BL1 Bakerloop: TfL Announces Plans For Further Superloop Routes

Last Updated 31 January 2025

BL1 Bakerloop: TfL Announces Plans For Further Superloop Routes
Image: TfL

TfL has launched a public consultation into a planned 'Bakerloop' express bus route.

Hot on the (w)heels of the initial Superloop launch, the Bakerloop route would run between Waterloo, Elephant & Castle and Lewisham, following part of the existing Bakerloo Tube line, before picking up the planned Bakerloo line extension route out towards Lewisham, via Burgess Park, Old Kent Road and New Cross Gate.

Exactly which stops it would serve are still to be decided, based on feedback submitted through the consultation. The plan is for it to "connect to services in the wider public transport network, including the London Underground, London Overground, DLR, National Rail and other bus routes". Stops suggested by TfL — some of which are planned locations for new Bakerloo line stations — include:

  • Waterloo station
  • Elephant & Castle/London Road
  • Elephant & Castle/New Kent Road
  • Burgess Park/Dunton Road
  • Old Kent Road/Ilderton Road
  • New Cross Gate
  • Lewisham town centre
  • Lewisham station

TfL isn't currently planning to make changes to any other bus routes in the area. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said:

The new proposed route will mirror the route of the potential Bakerloo line extension and better connect people around southeast London, while also helping to demonstrate how much the capital needs the Bakerloo line extension.

The route would be known as BL1 — breaking the pattern of all other Superloop routes being given SL names — but it's not the only planned addition to the Superloop network. We're expecting to hear more soon about the planned SL11 route, which would run between Abbey Wood and North Greenwich (connecting to the existing SL3 at Abbey Wood and Thamesmead), and the SL12, which would run between Rainham, Ferry Lane and Gants Hill (where it would connect with SL2). Here's some more info on those:

Nine Superloop routes are already up and running, with the 10th, SL4, due to start operating in April 2025 when the Silvertown Tunnel opens.

Is the Bakerloo line extension still happening?

An extension to the Bakerloo line has been discussed for many years, with the first public consultations happening back in 2014. The last official update was in October 2024, when it was announced that TfL was hiring architects and engineers to finesse plans, before appealing to the government for funding. Don't get too excited — even if things go to plan, it's thought that construction won't start until the 2030s, with the route opening in the 2040s.

The consultation on the proposed 'Bakerloop' BL1 Superloop route is open now, running until 14 March 2025. BL1 could be up and running by this autumn.