Route X26 Observations

Today, it was the turn of Route X26 to be awarded to a new operator. Route X26 started as Green Line coach Route 750, which ran between Gravesend in Kent and the posh area of Windsor in Berkshire. By the 1980's, the sections of the Route between Heathrow and Windsor and Dartford and Gravesend were withdrawn. By this time, Green Line was run by London Country but when that company was broken up in 1986 it came under the control of London Transport. London Coaches operated the Route from 1992 to the late 90's when Capital Logistics, later to become Tellings Golden Miller, operated the Route, but passenger numbers were going down. Early 1999 saw alterations made to the Route which saw it run between Bromley South and Heathrow Airport. The service ran every hour with no early morning or late evening service. June 1st 1999 saw a new contract with Tellings Golden Miller using 7 Alexander ALX300's on a Volvo B10BLE chassis. The Route became unprofitable and in April 2005, Route 726 became Route X26 and was awarded to Metrobus with brand new Scania Omnicity's. Many stops were axed to improve journey times, including one at Tourist attraction Hampton Court. Despite cuts in the length, Route X26 remains the longest bus Route in London. In the latter part of 2008, a new timetable was introduced to improve frequency. This saw 03 / 53 reg Mercedes Citaros from Quality Line become temporary vehicles whilst buses from Metrobus's Fastway service in Crawley were refurbished. The Citaro's later returned to Wealden PSV. In June 2010, a proposal to introduce a former 726 stop at Beddington was refused by TFL, despite support from local residents and local MP Tom Brake. 2011 saw Route X26 lost to Quality Line from their one and only Epsom garage (EB) with 10 brand new Mercedes Benz Citaro's built to a unique specifaction. Today, the service change took place and there was a poster telling passengers what the new service would be like. There was also timetable's for the X26 being offered to the public. These new buses also have Quality Line's new logo, designed to reflect Epsom Coaches as well as Quality Line. I hope you enjoy reading this post.