for the ‘Oriental’ markets such as Hong Kong and Singapore. The existence of the 3rd axle is to accommodate the additional weight brought about by the heavy airconditioning system. One may also say that the B10TL competes directly with the Trident 3 of British manufacturer Dennis Specialist Vehicles. In fact, it is considered by many that Volvo was late to offer the B10TL, as evident by the large numbers of Tridents in HK, as Dennis holds the monopoly of the low floor, triaxle double-decker market for quite sometime.

Singapore is the only other country in the world besides HK to operate the B10TL. SBS, as it was known then, brought in the first B10TL demonstrator in 1999, commencing revenue services on September 19 that same year. Carrying the famous “Singapore’s first low floor Superbus” tagline, SBS9888Y as it was registered, was deployed on the brand new Service 87 which plies between Sengkang Interchange and Bedok Interchange. It was launched by Rear-Admiral Teo Chee Hean at a community event in Sengkang.

photo copyright of Joseph Lee@Gakei

SBS9888Y carried a stylized Superbus livery with 2 arrows instead of the 2-lines found on earlier Superbuses. In addition, several promotional taglines also adorned the nearside of the bus. Besides the “Singapore’s first low floor Superbus” tagline, the bus also had the following: “Low Floor Design”, “Air Suspension”, “Disc Brake System” and “Green Engine”. SBS also went a step ahead with a full-page advertisement on The Sunday Times to commemorate the event.

The all-new Volgren Australia CR222LD bodywork was fitted on SBS9888Y. Being a Completely Built-Up (CBU) bus, it was fitted at Volgren’s plant in Victoria, Australia before being shipped to Singapore. Airconditioning was provided by NipponDenso of Japan, while the ergonomically-designed individual bucket seats were supplied by Vogelsitze of Germany. SBS9888Y is also the first Superbus to be fitted with an Electronic Destination System (EDS) display, an outswing plug exit door and CCTV cameras at the upper saloon as well as the rear of the bus. The EDS has since been removed. The bus has a licensed passenger capacity of 55-seated passengers at the upper deck, with 28-seated and 42 standing passengers at the lower deck. The bus is equipped with the D10A285 engine as standard, rated at 285bhp and coupled with the 5-speed ZF 5HP590 gearbox, which remains unique in the fleet.

photo copyright of Tan Hao Rui

photo copyright of Jack

After a brief stint on Service 87, SBS9888Y was redeployed on the old Express 502 which runs between Boon Lay Interchange and Sengkang Interchange then. The bus was redeployed on Service 80 (Sengkang Interchange to Harbourfront Interchange) after the Northeast MRT line rationalization exercise was implemented. It was again redeployed on Service 154 (Eunos Interchange to Boon Lay Interchange). During the major depot transfers in 2004 (which sees a number of HGDEP and BRAM-controlled services changing hands), it was transferred with its parent service to Braddell Bus Park (BRAM) from Hougang Depot (HGDEP). It was again transferred to Ang Mo Kio Depot (AMDEP) in March 2008 and has remained there ever since. It was redeployed on Service 133 (Ang Mo Kio Interchange to Marina Centre) before settling down on Service 25. It has also appeared as a substitute bus (locally known as cameo) on several AMDEP/BRAM-based services.

photo copyright of Tan Hao Rui

photo copyright of Jack

In 2001, SBS Transit made a follow-up order for 50 B10TLs. These production models featured minimal design differences when compared to SBS9888Y. The same Volgren CR221LD bodywork was fitted but the 3-speed Voith DIWA863.3 gearbox was chosen instead. Out of the 50 units, one was produced in Irvine, Scotland and bodywork assembly done in Australia (SBS9810X). The rest of the chassis were produced in Poland and assembled in Singapore by ComfortDelgro Engineering. Interestingly, construction of SBS9800A was subcontracted to Soon Chow. SBS9810X is also unique as it is the only production model to be fitted with an EDS display. The production B10TLs are registered SBS9800A to SBS9849K, and are exclusive to the Eastern District Depots (AMDEP, BRAM and Bedok North Depot (BNDEP)).

photo copyright of Tan Hao Rui

Initially, all production B10TLs with the exception of SBS9800A, were allocated to AMDEP and BRAM. However, several examples were transferred to BNDEP in 2004 for deployment on CityBuzz services. Some of these examples were also used on BNDEP-based trunk services which have a high number of elderly commuters. As of August 2008, all production B10TLs and SBS9888Y are exclusive to the Eastern District, and can be found operating on Services 8, 12, 14, 21, 22, 25, 28, 30, 31, 55, 65, 69, 70, 76, 81, 88, 133, 143, 154 and 222. Like any other buses, the B10TLs may appear as substitute buses on other Eastern District services. The most notable in recent weeks were on Services 19, 37, 59, 186 and 225, just to name a few. SBS9800A was transferred to BRAM along with SBS9888Y when it was deployed on Service 154.

photo copyright of Kenny

photo copyright of Tan Hao Rui

SBS Transit also purchased another single unit for evaluation purposes. However it was acquired for a bodywork trial rather than a chassis evaluation unit. Registered SBS9889U, it was fitted with an all-new bodywork jointly designed by PSV International UK and ComfortDelgro Engineering. The bodywork was to be fitted on the newer Volvo B9TL wheelchair-accessible buses (WAB), albeit with significant modifications. SBS9889U is exclusive to Bukit Batok Depot (BBDEP) and is currently deployed on Service 166 (Ang Mo Kio Interchange to Clementi Interchange), having initially deployed on Service 147 (Hougang Central Interchange to Clementi Interchange).

photo copyright of Tan Hao Rui

Only 52 examples of the B10TLs were acquired by SBS Transit as it is believed that they consumed a lot of fuel, especially on routes that plied the expressways. Several bus enthusiasts have also downplayed its rather slow acceleration (pick-up) and noisy radiators, probably attributed to the Voith gearbox. It is no surprise then that SBS9888Y is still the darling of many of the local enthusiasts, me being one of them.

Statistics

• Model : B10TL (Bus, 10-litre engine, Transversely-laid engine, Low floor)
• Product Name : Volvo Super Olympian
• Length : 12 m
• Height : 4.3 m
• Width : 2.5 m (2.55 m for SBS9889U)
• Bodywork : Volgren Australia CR222LD (PSV/CDGE for SBS9889U)
• Fleet Size : 52 (50 production units + 2 demonstrator units)
• Registration Numbers : SBS9800A to SBS9849K, SBS9888Y to SBS9889U
• Deployment : Services 8, 12, 14, 21, 22, 25, 28, 30, 31, 55, 65, 69, 70, 76, 81, 88, 133, 143, 154, 161, 166 and 222 
• Passenger Capacity : 55 seats (upper deck) + 28 seats (lower deck) + 42 standees

 

This entry was originally published on August 15, 2008.