Maps for TfL's planned Superloop bus routes have been released, as the first consultation on the route launches.
The Superloop — first announced in March this year — is a new bus service consisting of seven separate but connected routes forming a ring around outer London, with three additional strands linking it up elsewhere. Initial details were hazy, but we've now got a closer look at the following sections (click or tap each one for details of the route):
- Harrow to North Finchley (with stops at Kenton for Northwick Park Hospital, Kingsbury, Hendon and Finchley Central Station);
- Walthamstow to Royal Docks (with stops at Gants Hill Station, Ilford and Barking);
- North Finchley to Walthamstow (with stops at New Southgate Station, Arnos Grove, Gloucester Road for North Middlesex University Hospital, and Silver Street Station);
- Bromley to West Croydon (with stops at West Wickham, Sandilands Tram Stop and East Croydon Station);
- Bexleyheath to Bromley (with stops st Sidcup, Queen Mary's Hospital, Chislehurst Station and Bickley).
The above all form part of the outer ring. The sharp-eyed among you will notice that the Superloop consists of seven main routes, but only five are listed above. The missing sections are Croydon to Heathrow Airport, which is covered by the existing X26 route, and Heathrow to Harrow, covered by the existing X140.
TfL has also released details on Canary Wharf to Grove Park, one of those additional strands that do not form part of the main 'loop', but complement it with additional links to transport hubs — namely, Blackheath and Lee stations in south-east London.
Though TfL is calling them 'detailed maps', they only provide basic information of the transport links and landmarks (such as hospitals) which each route will serve.
It's the top one — Harrow to North Finchley — for which we have the most information, and which is now the subject of a public consultation. The planned X183 route would run along part of the current 183 route between Harrow and Hendon, and part of the current 125 between Hendon and North Finchley, though it would be a limited stop service, running every 12-15 minutes. TfL claims it would offer links to 38 other bus routes and seven rail lines along the route.
You can see the plans and have your say on the public consultation webpage haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/
