MCW coaching
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METRO-CAMMELL WEYMANN has unveiled the high-floor fullyintegral luxury Metroliner coach which spearheads its drive into the public and private sectors of the coach operating industry writes, NOEL MILLIER.
The coach was launched at a special one-coach exhibition held at the National Agricultural Centre at Stoneleigh, Warwickshire.
Designed for long distance and Continental travel, the new coach is powered by a rearmounted Cummins L10 engine and will be available with a choice of transmissions including ZF sixor eight-speed manual gearboxes or Voith fullyautomatic or Self Changing Gears semi-automatic units.
The first coach to be built is powered by a 290bhp version of the Cummins engine through a fully automatic Voith DIWA D864G four-speed fully-automatic gearbox with its own builtin retarder, although the standard model is offered with a 250bhp engine and ZF S6.90 manual gearbox.
The integral Metro-Hi-Liner has an overall height of 3.36m and will be available with an overall length of 12m with up to 57 seats, although the £90,000plus coach exhibited was fitted with 47 reclining seats and a centre-mounted sunken toilet.
Full European style soft trim is included as standard in the coach which also has approximately 10cum luggage space. The Metroliner range is being marketed directly by MCW to public sector coach operators and by Stuart Johnson of Sheffield to the independent sector. Metro-Hi-Liner prices start at around £79,500 for the complete vehicle.
I drove the completed coach from the MCW plant at Washwood Heath to the exhibition site at Stoneleigh, and despite appalling road conditions caused by sheet ice and freezing fog, the coach proved particularly sure footed. It was quiet and the Voith automatic gearbox provided smooth gear changing. Use of the retarder was by initial pressure on the foot brake.
The ride from full air suspension was firm with no excessive roll or pitch. The brakes were powerful and progressive and the ZF integral power steering light and positive with no tendency to over steer.
Visibility was particularly good and the coach was relatively rattle free and completely draught free.
MCW plans to start deliveries of the model in the late spring and it hopes to supply sround 50 vehicles next year with production rising to between 200 and 250 units a year by 1985.
It also has production capacity to expand if required and has already invested several million pounds in the Metroliner range, of normal height chassied coaches, the double-deck threeaxle coach revealed at the last NEC Show and the Hi-Liner.
It is already completing production double-deck coaches and low-height coaches, and the normal height chassied Metroliner is now being offered with the same front end styling as its new integral stablemate.
For after-sales service, MCW is setting up 19 service locations throughout Britain in addition to Johnson's facilities, and it claims that no operator will be more than two hours from a service point. It already has a computerised spares system backing its Metrobus stage bus range and it plans to set up a European spares complex to ensure the same standard of European back-up as its competitors.