1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152 
Eiiiiro coach network s winning price war
Page 60
Page 61
Page 62
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
Wallace Arnold is setting the pace with Euroways. Story by David Wilcox. Pictures by Brian Weatherley
HEN TOURISTS think of siting the Continent, they nerally consider three' rthods — flying, or going by r or train ferry.
Flying to Europe by regular mice is not cheap; the air .es have not yet been shed to compare with the rgain Transatlantic ones w on offer. Its only 2200 les to Rome and back by r, and petrol in North-west rope is around the 0.40 a lion mark. Work that out! you could let the train take strain and experience the rs of travelling on Conantel trains in the summer. u'll have plenty of corn There is another way. die most people associate. iches with touring holidays those who cannot drive, re is now a fast-developing work of international express !ch services radiating from idon to some of the big opean cities.
These services are marketed, ler the name of Euroways,
you won't see a coach in oways' livery. Euroways own coaches; it is the name for mational services operated 3 consortium of some of the ling European coach corn
ies.
The driving force behind oways is Wallace Arnold rs of Leeds, and the corny has achieved a remarkable aunt in terms of international operation. Wallace Arnold ted out in the field of interDna' express services in April 77 when it launched its don/Rome service with \ of Italy and VIA of France,
company running the t-year service for 10 weeks. her iit; successful first seawill*. the Rome service, lace Arnold turned its ights to expanding on to r European routes. It sought operating partners in other Aries to help with licensing provide Continental back!I return for a share of the ating kilometrage.
1978 Euroways (Express :hes) Ltd was formed as part e Barr and Wallace Arnold t, WA's parent company, the new services that were developed became part of the Euroways network.
National Travel had previously been the main provider of the limited number of Continental express services from this country and held some of the licences. It was only natural therefore that Wallace Arnold and National should meet head on, objecting to each other's licence applications for the international routes.
Euroways' managing director Don Jordan told me that it takes an average of two years to obtain and prove a new international route and so it was important that this work was not wasted by objections.
Towards the end of 1978 the two operators got round the table and as a result National Travel joined the Euroways network and would henceforth operate some of the departures and share the revenue.
The inclusion of National Travel in Euroways gave the new network a boost in two very practical ways. First, it greatly enlarged the number of booking points for Euroways tickets as the National travel agents also started taking bookings for Euroways services.
Secondly, it gave Euroways a new London departure and arri
val terminal. Previously, the Britannia Coach and Air Terminal in Pentonville Road, London Ni, had been used. This was handy for Kings Cross and Euston stations but was rather cramped and busy with other coach departures, especially feeder services to Luton Airport.
With National joining Euroways, the National-owned Victoria Coach Station became available. Because this is the London terminal for National's British express services it gives Euroways a tailormade nationwide –feeder service.'" Passengers can get on a coach in Manchester, for instance, arrive at Victoria, step across to bay 18 and board a coach which takes them direct to Rome or several other European cities.
But this participation of National in Euroways has lasted only just over a year. Now, National has changed its policy and is pulling out of actually operating coaches on joint Euroways routes for 1980.
National has assured WA that Victoria will still remain available as the Euroways London terminal and that National agents will continue to sell Euroways tickets.
During 1979, the routes that Wallace Arnold operated under the Euroways name were London/Rome, London/ Barcelona and Alicante (passengers for Alicante goi 9 on a Spanish coach) a London/ Paris.
Having started the Rome s vice back in 1977 Walla Arnold is now an old hand at this.
2200-mile round trip, with partners SITA and VIA. As an indication of how the service has developed, during 1977 there was just one departure a week for 30 weeks. But two years later in 1979 this has grown to an all-year round service with eight departures a week throughout June, July, August and September.
Atypical Rome service leaves Victoria at 7.30am on a Mon day, arriving at Dover just be fore 10am. Euroways coaches have reciprocal dual bookings on two ferry operators at Dover, Sealink and Townsend Thoresen. This is another by product of the National/ Wallace Arnold co-operation — National had traditionally used Sealink, whereas Wallace Arnold went for Townsend Thoresen. This dual booking facility is handy, giving a delayed coach a second chance at catching a ferry without making it even later.
By 6.00pm the Wallace Arnold coach can be seen doing battle in the Parisian rush-hour on the notorious Perepherique, the North Circular of Paris! After an hour's stop for dinner the coach heads out of Paris, pick:ng up the A6 autoroute to Lyons. As the night approache the orange curtains on th coaches are drawn an passengers put the reclinin seats back and settle down.
The standard Plaxto reclining seats are not particu any satisfactory in Wallac Arnold's opinion because the angle of recline is inadequate.
Wallace Arnold is trying to improve this aspect for the 1980 services.
After picking up and setting down passengers in Lyons at 2am the coach aims for the South-east corner of France and the border with Italy. It winds its way up the French side of the Alps negotiating the tight hairpins in pitch darkness, but frequently being dazzled by Continental artics with their bank of spotlights mounted low down under the bumper.
The coach crosses into Italy via the Mont Blanc tunnel, which drills its way for more than seven miles through the mountain and is the longest road tunnel in the world.
The coach comes out of the tunnel on the Italian side at around 6am on day two and passengers in the summer are treated to a spectacular view of the Alps all around them, bathed in early morning sunlight. I have been on the Rome service and can say that it's almost worth going on the trip just for this view. Sleeping passengers do not miss it as they are roused for the French / Italian border checks.
From here the coach descends Mont Blanc, passing through the fashionable winter sports resort of Aosta and reaching Torino (Turin) by 8.30am. There's an hour's lunch halt at the coastal town of Genoa and then the coach is off once again, heading for Firenze or Florence, where 'some passengers usually get off.
The final leg of the journey is a four-hour dash down the autostrada before the coach threads its way through the Rome evening traffic with little Fiats buzzing around like angry wasps. After setting down the passengers in the Piazza della Republica the coach goes to the SITA garage in Rome for overnight parking, cleaning and refuelling.
It's a long way to Rome and by road it's a tiring journey for drivers and passengers alike. The Wallace Arnold Euroways coaches therefore incorporate a number of extras to make the journey more comfortable.
All coaches used on the Euroways routes operated by Wallace Arnold are Volvo B58 chassis. During the first year of the Rome service a Leyland Leopard had been used and the same vehicle had operated .every one of the 10 departures, clocking up around 25,000 miles in ten weeks without a hitch. But old criticisms of the Leopard's sluggishness on hills and a relatively high noise level meant it was not the most ideal vehicle for such a run, despite its outstanding reliability.
So for the 1979 season Volvos have been used on all the Euroways services operated by Wallace Arnold and these have proved highly satisfactory and popular with the drivers.
The Volvos take the Alps in their stride and match the best Continental machines on the Italian autostradas. The turb charged Volvo engine is al! , considerably quieter than i Leopard counterpart.
I have already mentioned tl inadequacy of the Plaxtc reclining seats fitted in the 1 metre coaches. To give mo legroom only 51 are fitted, b when the fixed back seat and tl pair of seats behind the driver subtracted (they are used by t crew) this leaves 44 bookat seats.
There is also a fold-aw. .courier seat mounted by ti board in front of the first pair nearside seats. This folds dov into the stairwell, but is rath uncomfortable and sometim draughty and so drivers tend ignore it.
As well as the "reclinir seats" other passenger cor forts provided are full-draw ci tains (often used during the d by many passengers to keep t hot summer sun off), carpetii and travel rugs. A radio is al fitted, although there is i toilet. Wallace Arnold considE that a toilet is not particula desirable and anyway that s, vice areas on the Continent s sufficient to make them u necessary. Refreshment a[ toilet stops are made every thr hours on average.
To keep the driver cool summer there is not one, b two, fans mounted above head.
The whole coach looks qu impressive and luxurious British standards and the k orange WA symbol stands c well on the European roads.
The Spanish Eurowa partner Julia uses lrizar-bodi Pegasso coaches which are si level rear-engined vehicles
SITA, the Italian Eurows partner uses a Fiat, which is o natural since SITA is part of F;
The Russian partner Si transavto operates w Mercedes-Benz coaches, and does the French partner, VIA Watching the loading of Spanish and Wallace Amn coaches at bay 18 in Victc before they set off on Barceli service gave me a good ides the sort of people who use Euroways network, and c firmed what Euroways' opi tions manager John Gilbert told me.
"We do carry quite a h proportion of students and or young people, but a surpriE number of the passengers members of families travel to see relatives living or world abroad." Special low stuc fares are offered on Eurov% routes. The high percentagd 'dents and young people yelling means the drivers en have to handle some ler awkward and unusually iped luggage — there are Ily plenty of rucksacks, dells and carrier bags!
Passenger figures on the .oways services have been )(I during 1979 John Gilbert I me, justifying the all-yearnd service that is offered to lie, Paris and Barcelona. ye, August and September are busiest months with duplies sometimes needed. :ing this period next year, for Lance, Rome service iuency is stepped up to nine .artures a week. Some will ) the route I have described, Lyon, Turin and Genoa, )reas some departures will ) a more easterly route from s via Milan and Bologna to ence and then Rome.
-here is also a connecting rice, linked to the Rome one, Nthens. This allows for an might stop in Rome, leaving inch time the next day. This was operated in 1979 eny by the Italian Euroways tner, SITA, and takes sengers another 400 miles /n to Brindisi on the heel of / for an evening ferry sailing ing 20 hours. The ferry lands at -Patras in Greece early the following evening and the ferry line's own coach transfers the passengers to Athens for 10pm. By using this connecting service in the Euroways network a passenger can leave London on Monday morning, spend Tuesday night in Rome, Wednesday night and Thursday on a ferry crossing the Adriatic, and finally arrive in Athens on Thursday evening.
Another service for 1980 is a connection at Milan to Venice, which should become a popular route.
Ironically, the best-known Euroways route is the one that has not yet operated properly — London / Moscow. This captured the public imagination when announced and virtually every seat on the first and only departure to Moscow was taken by members of the Press. In May 1 978 Wallace Arnold had undertaken a trial run to Moscow to test the route and familiarise the drivers.
John Gilbert said that two main points arose from this trial run: First, that the air-over-leaf suspension option on the Volvo B58 chassis was highly desirable; and secondly, that a toilet on the coach was a necessity. Although this went against. WA's usual policy they considered it essential on the Moscow route where service areas are not exactly frequent!
Wallace Arnold had ordered one of the first air-over-leaf suspension Volvos also fitted with Allison fully automatic transmission, but this did not arrive in time for the first departure in May this year.
On the same day that the Wallace Arnold coach with its full load of journalists left London, the Russian Sovtransavto coach left Moscow and the two met at the overnight stop in Warsaw. Unfortunately, at the last moment the Russians had decided to make this first historic departure a proving trip only, and just three drivers were aboard the Russian coach!
There has not been another departure to Moscow since then. But next year is the year of the Moscow Olympics and special arrangements have been made. Sovtransavto will operate the Moscow service alone for the Euroways consortium, while Sovtransavto and the other three Euroways partners on the Moscow route, Wallace Arnold, West Belgium Coach Co and Deutsche Touring, will be operating the package coach tours from England to the Olympics.
Although international coach travel is not the quickest form of travel, it does have its advantages. I tried a few comparisons with other modes. London to Barcelona via the Euroways coach takes 25 hours and costs £57 return. Going by train saves you approximately one hour but costs you another £28, even buying an excursion ticket which limits your return date and stopover The aircraft journey to Barcelona takes just a couple of hours, .plus the extra time for reaching the out-of-town Heathrow Airport and longer booking-in time. But even buying the cheaper scheduled flight ticket, APEX, which again restricts your return date, it will cost you E94, about 60 per cent more than the coach.
So on a price basis, international coaches win hands down.
But to many people the attraction of the coach for European travel is the chance to see so much en route and really taste the flavour of the countries' you pass through. My trip to Rome was superb — the service to Moscow via Brussels, Cologne, Berlin, Warsaw and Minsk must be unforgettable.