National Express may well return to Van Hool under VDL ownership for the TDX21 Altano to meet future needs for high-capacity coaches on its scheduled network, the business has said.
25 of those coaches were ordered from Van Hool early in 2024 for operation by Edwards Coaches and Selwyns Travel on National Express services, but bankruptcy of the Belgian manufacturer saw the deal cancelled after only one was completed.
At that time, National Express said that the 66-seaters would partially be used to replace Caetano Boa Vista double-deckers that were coming to the end of their use on scheduled work. Significant effort had gone into identifying the TDX21 Altano as a suitable high-capacity successor to the Boa Vista, it added.
Speaking in early November, a National Express spokesperson says that the business “really liked the Altano” but notes that the bankruptcy of Van Hool left a significant operational risk in taking on the 25 coaches ordered before that “without clear manufacturer support.”
However, National Express retains a need for high-capacity coaches and the spokesperson adds that it will be interested in buying Altanos in the future, “once a proven manufacturing capability and support network is in place.”
VDL purchased parts of former Van Hool coach and bus undertakings out of bankruptcy and recently announced that the TDX21 Altano is among the Van Hool products that it will continue to manufacture at the factory in North Macedonia that was part of that deal.
National Express Network Director Ed Rickard said in March that the TDX21 Altano would be used on a targeted basis where passenger and luggage capacity was key. He suggested that further coaches in its class would follow the then-expected 25 for Edwards and Selwyns.
At the same time, it was confirmed that 120 Caetano Levante 3A coaches on both Scania and Volvo chassis would join the National Express vehicle pool in 2024.
