Jonathan Welch visited Abellio London to try out a new Wrightbus Electroliner with upgraded interior specification
Over the last two issues, we looked at the Wrightbus factory in Ballymena and the revitalised firm’s plans for further expansion. The company recently took on its 1,000th employee, and has plans to significantly increase the proportion of zero-emission vehicles it produces over the next 12 months. Numerous orders have already been received from operators across the UK and Ireland, and despite Wrightbus’ commitment to hydrogen fuel cells in the medium to long term, most initial zero-emission adopters have chosen the battery-electric pathway.
One operator which has recently taken delivery of its first batch of Wrightbus Electroliner double-deckers is Abellio in London. We paid a visit to find out more about the company’s plans for electrification, and to get behind the wheel of the Electroliner for the first time; we tested its hydrogen-fuelled cousin back in early 2021 in Aberdeen. So in early November, I found myself heading across London aboard an indifferently-driven red double-decker to meet Operations Director Lorna Murphy, Head of Commercial Alastair Willis and Engineering Director Chris Remnant at Abellio’s Battersea depot.
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