ICONIC LONDON ROUTEMASTER RED BUS GOES GREEN WITH CUMMINS EURO VI POWER AT GOODWOOD
50-Year Old RM1005 is Ready to Meet London Ultra-Low Emissions Zone
GOODWOOD, UK (23 June, 2016) – Cummins display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed (June 23-26) will once again draw the crowds with a unique engineering project on show. An iconic London Routemaster red bus is going ‘green’ with a Cummins ISB4.5 clean diesel engine, ensuring it is ready to meet the Ultra-Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) standards planned to take effect in congested areas of the capital from 2018 to 2020.
The AEC Routemaster RM1005 double-deck bus which first entered service in 1962, now has the distinction of being the oldest ever bus to meet the latest Euro VI emissions standards. This follows a repower project undertaken by the application engineering team at the Cummins Darlington Engine Plant. The project offers the opportunity to preserve historic Routemasters for many years ahead.
The bus owner, Sir Peter Hendy CBE, former Commissioner of Transport for London, challenged the Cummins engineers to extend the operating life of RM1005 with a cost efficient repower package, thereby creating an ultra-low emissions option to enable other Routemasters to continue operating in London.
Initial road testing reveals the bus to be easy to drive, with smooth acceleration and quiet operation. The driver cab dash panel and pedal controls have been upgraded to align with the new engine technology.
The highly compact envelope of the 4.5-litre ISB clean diesel engine and integrated exhaust aftertreatment is an ideal fit in the small engine compartment, ensuring that the characteristic external appearance of the bus remains unchanged.
“This is the first public display of the Cummins repowered Routemaster and we’re sure its iconic design coupled with its ultra-clean environmental credentials will prove of great interest to visitors to Goodwood, commented Ashley Watton, Cummins Director On-Highway Europe.
“This year’s diesel star of the Goodwood event is one of the most interesting engineering projects the Cummins team has ever embarked upon. While there is further road testing to be completed, the repowered Routemaster offers the potential to achieve an extremely low carbon footprint per passenger. This means that RM1005 could return to the streets of London with an equal environmental standing as the latest generation of diesel hybrid and alternative fuel buses currently running in the capital.
It seems fitting that the leading independent engine supplier into the European bus market be first to bring Euro VI low emissions technology to this historic vehicle, building on Cummins success in the bus market and the recent launch of stop-start technology,” concluded Watton.
Also available to view on the Cummins stand this year will be a working ‘Engineers On Duty’ display, with Cummins service technician and apprentice demonstrating how an ISB engine can be fully dismantled and then rebuilt during the course of the day.
Note to editors:
RM1005 – An Illustrious Career Continues
RM1005 first entered service in Holloway, London in March 1962 and began earningits status as one of the most famous of the remaining Routemaster buses. After a major refurbishment, a new Cummins engine was installed in 2000. The bus re-entered scheduled service with London Sovereign when Route 13 was converted back to Routemaster operation up until 2005. The bus was bought by Sir Peter Hendy in 2007 for private use, when it was reunited with its original registration number 5CLT and later ran on heritage Route 9 connecting London tourist attractions.
RM1005 received high profile attention in 2012 as one of the London heritage buses supporting the Olympic Games, taking part in celebration events and carrying visitors to the Olympic Park. Now repowered with Cummins clean diesel power, the illustrious career of RM1005 is set to continue.
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About Cummins Inc.
Cummins Inc., a global power leader, is a corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service diesel and natural gas engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emissions solutions and electrical power
generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Indiana (USA), Cummins currently employs approximately 55,000 people worldwide, and serves customers in approximately 190 countries and territories through a network of approximately 600 company-owned and independent distributor locations and more than 7,200 dealer locations. Cummins earned $1.4 billion on sales of $19.1 billion in 2015. Press releases can be found on the Web at cummins.com or cumminsengines.com. Follow Cummins on Twitter at http://twitter.com/cumminsengines and on YouTube at http://youtube.com/cumminsengines.
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Note to editor: the following images can be downloaded at http://cumminspr.com:
- Routemaster RM1005 on the Cummins Stand At Goodwood
- Cummins ISB 4-cylinder, 4.5-litre engine installation
CONTACT: Kevan Browne, Cummins Inc. +44 7718 581313 kevan.browne@cummins.com
