Transport for London has rolled out the latest phase of its Superloop express bus service, with the renaming and increased frequency of the route between Heathrow and south London.
The former X26 between Heathrow Central and West Croydon is now known as the SL7, and has doubled in frequency to one bus every 15 minutes.
TfL also said that “Other improvements to follow on many of the buses include improved customer information, USB charging and luggage racks”.
The renamed SL7 service is the third route to become part of the Superloop network, which was unveiled earlier this year and aims to add over four million extra kilometres to the bus network in outer London.
TfL proposes Superloop bus network
The first two routes launched last month – the SL8 running between Uxbridge and White City, and the SL6 running between West Croydon and Russell Square.
Subject to consultation the loop is scheduled to fully roll out by spring 2024, with the exception of route SL4 which will start when the Silvertown tunnel opens under the River Thames between the Greenwich Peninsula and west Silvertown in 2025.
In addition TfL confirmed a number of other enhancements to the outer London bus network from Saturday 26 August, including:
- Route 123 will now be a 24-hour service, seven-days-a-week travelling between Wood Green Station and Ilford
- Route 158 will now be a 24-hour service, seven-days-a-week travelling between Stratford Bus Station and Chingford Mount
- Route 86 travelling between Stratford Bus Station and Romford Station will will run every 8-9 minutes instead of every ten minutes during the day on Sundays
- Route 141 travelling between London Bridge and Palmers Green will run every ten minutes instead of every 12 minutes in the evening every day of the week, and all day on Sundays buses will be running every ten minutes instead of every 12 minutes
Commenting on the news The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:
“The Superloop will be a gamechanger for travel around outer London, delivering quicker links between transport hubs, town centres, schools and hospitals.
“Last month, we launched the first Superloop buses to our roads, and from today, even more Londoners will benefit from a doubling in Superloop journeys between Heathrow Central and West Croydon.
“These new services will provide Londoners with even stronger alternatives to private car use, and help us to build a better, greener London for everyone.”