When is a bus, not a bus? When it is rail replacement bus and Queensland now has a locally made one.
The first of 200 rail replacement buses has rolled off the production line. The Euro 6 diesel bus, on a Volvo chassis, has been built at Volgren’s Eagle Farm manufacturing facility.
The 43-seat bus will now enter service for the Department of Transport and be deployed during track works for major rail projects, including Cross River Rail and Logan and Gold Coast Faster Rail.
Volgren will produce 165 rail replacement buses, with Scania building 35 buses, on BusTech bodies, at its manufacturing facility at Rocklea. All 200 will be delivered by the end of 2024.
Nearly 50 jobs were created at Volgren as a direct result of the of the rail replacement bus program, which represents a 70 percent increase in the company’s workforce in Queensland.
The Euro 6 diesel bus is the lowest emissions diesel bus currently available to be made in Queensland in mass production.
Editor’s note: Yes, they do look a lot like the Brisbane City Council bus I catch every morning.
