X26 On The M25!

On the 28th July and 29th July, the Cycling road race will be coming to areas such as Putney, Roehampton, Richmond, Kingston, Hampton Court, Molesley, Box Hill, Dorking, Weybridge and Walton. These have caused serious alterations to bus services and one that was seriously affected was Route X26, which was running non stop between New Malden and Hatton Cross. The Route would join the A3 at it's New Malden junction continue on the A3 for 10 miles past Tolworth , Hook, Hinchley Wood and would join the M25 at Byfleet for 17 miles passing Chertsey and Sunbury and coming off at Staines and continuing round the back roads of Thorpe Park, past Ashford Hospital and then on its normal route to Heathrow Central bus station. This meant that other buses such as London United SP's running light on Route 71 from Chessington were having to use the A3 and M25 coming off at Sunbury to reach Fulwell. As Route 465 is not running OV13 was used on Route X26 instead of the normal MCL. I also saw 2 double deckers whilst on the Route. I hope you enjoy reading this post.

Route 289 Observations

This weekend, it was the turn of Route 289 to get new buses. Route 289 runs between Elmers End and Purley, via Croydon. Route 289 began in 1968, and ran between Thornton Heath bus garage and Addiscombe, Black Horse. The Route ran Monday to Friday and was operated by RT's. In 1970 the Route began a Saturday service which partly replaced the withdrawn section of Route 50. As the Route cost a lot to run with double deckers they decided to put SMS's on the Route. In 1973 the Route was extended from Addiscombe, Black Horse to Elmers End Green. There was an upgrade form 4 buses to 5. In 1978 the Route was extended to Beckenham Junction and operated from Elmers End garage ( ED ). In 1981 the Route was extended to Purley Monday to Friday only. In the evenings and also on Saturday and Sunday's the Route only ran to Croydon Airport. In 1985 the Route was cut back from Beckenham Junction to Elmers End Green, and in 1986 the Route was transferred to South Croydon ( TC ). In early 1987 LT decided they didn't want the Route anymore so London & Country took it over and run it from Chelsham ( CM ). London & Country pushed for the 289 to go to Purley full time, and finally got permisson for it in 1991. In 1993 there was a timetable change which had a Sunday journey on it from Purley Way to West Croydon but this only ran in the afternoon. In 1994 they decided to give the 289 a full time service from Beddington Farm ( CN ). In 1999 Arriva London South took over the Route from London Links and they also took over CN. In 2000 Route 289 was allocated 10.7 metre long PDL's so wheelchair user could get on. In 2003 and 2004, Routes 264, 403 and 627 were updated to DW's, Route 455 was updated to DWL's and Route 410 was updated to DWS's. DW's were very common on the 289 and DWL's and DWS's were on the Route sometimes. In 2006 Route 319 converted to DLA operation, and Arriva had DWL's and DDL's spare. The DWL's went to TC for about 2 years and were mainly used on Route 166 and the DDL's were used at TH on the 255. In 2007 Route 450 was transferred to CN in a swap with the 289. This now saw PDL's and DDL's allocated but DLA's were very common. In 2008 the elderly DDL's were withdrawn and replaced with DWL's from TC. The allocation was now PDL's, DDL's and DLA's allocated. In 2010, Route's 109, 198 and 250 were retained and Route 289 started to see T's from the retained Route's appear very often. In 2011, it was announced that CN would be closing and that Route 289 had been retained with ENX's. TH would now see Routes 410 and 450 transferring, and DWS's at TH. Route 289 is a Route that runs near to where I live and I will miss the PDL's that I have grown up with. On Friday 13th July 2012, I spotted ENX13 on the 289. I did not get a picture but I then knew that ENX's had entered service early. I think the reason they have entered service early is because of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. In my opinion I think these ENX's are the best Enviro 200's in London. I hope you enjoy reading this post.

London 2012 Olympic And Paralympic Games Diversions: Kingston

As everyone will know the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games are just a few weeks away. On Saturday 28th July, Sunday 29th July and Wednesday 1st August there will be major diversions and curtailments in the Kingston and surrounding areas.
Route 57: Clapham Park - Kingston. Altered to terminate in Kingston Hall Road until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 65: Ealing Broadway - Kingston. Altered to terminate in Richmond until Richmond and Kingston Town Centre's have fully reopened.
Route 71: Chessington - Kingston. Altered to run between Chessington and Kingston Hall Road until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 111: Heathrow Central - Kingston. Altered to terminate at Hampton Church until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 131: Tooting Broadway - Kingston. Altered to terminate in Kingston Hall Road until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 213: Sutton, Bushey Road - Kingston. Altered to terminate in Kingston Hall Road until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 216: Staines - Kingston. Altered to terminate at Hampton Church until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 281: Hounslow Bus Station - Tolworth. Altered to run in 2 sections. Hounslow Bus Station - Twickenham, Whitton Road. Kingston Hall Road - Tolworth.
Route 285: Heathrow Central - Kingston. Altered to run between Heathrow Central and Hampton High Street until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 406: Epsom - Kingston. Altered to run between Epsom and Kingston Hall Road until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route 411: West Molesley - Kingston. No service on Saturday 28th July and Sunday 29th July.
Route 465: Dorking - Epsom. No service on Saturday 28th July and Sunday 29th July.
Route K1: New Malden - Kingston. Altered to run between New Malden and Kingston until Kingston Town Centre has fully reopened.
Route K2: Hook - Kingston Hospital. Diverted between Kingston Hospital and Kingston, Wheatfield Way.
Route K3: Roehampton Vale - Esher. Altered to run between Roehampton Vale and Claygate. Diverted between Kingston Hospital and Kingston, Penrhyn Road.
Route K4: Kingston Hospital - Mansfield Park. Diverted between Kingston High Street and Kingston Hospital on Saturday 28th July 2012 only.
Route X26: Heathrow Central - West Croydon. Altered to run non stop between New Malden and Hatton Cross via the M25. Kingston and Teddington will not be served. Abellio Surrey Routes will also be altered.
Route 458: Staines - Kingston. Altered to run Staines - Shepperton during the morning and Staines - Hersham during the afternoon.
Route 459: Woking - Kingston. Altered to run Woking - Addlestone during the morning and Woking - Hersham during the afternoo.
Route 461: St Peter's Hospital - Kingston. Service suspended until 14:00 when it will run between St Peter's Hospital and West Molesley.
Route 513: Kingston - Downside Common. Service suspended on Saturday 28th July only.
Route 514: Kingston - Hersham. Service suspended on Saturday 28th July only.
Route 515: Kingston - Guildford. Diverted between Kingston and Cobbham on Saturday 28th July 2012 only until Kingston Town Centre and Esher have fully reopened.
Route 515A: Kingston - Guildford. Diverted between Kinsgton and Cobbham on Sunday 29th July only until Kingston and Esher have fully reopened.
I hope everybody has a nice time during the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games. I hope you enjoyed reading this post.