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Wright SRM
Wright SRM
	London Sovereign Wright SRM bodied Volvo B5LH at Golders Green station in December 2016
Overview
Manufacturer	Wrightbus
Production	2016
Assembly	Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Body and chassis
Doors	2
Floor type	Low floor
Chassis	Volvo B5LH; Volvo B5LHC
Related	New Routemaster
Powertrain
Engine	Volvo D5K240
Transmission	Volvo I-Shift
Dimensions
Length	10.6 to 11.3 m (34 ft 9 in to 37 ft 1 in)
Width	2.5 m (8 ft 2 in)
Height	4.2 m (13 ft 9 in)

The Wright SRM (Son of Route Master^[1]) is a twin-axle double-decker bus body manufactured by Wrightbus in 2016, designed for the Volvo B5LH and Volvo B5LHC hybrid chassis.

The design is based on the New Routemaster, sharing the majority of body panels up to the rear quarter section but having no second staircase or third door. It was designed with provincial bus operators in mind, rather than being exclusively for bus operators in London.^[2]^[1]^[3] Despite this, all those produced have only been used in London.

Design

The Wright SRM is styled like the New Routemaster with a tall wrap-around windscreen, an upper deck double-curvature windscreen and an arched roof - however Transport for London (TfL) have had no involvement with designing the Wright SRM.^[4]

Orders

The first six Volvo B5LHs entered service with London Sovereign on route 13 in September 2016.^[2]^[1]^[3] They were transferred to route 183 in April 2017 owing to a boarding problem.^[5]

A further two were completed to TfL specification on Volvo B5LHC chassis in 2016, featuring roof-mounted pantograph chargers that can charge the B5LHC's batteries when attached to Volvo 'OppCharge' opportunity charging gantries.^[6] One was retained by Volvo Buses in Sweden for further trials before being delivered to London;^[7] both commenced trial service with London Central on route 37 in 2018,^[8]^[9] however they entered service on the 37 as hybrid electric buses after TfL abandoned plans to install opportunity charging gantries at the 37's termini at Peckham bus station and Putney Heath, stating there was insufficient space at both.^[10]

The only SRMs produced were built in 2016, at the time of the model's launch. The model remained available for order right up until Wrightbus entered administration in 2019, although no further examples were built.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Jones, Stuart (22 March 2016). "Son of Routemaster". Bus & Coach Buyer. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b "London launch for new Wrightbus SRM on Volvo B5LH". Bus & Coach Professional. 18 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
^ ^a ^b Deakin, Tim (23 March 2016). "Son of Routemaster appears Wright on cue". routeone. Archived from the original on 27 April 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
^ "Questions about the SRM and Enviro400H City". WhatDoTheyKnow. 12 December 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2018.
^ Lyons, Mark (15 June 2017). "Short Hops". Buses. No. 748. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 23. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
^ "World premiere for Volvo B5LHC Electric Hybrid double-deck". Bus & Coach Professional. 7 November 2016. Archived from the original on 13 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
^ Millar, Alan (17 August 2017). "Volvo plugs electrification". Buses. No. 750. Stamford: Key Publishing. pp. 34–36. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
^ Lyons, Mark (19 July 2018). "Volvo electric arrive for south London trial". Buses. No. 761. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 23. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
^ "Go-Ahead starts using opp-charged Volvos in London". Buses. No. 762. Stamford: Key Publishing. 16 August 2018. p. 7. Retrieved 29 September 2024.
^ Lyons, Mark (17 January 2019). "OppCharge trial abandoned before it starts". Buses. No. 767. Stamford: Key Publishing. p. 20. Retrieved 29 September 2024.