NEOPLAN Centroliner N4026/3
Photographs are sorted into the
following entries:
AP1 - the first N4026 of
Kowloon Motor Bus (1 page)
Neoplan Centroliner N4026
(AP2, JA3175) (3 pages)
Kowloon Motor Bus
Centroliner N4026s (7 pages)
Kowloon Motor Bus Mobile
Museum (1 page)
Kowloon Motor Bus's first
Centroliner in the second batch (5
pages)
Kowloon Motor Bus
Centroliners of the second batch in Tuen Mun Depot
(1 page)
Kowloon Motor Bus
Centroliners of the second batch (10
pages)
6001 - the first New
World First Bus Centroliner (3 pages)
6008 - the first New World First Bus Centroliner with wavy livery (1 page)
New World First Bus
Centroliners (6 pages)
BVB Centroliners (1 page)
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Making a bus be Hong Kong operators' cup of tea would bring great profit. The Centroliner N4026 is designed from the company's 3-axled double-deck city buses for European operators. The height of the bus was increased to about 4.4m to fulfil Hong Kong's requirement of lower deck headroom. The first N 4026 was shipped to Kowloon Motor Bus Company of Hong Kong in September 1998 and registered HY 1677. 19 more had then been ordered and they arrived in the first half of 1999. Although most of the buses had obtained licence by May 1999, their service started as late as 31 July 1999 on route 296C.
Unlike other double deckers in the territory, close circuit television were used instead of the periscope in the driving position. The bus was powered by Cummins M11-305E and had ZF 5HP590 automatic transmission.
KMB had an unhappy experience with the N 4026. It was because some of the vehicles broke down on the first few days of service. However, the situation has been improved when drivers got used to these German buses.
Since good responses were received from passengers and drivers, Kowloon Motor Bus ordered another 60 buses on 13 October 1999. On the other hand, New World First Bus also showed interest and placed an order for 30 in mid-October. Each bus cost about HK$2,400,000. One bus for each of the operators have arrived in the midnight on 16 May 2000. There were some improvements relative to the earlier batch including air curtain for the entrance, new types of air-conditioning vents and larger storage area for the driver. A new material like plastic tapes, was chosen to fill up window gaps.
In addition, a further order for 50 Centroliners has been endorsed by Kowloon Motor Bus.
On 10 July 2003, one of the N 4026/3 (AP69, JU4667) was hit by an articulated lorry at the back and the bus was pushed away from Tuen Mun Road to a field 100 metres below. 21 passengers and the bus driver were killed and another 20 suffered injuries. This was the deadliest incident of the operator. No more Centroliners were ordered after the incident, although a NEOMAN A34 bus previously ordered entered service in October 2003.
After a few years of service, Kowloon Motor Bus found that the breakdown rate of Centroliners were higher than other buses. In view of this, AP24 was sent back to Germany for analysis in 2006 and returned around 2007. However, the high noise level of Cummins engined Centroliners has not been solved.
Specifications:
Chassis type: Neoplan Centroliner N4026/3
Chassis configuration: rear engine monocoque driveline
Length: 12000mm
Width: 2500mm
Height: 4350mm
1st axle weight: 7500kg
2nd axle weight: 9500kg
3rd axle weight: 7000kg
Gross vehicle weight: 24000kg
Unladen weight: 16800kg
Engine type: Cummins M11 305E Euro 2
Engine position: rear vertical
Transmission type: ZF 5HP590 automatic transmission
Air-conditioning: Nippondenso
Passenger capacity: H59/31D+1WCH+40
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Page created: 31 August 1999
Last updated: 25 October 2009