National Express has begun operating a new joint venture bus service in Bahrain, but a high profile shipping mishap has delayed delivery of 10 of the 141 vehicles required. Bahrain Public Transport Company, in which NatEx is the operating partner, took up the contract in February to serve the capital city of Manama and interurban routes across the 485sq mile Gulf kingdom with a population of 1.2million. Included in the new fleet are 14 air-conditioned Optare Solos with six-cylinder Cummins engine, 10 of which were being transported from Southampton on the cargo ship Hoegh Osaka when it was run aground on Bramble Bank in the Solent in bad weather on 3 January. The ship listed to a heavy angle damaging some of the vehicles -mainly cars - on board. NatEx also is using software systems from UK-based Omnibus to assist in day-to-day management of the new contract.
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