Xpress (roller coaster)

Express is a steel roller coaster at Walibi Holland in Biddinghuizen, Netherlands. It was launched as Superman The Ride in April 2000. The name was changed to Express in the season of 2005, and to Xpress: Platform 13 in 2014. It is the first LSM-coaster in Europe.

The Ride

After the train has been locked and checked, it slowly advances out of the station to the launch area. The train goes through a tunnel, where the passengers wait until the countdown starts. After the countdown, the trains, which exist out of 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train, are accelerated from 0 - 55.9 mph in 2.8 seconds. It first climbs into a Sea Serpent Roll, which is a 2 inversion element. You begin with a sidewinder, followed by a reverse sidewinder. Then the train plunges into numerous turns and helixes and the 3rd inversion, a corkscrew. The train then passes in through a mid course brake run, makes a few turns then travels into the final brake run. When the final break run is completed the car goes into the station where the unloading process begins.

Ride Facts

• 2 24-passenger trains.
• One colored red & silver, one colored purple & silver.
• 3 inversions.
• Over 150 LSMs.
• Over the shoulder harnesses.
• Maximum height: 80 ft.
• Exact same layout as Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Walt Disney Studios.
• Manufactured by: Vekoma international of the Netherlands.

History

The Xpress / Superman was initially to be called "Riddler's Revenge" and was painted green at the factory. Shortly before the ride was installed, it was decided that Europeans know of Batman, but not necessarily all of the related villains. So the track was repainted with red and blue supports and given a Superman theme. The station was given the theme of the Daily Planet offices.

The ride was launched in April 2000 in the theme park Six Flags Holland. Following the sale of all of Six Flags' European parks in 2004, the park was changed to Walibi World just before the beginning of the 2005 season. Any references to Looney Tunes and DC Comics characters had to be removed from the park before opening day. The name of Superman The Ride was changed to Xpress.

The Xpress has nearly the same track layout as the "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster" models at Disney Parks. The Xpress' layout is a bit more spacious to compensate for a higher speed launch due to the trains being lighter without the musical hardware.

Xpress roller coaster (1 min)

In 2011, small cracks were found in the stators, and their metal inside started to rust. New stators were ordered, and were delivered in February 2012. Therefore, the coaster was standing but not operating for the whole 2011 season. In August 2011, Walibi Holland decided to re-paint the track, to get rid of the old Superman colors (Black track and Grey supports.). Xpress Reopened In April 2012.

In September 2013, P&P Projects began working on a renovation of the ride set to reopen in 2014.^[1][2]

In 2014, the ride was reopened as Xpress Platform 13 with a new theme based on a backstory about a forbidden subway station. The guests walk through this subway station as they enter the ride, which starts out as a normal subway station but gets darker and more horror-based as the guests progress towards the actual ride entrance.

References