[Buses in Beijing]京华 Jinghua BK6160K 北京公交集团 BPT #Z40172 Front-right at Hujialou East

A BK6160K 15.6m mid-floor, rear-engine, non-air-conditioning articulated bus built by Jinghua, Beijing

 

BK6150K, BK6150K1, BK6160K and BK6160K2 form the big family of Jinghua’s 16m rear-engine articulated buses. They are generally called “Xiaojinghou” which is “Little (Xiao) Jinghua (Jing) Rear (Hou)”, in comparison with their big brothers BK6182 series, “Dajinghou”.

 

In 2007 when hundreds of 18m rear-engine, non-air-conditioning articulated buses hit the road, BPT saw the potential of these buses with advantages in both capacity and comfort. However, not all routes in Beijing permit the application of 18m behemoths. The demand for nimbler rear-engine articulated buses called Xiaojinghou series into existence, together with its Huanghai brand sibling, DD6160S03.

 

Among the Xiaojinghou family, BK6160K, abbreviated to “6K”, is the longer version reaching 15.6m length overall. The difference between 6K and its closest brother 6K2 is that 6K is powered by a more powerful IVECO F4AE3682F*P 251hp diesel engine, instead of 6K’s Cummins ISBe4 205B 205hp. Built on a FAW (First Automobile Works of China) chassis, 6K has a two-step main floor, and one more stair over the driving axle. The engine and an Allison T310R 6AT gearbox are located at the very end in a T-drive configuration. All the three axles are air-sprung conventional axles, and a ramp is present over the second axle. A Chinese-made Ikarus hydraulic articulation bogie connects the two chassis frames, on which the non-supporting body is built.

 

BPT ordered a very large number of Xiaojinghou buses. A few months after than the first batch of BK6150K debuted, Xiaojinghou quickly spread all over Beijing. However, both BPT employees and passengers quickly discovered Xiaojinghou’s vital drawbacks. First, Xiaojinghou features neither air-conditioner nor heater, making staying inside a suffering during most of the year. Second, the not so roomy passenger compartment space cannot be utilized to the fullest. Two backward-facing seats are fit behind the front wheel covers, two over the middle wheel covers, and three rightward-facing seats over the fuel tank located on the left side in front of the rear axle. Third and the worst, Xiaojinghou are extremely poor in quality. In the first months of 2008 when hundreds of rigid buses were drawn out of service in preparation for Olympic Shuttles, BPT urgently needed Xiaojinghou to fill the vacancy. Jinghua built these units day and night so certainly quality could hardly be guaranteed. Parts soon began to fall apart and doors, windows started creaking. Inside, noise drowns and vibration shakes the rear part. Mechanically, Xiaojinghou are very frequently broken down.

 

The most tragic fact is that Xiaojinghou replaced a lot of air-conditioning buses on artery cross-urban routes. Line 729 is a 40km cross-urban local line: south to Chengheyuan Residential Area outside the South 4th Ring Road, east to Dongba Construction Materials Town outside the northeastern part of the 5th Ring Road. This artery used to be served by air-conditioning Golden Dragon XML6112UE13 and King Long 6118G 11m rigid buses, but had the fleet mostly replaced by 6Ks in 2008.

 

Fleet No. Z40172 (BPT Zhuanxian Division, diesel articulated bus, code 0172) on Line 729 is proceeding east on Chaoyang Road. Line 729 uses the South Central Road along with BRT 1 till the city center, goes onto Qiansanmen Street and then Chang’an Avenue, passes Beijing CBD, Hujialou and Shuiduizi, and goes onto Yaojiayuan Road until exiting the 5th Ring Road boundary. Currently in February 2011, Line 729 has a fleet of more than 70 articulated buses.

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