Volvo B10TL
Encyclopedia
Volvo
Super Olympian, also known as B10TL, is a low-floor
double-decker bus
which replaced the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian
(the 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 returned to the UK
.
. The front radiator was moved behind the front axle on the 12m version, or in front of the second axle for the 10.6m version (due to its shorter wheelbase). In order to lower the chassis further, the auxiliary passive steering function of the middle axle was cancelled. The suspension system has also been largely modified so that it is electronically controlled instead of moving passively. One special feature is that after turning, the suspension unit does not return to normal, remaining tilted to either the left or right, until the bus becomes stationary.
An option for 11.3m version of Super Olympian was also available, but no orders were received.
The engine used on these buses is the Volvo D10A285 (Euro II or Euro III), with a maximum power of 285 hp, lower than 305 hp of the Cummins
M11-305E used on Neoplan Centroliner
and Dennis Trident 3
, or the 335 hp of the later Cummins ISMe Euro III used on Dennis Trident 3/Enviro500s.
Its somewhat insufficient engine power has earned some mildly derisive nicknames in Hong Kong
. The most common are "豬" (pig), "扒" (meat cutlet) and "豬扒" (pork chop, derived from the pronunciation of the word "Super").
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
.
ordered the first batch of 61 Super Olympians with ZF
4HP590 transmission, Alexander ALX500
body and roller shuttle route displays 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, entering 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 between 2000/2001. These buses have electronic route displays and ZF 5HP590 transmission. 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 Australian Volgren
CR223LD bodywork, entered service between 2001/2002. All of these buses had their chassis built in Poland
. Their D10A285 engines were built to meet Euro III emission standards and had aluminium alloy
front wheels supplied by ALCOA
. 3ASV297 was coated with special metallic paint, which shows different colours (mainly green and purple), depending on the angle of light reflection.
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 a Euro III D10A285 engine and ZF 4HP590 transmission rather than the previous 5HP590 as fitted to older ASVs.
ASV51-100 are also equipped with the Euro III D10A285 engines. They are almost identical with ASV1-49, except for minor interior differences. Only the first 24 were put into service in 2003. The remaining 26 were stored for more than a year, with their engines tuned to increase their power outputs, and they were put into service between September 2004 and March 2005.
2550mm-wide body (once known as the Wright Explorer). Like the TransBus Enviro500, it featured a straight staircase and plug exit door. It was numbered AVW1 and was registered in March 2003.
The next 49 buses (AVW2-50) with a 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 to AVW2-50, entered service in 2004/2005.
on 31 March 2008.
In September 2011, one Super Olympian (3ASV181/KD4129) was destroyed and (as well as a Volvo Olympian 3AV269/HE8161) in a suspected arson attack in Tsz Wan Shan (South) Bus Terminus and was written off one month later. Another bus (3ASV75/JP5720) damaged in the same incident re-entered service not long afterwards.
bought 103 Super Olympians in five 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. The next 20 (5041-5060), with their side route number boxes moved to a 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 Euro III D10A285 engines and ALCOA
front wheels, entered service in 2001. To mark the occasion of meeting the Euro III emission standard, New World First Bus designed a full body advertisement for one of them (fleet number 5070) to state that they were environmentally friendly.
They were followed by 10 similar examples (5080-5089) later that year. Among these buses, 5080-5086 had their registration numbers originated from ex-CMB
buses and service cars.
The last batch of 14 Super Olympians (5090-5103), introduced in 2002, had their rear electronic route number displays raised above the emergency window to form a box, the design being unique among all similar vehicles in Hong Kong.
with bus operator SBS Transit
. In late 1999, Volvo delivered one Volgren
CR222LD-bodied Super Olympian (body assembled in Australia
) to the then Singapore Bus Service
as a demonstrator. This bus had an electronic route display and the chassis was built in UK. It was registered SBS9888Y and entered service in October 1999. The electronic route display was removed on 1 December 2005.
Singapore Bus Service then ordered a further 51 Volvo Super Olympian chassis. They had Voith
DIWA863.3 transmission, rather than ZF
5HP590 transmission as in SBS9888Y. Only the chassis of SBS9810X was built in UK, the others in Poland.
Among these 51 buses, 50 of them were fitted with Volgren CR222LD bodywork and registered SBS9800A to SBS9849K. The body of SBS9810X was assembled in Australia, and it was equipped with electronic route display, other bodies were delivered to Singapore as kits. SBS9800A entered service in April 2002 and SBS9801Y - SBS9849K entered service in early 2003. SBS9805L, SBS9806J, SBS9812R, SBS9817C, SBS9825D and SBS9834C has the ZF
4HP500 transmission, but the rest are equipped with the Voith
DIWA863.3 transmission. The last was fitted with ComfortDelGro Engineering bodywork; it was registered as SBS9889U and finally entered service on Monday 21 March 2005. Unlike other operators, none of SBS Transit's
Super Olympian are wheelchair accessible and no wheelchair equipment is installed.
On 7 March 2010, SBS9888Y was burnt in a bus depot fire and was de-registered one year later.
.
Volvo Buses
Volvo Buses is a subsidiary and a business area of the Swedish vehicle maker Volvo, which became an independent division in 1968. It is based in Göteborg....
Super Olympian, also known as B10TL, is a low-floor
Low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus that has no steps between one or more entrances and part or all of the passenger cabin. Being low floor improves the accessibility of the bus for the public, particularly the elderly or infirm, or those with push chairs, and increasingly, those in wheelchairs.In the modern...
double-decker bus
Double-decker bus
A double-decker bus is a bus that has two storeys or 'decks'. Global usage of this type of bus is more common in outer touring than in its intra-urban transportion role. Double-decker buses are also commonly found in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and former British colonies and protectorates...
which replaced the 3-axle version of Volvo Olympian
Volvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....
(the 2-axle version was replaced by Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL
Volvo B7TL is a low-floor double-decker bus which was launched in 1999 and replaced the 2-axle version of Volvo Olympian...
).
It was unveiled in 1998, with one chassis being sent to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
for a motor show held by UITP
International Union of Public Transport
The International Association of Public Transport ' is the organisation for public transport authorities and operators, policy decision-makers, scientific institutes and the public transport supply and service industry...
in the same year. The chassis was later returned to the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
Chassis design
The design of the Super Olympian chassis is based on the Volvo OlympianVolvo Olympian
The Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....
. The front radiator was moved behind the front axle on the 12m version, or in front of the second axle for the 10.6m version (due to its shorter wheelbase). In order to lower the chassis further, the auxiliary passive steering function of the middle axle was cancelled. The suspension system has also been largely modified so that it is electronically controlled instead of moving passively. One special feature is that after turning, the suspension unit does not return to normal, remaining tilted to either the left or right, until the bus becomes stationary.
An option for 11.3m version of Super Olympian was also available, but no orders were received.
The engine used on these buses is the Volvo D10A285 (Euro II or Euro III), with a maximum power of 285 hp, lower than 305 hp of the Cummins
Cummins
Cummins Inc. is a Fortune 500 corporation that designs, manufactures, distributes and services engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission control and electrical power generation systems...
M11-305E used on Neoplan Centroliner
Neoplan Centroliner
The NEOPLAN Centroliner is a series of low floor bus which was first unveiled in 1997, and mainly built by NEOPLAN Bus GmbH for the European market...
and Dennis Trident 3
Dennis Trident 3
Dennis Trident 3 is the first low floor double-decker bus chassis built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, with a large number purchased by bus companies in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States and Canada.-Design:...
, or the 335 hp of the later Cummins ISMe Euro III used on Dennis Trident 3/Enviro500s.
Its somewhat insufficient engine power has earned some mildly derisive nicknames in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. The most common are "豬" (pig), "扒" (meat cutlet) and "豬扒" (pork chop, derived from the pronunciation of the word "Super").
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
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
.
12m version
Kowloon Motor BusKowloon Motor Bus
The Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited , a company of the Transport International Holdings Limited, is the largest franchised bus operators in Hong Kong, and one of the largest privately owned public bus operators in the world...
ordered the first batch of 61 Super Olympians with ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
4HP590 transmission, Alexander ALX500
Alexander ALX500
The Alexander ALX500 is a 3-axle double-decker bus body built by Alexander of the United Kingdom. It was one of the ALX-series, which accounted for 5 different models , all of the models except the ALX100 featured the same designs on the front and rear panels that were originally designed for the...
body and roller shuttle route displays in 1998. The first bus passed the tilt test of the Transport Department
Transport Department (Hong Kong)
Transport Department is responsible for transportation related policy in Hong Kong. The department reports to the Transport and Housing Bureau.The current Commissioner for Transport is Joseph Lai.-See also:* Transport in Hong Kong...
in May 1999 and was licensed in August 1999. They were numbered 3ASV1-61, entering 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 between 2000/2001. These buses have electronic route displays and ZF 5HP590 transmission. 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 Australian Volgren
Volgren
Volgren is an Australian bodywork company previously owned by Volvo and the Grenda Corporation but is now entirely owned by the latter. It was established in 1977, initially supplying bodywork for Volvo buses sold in Australia, and later supplying bus bodywork on all types of chassis for both local...
CR223LD bodywork, entered service between 2001/2002. All of these buses had their chassis built in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. Their D10A285 engines were built to meet Euro III emission standards and had aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloy
Aluminium alloys are alloys in which aluminium is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon and zinc. There are two principal classifications, namely casting alloys and wrought alloys, both of which are further subdivided into the categories...
front wheels supplied by ALCOA
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
. 3ASV297 was coated with special metallic paint, which shows different colours (mainly green and purple), depending on the angle of light reflection.
10.6m version
Kowloon Motor Bus is the only buyer of 10.6m Super Olympians. The first 49 10.6m Super Olympians (with Alexander ALX500 bodies, numbered ASV1-49) were introduced in 2001. They are equipped with D10A285 Euro II engines and had ALCOAAlcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
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
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It is equipped with a Euro III D10A285 engine and ZF 4HP590 transmission rather than the previous 5HP590 as fitted to older ASVs.
ASV51-100 are also equipped with the Euro III D10A285 engines. They are almost identical with ASV1-49, except for minor interior differences. Only the first 24 were put into service in 2003. The remaining 26 were stored for more than a year, with their engines tuned to increase their power outputs, and they were put into service between September 2004 and March 2005.
12m wider version
In January 2003, Kowloon Motor Bus received the first Super Olympian with WrightWrightbus
Wrightbus is an independent coachbuilder and pioneer of the low-floor bus. Based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, it was established in 1946 by Robert Wright and currently run by his son William Wright.-History:...
2550mm-wide body (once known as the Wright Explorer). Like the TransBus Enviro500, it featured a straight staircase and plug exit door. It was numbered AVW1 and was registered in March 2003.
The next 49 buses (AVW2-50) with a 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 to AVW2-50, entered service in 2004/2005.
Early withdrawal
In July 2008, two of KMB's 12-metre Super Olympians with Alexander ALX500 bodies [Fleet numbers 3ASV49 (JG5355) and 3ASV311 (KK2883)] and one with Wright body [AVW55 (LP771)] were written off after being burnt out in KMB's depot in Tin Shui WaiTin Shui Wai
Tin Shui Wai is an area of Hong Kong, located in Yuen Long District, in the northwestern part of the New Territories. Originally a gei wai fish pond area, the ponds were reclaimed for the development of Tin Shui Wai New Town in the late 1980s...
on 31 March 2008.
In September 2011, one Super Olympian (3ASV181/KD4129) was destroyed and (as well as a Volvo Olympian 3AV269/HE8161) in a suspected arson attack in Tsz Wan Shan (South) Bus Terminus and was written off one month later. Another bus (3ASV75/JP5720) damaged in the same incident re-entered service not long afterwards.
New World First Bus
New World First BusNew World First Bus
New World First Bus Services Limited , abbreviated as First Bus and "NWFB", is the third largest public bus operator in Hong Kong.NWFB was established in 1998, taking over China Motor Bus's franchise on 1 September 1998 to provide bus services on Hong Kong Island together with Citybus...
bought 103 Super Olympians in five 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. The next 20 (5041-5060), with their side route number boxes moved to a 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 Euro III D10A285 engines and ALCOA
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
front wheels, entered service in 2001. To mark the occasion of meeting the Euro III emission standard, New World First Bus designed a full body advertisement for one of them (fleet number 5070) to state that they were environmentally friendly.
They were followed by 10 similar examples (5080-5089) later that year. Among these buses, 5080-5086 had their registration numbers originated from ex-CMB
China Motor Bus
China Motor Bus Company Ltd. , often abbreviated as CMB, was the first motor bus company in Hong Kong, and was responsible for the introduction of double-decker buses to Hong Kong Island....
buses and service cars.
The last batch of 14 Super Olympians (5090-5103), introduced in 2002, had their rear electronic route number displays raised above the emergency window to form a box, the design being unique among all similar vehicles in Hong Kong.
SBS Transit
Super Olympian buses are also in service in SingaporeSingapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
with bus operator SBS Transit
SBS Transit
SBS Transit Limited is a public transport operator in Singapore. Its major competitor in Singapore's duopoly transport system is SMRT Corporation, which also operates bus, rail, taxi and other transport services....
. In late 1999, Volvo delivered one Volgren
Volgren
Volgren is an Australian bodywork company previously owned by Volvo and the Grenda Corporation but is now entirely owned by the latter. It was established in 1977, initially supplying bodywork for Volvo buses sold in Australia, and later supplying bus bodywork on all types of chassis for both local...
CR222LD-bodied Super Olympian (body assembled in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) to the then Singapore Bus Service
Singapore Bus Service
Singapore Bus Services was a public bus operator in Singapore formed in 1973 with the merger of three private bus companies, namely the Amalgamated Bus Company Limited, the Associated Bus Services Limited and the United Bus Limited...
as a demonstrator. This bus had an electronic route display and the chassis was built in UK. It was registered SBS9888Y and entered service in October 1999. The electronic route display was removed on 1 December 2005.
Singapore Bus Service then ordered a further 51 Volvo Super Olympian chassis. They had Voith
Voith
The Voith GmbH, which is headquartered in Germany, is a family-run corporation in the mechanical engineering sector with worldwide operations....
DIWA863.3 transmission, rather than ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
5HP590 transmission as in SBS9888Y. Only the chassis of SBS9810X was built in UK, the others in Poland.
Among these 51 buses, 50 of them were fitted with Volgren CR222LD bodywork and registered SBS9800A to SBS9849K. The body of SBS9810X was assembled in Australia, and it was equipped with electronic route display, other bodies were delivered to Singapore as kits. SBS9800A entered service in April 2002 and SBS9801Y - SBS9849K entered service in early 2003. SBS9805L, SBS9806J, SBS9812R, SBS9817C, SBS9825D and SBS9834C has the ZF
ZF Friedrichshafen
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a German public company headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German region of Baden-Württemberg....
4HP500 transmission, but the rest are equipped with the Voith
Voith
The Voith GmbH, which is headquartered in Germany, is a family-run corporation in the mechanical engineering sector with worldwide operations....
DIWA863.3 transmission. The last was fitted with ComfortDelGro Engineering bodywork; it was registered as SBS9889U and finally entered service on Monday 21 March 2005. Unlike other operators, none of SBS Transit's
SBS Transit
SBS Transit Limited is a public transport operator in Singapore. Its major competitor in Singapore's duopoly transport system is SMRT Corporation, which also operates bus, rail, taxi and other transport services....
Super Olympian are wheelchair accessible and no wheelchair equipment is installed.
On 7 March 2010, SBS9888Y was burnt in a bus depot fire and was de-registered one year later.
Replacement
Production of Volvo Super Olympian ended in 2004 after completion of the last order from Kowloon Motor Bus. Its successor was the Volvo B9TLVolvo B9TL
The Volvo B9TL is a low-floor double-decker bus built by Volvo Buses since 2002. It superseded the older Volvo B10TL and the Volvo B7TL.-Chassis:...
.
See also
Competitors:- Dennis Trident 3Dennis Trident 3Dennis Trident 3 is the first low floor double-decker bus chassis built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, with a large number purchased by bus companies in Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States and Canada.-Design:...
- MAN 24.310MAN 24.310MAN 24.310 is a low-floor double-decker bus model built for the Hong Kong market. Unlike other low-floor double-decker buses in Hong Kong, there are steps in the lower deck aisle after the rear exit....
- Neoplan CentrolinerNeoplan CentrolinerThe NEOPLAN Centroliner is a series of low floor bus which was first unveiled in 1997, and mainly built by NEOPLAN Bus GmbH for the European market...
- Scania K94UBScania K94The Scania K94 is a rear-engined bus built by Scania of Sweden.It could be built as a coach or intercity bus , but one example of the low-entry citybus version was produced in 2000.In Hong Kong, the K94UB has been fitted with a Volgren 12m double-deck bodywork and is currently in operation with...