New service supplies speedy connection for south London.
The Superloop bus service continues to roll out apace, with the introduction of the SL5 on Saturday 5 February. The brand new route will begin at Bromley North station and whizz via to Park Avenue in central Croydon (consider it as becoming a member of the 5 and 6 on a clock face). 4 providers will run per hour, or 5 within the morning peak.
The entire level of the Superloop is to offer a quick service between main centres, with out a lot of stops in-between. On this case, SL5 matches in 9 intermediates, together with Bromley South, Bethlem Royal Hospital and East Croydon station. The total journey is timetabled at half-hour. TfL’s journey planner means that the present quickest route between the 2 may take 52 minutes — so fairly a time saving.
The SL5 joins six present Superloop providers in a scheme that can quickly (nearly) encircle town, and with two spokes heading in to the centre.
- SL8 (Uxbridge to White Metropolis)
- SL6 (West Croydon to Russell Sq.)
- SL7 (Croydon to Heathrow)
- SL9 (Heathrow to Harrow)
- SL10 (Harrow to North Finchley)
- SL1 (North Finchley to Walthamstow Central)
Additional providers will come scorching on the wheels of the SL5. The SL3 from Bromley to Thamesmead is because of begin operating on 24 February 2024, whereas the SL2 from Walthamstow Central to North Woolwich is coming in March. The scheme will probably be just about full at that time — a cushty two months earlier than the Mayoral Election, giving Sadiq Khan a tangible “look what I did” to shout about.
The one remaining Superloop service at that time would be the SL4 from Grove Park to Westferry Circus (Canary Wharf). This last spoke service cannot begin till the completion of the Silvertown Tunnel, anticipated in March 2025.