Sunliner Express was an Australian interstate coach operator.

History

Sunliner Express was formed in 1986 when the

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

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licence of VIP Express was purchased."Sunliner Express - The High Deck Legacy" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 9/2 September 1993 page 7"Sunliner Express" ''Fleetline'' March 1988 page 63 Sunliner was owned by current

Transit Systems Transit Systems Group is an Australian-based public transport company, which also operates overseas through its subsidiary Tower Transit Group. Transit Systems Group is a subsidiary of the Kelsian Group, formerly SeaLink Travel Group. History ...

proprietors Lance Francis, Graham Leishman and Neil Smith who owned the

Peninsula Bus Lines Peninsula Bus Lines was a bus and coach operator in Melbourne, Australia. As a Melbourne bus company, it operated 18 bus routes under contract to the Government of Victoria. A subsidiary of Grenda Corporation, it was purchased by Ventura Bus Li ...

operation on the

New South Wales Central Coast The Central Coast is a peri-urban region in New South Wales, Australia, lying on the Tasman Sea coast to the north of Sydney and south of Newcastle. The local government area of the Central Coast Council has an estimated population of 333, ...

, Chalmers Coaches,

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and in 1985 purchased Bayside Bus Lines,

. In 1988

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to Brisbane via

Dubbo Dubbo () is a city in the Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the Newell, Mitchell, and Gol ...

and Melbourne to

services were introduced in partnership with Melbourne operator Landmark Tours. In March 1989 Sunliner took over operation of these services. In 1990 these services ceased. Sunliner also operated day tours in Sydney and Brisbane under the Boomerang Tours name. In October 1989 a Sunliner Express Scania was involved in the

Grafton bus crash The Grafton bus crash killed 21 people and injured 22 on the Pacific Highway on the North Coast of New South Wales near Grafton. This crash was one of several on the Pacific Highway involving buses during a relatively brief period. At the time, ...

with 21 people killed and 22 injured on the Pacific Highway near Grafton. At the time, this crash was the worst in Australian road transport history in terms of number of deaths. In February 1991 Sunliner Express was placed in liquidation."Bayside-Sunliner Collapse" ''Australian Bus Panorama'' 6/8 May 1991 page 15

Fleet

Sunliner acquired eight Denning Denair and two Austral Tourmaster coaches acquired from VIP Express. These were replaced by a fleet of Austral,

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and

Pressed Metal Corporation South Australia Pressed Metal Corporation South Australia (PMCSA) was an Australian bus bodybuilder based in Royal Park, Adelaide. History The business originally formed as Freighter-Lawton Industries being rebranded Freighter Industries in 1963.

bodied

Scania Scania, also known by its native name of Skåne (, ), is the southernmost of the historical provinces of Sweden, provinces (''landskap'') of Sweden. Located in the south tip of the geographical region of Götaland, the province is roughly conte ...

K112TR and K113TRs. Sunliner's livery was a silver and two blue livery with a round sunset emblem with a silhouette of a palm tree and a white sea bird emblazoned within it.

References

{{Australian interstate coach operators, state=collapsed Bus companies of Australia Transport companies established in 1986 Transport companies disestablished in 1991 1986 establishments in Australia 1991 disestablishments in Australia