GO Transit - now (not) extended to Halifax

The ever expanding Government of Ontario Transit system (GO Transit) has been adding buses at a fast rate to serve more distant suburban areas - but not quite as far as Halifax.  The latest model, introduced last year, with an order of 25 (numbers 8101-8125), are built by Alexander Dennis in the UK and imported through Halifax by ships of the Atlantic Container Line. The buses are then driven on to Toronto.

It appears that an additional 25 buses have now been ordered (based on numbers) with at least three arriving Christmas week in Halifax.

Go Transit bus numbers 8140 and 8146 wait to be driven away from the Fairview Cove container terminal. A third bus can be seen in the terminal, but in an unphotographable location and its number isn't visible.

The double deckers of this new Enviro 500 series are longer and lower than the pre-2013 models, allowing them to serve more suburban areas in the GTA, along the Highway 407 corridor. With a capacity of 81, they are really coaches, as opposed to transit buses. This new order is also painted in GO's revised darker forest green colour scheme introduced in 2013.

.

They're off

Six of the new double deckers got underway this morning. One was a slow starter following several days of cold weather, and may be playing catchup this afternoon.

 1. OC Transpo 8058 lead off the convoy, displaying Route 111 on its number board. Note the two upstairs vent windows on the OC models, not found on the GO units. All units are air conditioned however. Lower level windows are the same on both, but the OC maple leaf logo covers the rear most sections.

 2. GO Trans 812x followed with one of four in the sequence of route board displays . The meaning of 16x160, if any, escapes me.

 3. GO 8124 has bars and GO 8121 has blocks on the the displays which change about once a second.

 4. GO 8123 has the display makers name (Axion Technologies, www.axiontech.ca ). That rest of the ice on the roof is going to slide off the first time the bus stops. The buses were warmed up for an hour or more before leaving, so most of the ice was gone by the time they left the terminal.

5. OC 8059 brought up the tail of this morning's convoy, and is a bit off course for route 2, but will get there in a few days.

Gentlemen start your engines

It looks like the start of a Lemans race inside the Fairview Cove container pier as another batch of ADL Enviro 500 double deckers have arrived and will soon hit the road.
Built by Alexander Dennis Ltd of Scotland, the new units are destined for OC Transpo, the Ottawa transit system and Go Transit, the government of Ontario system.
Until now the incoming units have been hidden away so that I couldn't photo them, and they have left the pier unseen (by me).
OC Transpo has 75 buses of this class on order, with many delivered in the fall of 2012 and already in service. They follow an initial order of three units in 2008.  With seating for 82 (27 lower, 55 upper) and two wheelchairs, all are the low floor, air conditioned 40 footers called the Enviro 500 or Trident E500. They meet EPA 2010 regs, with Cummins engine EGR and SCR, and Allison transmission. They are built with a combination of stainless steel and aluminum frame and aluminum composite body panels. 
The latest arrivals are carrying number  8057, 8058 and 8059.
The GO Transit units appear quite similar and are additions to the first 22 double deckers previously acquired.These ones are numbered 8121, 8122, 8123 and 8124,
Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) comprises three well known UK bus builders, Alexander, Dennis and Plaxton and are now building buses for worldwide markets including the US and Hong Kong, as well as Europe and Canada. Vancouver also has ADL buses and Calgary may be getting some soon too.
For more see: http://www.alexander-dennis.com/