The Scania OmniLine was a single-deck intercity bus manufactured between 2000 and 2009. It was the first normal-floor member of the Scania Omni range, and it was built on the L94IB chassis, later replaced by the K IB chassis, which changed its technical name from IL94IB to IK IB.
Scania OmniLine at a glance
| Production | 2000–2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | single-deck intercity bus, normal floor |
| Chassis | L94IB, later K IB |
| Technical names | IL94IB, then IK IB |
| First built at | DAB, Silkeborg, Denmark |
| Later built at | Tartu, Estonia; Słupsk, Poland; St Petersburg, Russia |
| First generation lengths | 12.0 and 13.5 m, floor 960 mm |
| Second generation lengths | 10.8, 12.0 and 12.7 m, floors 860 and 970 mm |
| Built in total | about 450 |
based on one source
History of the Scania OmniLine
First generation
The OmniLine was launched as the first normal-floor member of the Scania Omni range, with the first buses delivered in 2000. It was first produced by DAB in Silkeborg, Denmark, and was technically a facelift of DAB’s latest model, the DAB Facelift. Its technical name was Scania IL94IB, running from IL94IB4X2NB230 to IL94IB4X2NB300 depending on power output, which showed that it was built on the L94IB chassis. It was available in lengths of 12.0 and 13.5 metres with a floor height of 960 mm.
Moving production
In 2003 Scania sold the Silkeborg plant to the Norwegian builder Vest Busscar, and OmniLine production moved to Baltcoach OÜ in Tartu, Estonia. In October 2005 Scania presented its new Euro IV models, and the second-generation OmniLine received a facelift with double circular headlights instead of the first generation’s rectangular ones, together with other visual upgrades; the change of model itself came in 2006. Because the L94IB chassis had been replaced by the K IB chassis, the technical name changed to Scania IK IB, and from 2006 the bus was available as the IK 270 IB, IK 310 IB and IK 340 IB, with the IK 280 IB added in 2008. The second generation came in lengths of 10.8, 12.0 and 12.7 metres with floor heights of 860 and 970 mm.
The end
Production in Tartu ended in 2007, and in 2008 the buses were built at Scania Production Słupsk in Poland, before production moved later that year to the Scania Peter plant in St Petersburg, Russia. In 2009 Scania decided to stop building the model because of low sales volumes: only about 450 buses had been built in almost a decade. The decision seems to have been sudden, as the Norwegian operator Nordlandsbuss had ordered a batch of OmniLines that were instead built as the slightly taller OmniExpress 3.40. There was no immediate successor; customers were offered taller OmniExpress versions until Scania introduced the 3.31-metre OmniExpress 3.20 with an 860 mm floor in 2011.
Design and features
- Normal floor: the first member of the Omni range without a low floor.
- DAB heritage: a facelift of the DAB Facelift model.
- Two generations: rectangular headlights first, double circular lights after 2005.
- Several plants: built in Denmark, Estonia, Poland and Russia.
Scania OmniLine versions
- IL94IB (2000–2006): first generation on the L94IB chassis.
- IK 270 IB, IK 310 IB, IK 340 IB: second generation on the K IB chassis.
- IK 280 IB: added in 2008.
The city bus of the same family is the Scania OmniLink, and the coach that replaced the OmniLine is the Scania OmniExpress. Its chassis family is described in Scania K-series, and more vehicles are in the Scania collection.
Sources
- Scania OmniLine, English Wikipedia: production, technical names, plants, end of model
