Marchwood Motorways
Encyclopedia
Marchwood Motorways Ltd. is a bus
and coach
operator owned by the Go-Ahead Group
, who acquired them in 2006. It is a now a sub-division of Solent Blue Line
.
. They run a mixture of coaches on excursions and for hire, and their vehicles are commonly found on rail-replacement work in the South of England
. Buses operated include some East Lancs Myllennium
s for hire work and DAF
and Scania coaches. Before the takeover by Solent Blue Line, Southampton bus routes 18 and 19 were run by Marchwood Motorways using DAF SB120
/Wright Cadet
s under franchise to Solent Blue Line.
Nowadays, the coach operations are managed by Tourist Group
and bus operations by Bluestar
, which Solent Blue Line has rebranded to.
The company was acquired by the Go-Ahead Group
on 24 October 2006, for £3.0m, with the assumption of £1.4m of net debt at completion. The company was made part of Solent Blue Line, which is itself part of Go South Coast
.
In December 2008, the company took part in an Asda scheme to fill a coach with Christmas presents for charity. It was hoped customers would fill the coach with up to 2,000 gifts.
Along with Solent Blue Line in May 2008, the company was found to have been running services to lower than expected reliability levels, and faced a fine from the Traffic Commissioner.
Bus
A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...
and coach
Coach (vehicle)
A coach is a large motor vehicle, a type of bus, used for conveying passengers on excursions and on longer distance express coach scheduled transport between cities - or even between countries...
operator owned by the Go-Ahead Group
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
, who acquired them in 2006. It is a now a sub-division of Solent Blue Line
Solent Blue Line
Solent Blue Line Ltd formerly Musterphantom Ltd is a bus company which operates buses in Hampshire, England under the names Bluestar and Uni-link. The company was taken over along with its parent, Southern Vectis in 2005 by The Go-Ahead Group. From 25 February 2008, all previous Solent Blue Line...
.
Background
Marchwood Motorways runs buses and coaches from its base in Totton, HampshireHampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
. They run a mixture of coaches on excursions and for hire, and their vehicles are commonly found on rail-replacement work in the South of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Buses operated include some East Lancs Myllennium
East Lancs Myllennium
The East Lancs Myllennium is a type of bus body built on MAN, Volvo, DAF/VDL and Alexander Dennis chassis. It was built as a single and double deck body, with double deck bodies having slightly different names .-Single decker:...
s for hire work and DAF
VDL Groep
Established in 1953, the VDL Groep is an international industrial and manufacturing company. From its head office in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, VDL supervises its subsidiaries, which have a high level of autonomy and responsibility for results....
and Scania coaches. Before the takeover by Solent Blue Line, Southampton bus routes 18 and 19 were run by Marchwood Motorways using DAF SB120
VDL SB120
The VDL SB120 is a low-floor light-weight midibus produced from 1999 by VDL Bus International of the Netherlands primarily for the UK market....
/Wright Cadet
Wright Cadet
The Wright Cadet was a midibus body built by British coachbuilder Wrightbus, solely on the DAF/VDL SB120; it was sold via VDL dealer Arriva Bus & Coach. For a time, Volvo additionally sold the chassis/body combination, however the body was marketed as the Merit.The Cadet was replaced by the Wright...
s under franchise to Solent Blue Line.
Nowadays, the coach operations are managed by Tourist Group
Tourist Group
Tourist Group, now with a trading name of Southern Coach Hire, is the name covering a group of southern bus and coach operators. All of the operators are subsidiaries of Wilts & Dorset, which is itself part of the much larger Go-Ahead Group....
and bus operations by Bluestar
Bluestar (bus company)
Bluestar is a trading name of Solent Blue Line Ltd. Based in Eastleigh, the company operates bus routes in Hampshire that previously traded under the Solent Blue Line name. Blue Line was started by bus company Southern Vectis as it sought to expand from the Isle of Wight in 1987...
, which Solent Blue Line has rebranded to.
History
In July 2006, a major fire at the company's depot destroyed three buses and offices, causing an estimated £250,000 of damage. It was at first thought to be caused by an electrical fault, however it was later discovered arson was the cause.The company was acquired by the Go-Ahead Group
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
on 24 October 2006, for £3.0m, with the assumption of £1.4m of net debt at completion. The company was made part of Solent Blue Line, which is itself part of Go South Coast
Go South Coast
Go South Coast is a bus operator in the south of England, owned by the Go-Ahead Group. It was established in late 2005, after Go-Ahead purchased Southern Vectis and its subsidiary Solent Blue Line, and combined its operations with existing subsidiary Wilts & Dorset.It is based in Poole, at the...
.
In December 2008, the company took part in an Asda scheme to fill a coach with Christmas presents for charity. It was hoped customers would fill the coach with up to 2,000 gifts.
Incidents
October 2006 saw an attack on one of the company's vehicles, a stone that was thrown at a school coach nearly injuring pupils.Along with Solent Blue Line in May 2008, the company was found to have been running services to lower than expected reliability levels, and faced a fine from the Traffic Commissioner.