London Central
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| Parent company | Go-Ahead Group |
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| Headquarters | Merton |
| Locale | South London |
| Service area | United Kingdom |
| Service type | Bus |
| Routes | 43 |
| Hubs | Bexleyheath Camberwell New Cross Peckham |
| Fleet | Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 Dennis Dart SLF Mercedes-Benz O530G Volvo B7TL Volvo Olympian |
| Operator | Go-Ahead Group |
| Web site | http://www.londoncentral.com/ |
London Central is owned by Go-Ahead Group and is one of many operators of London Buses. They operate four bus garages in Bexleyheath, Camberwell, New Cross and Peckham.
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[edit] Garages
[edit] Bexleyheath (BX)
As of April 2008, the Bexleyheath garage (BX) holds 150 buses, and runs London bus routes 51, 89, 229, 244, 401, 422, 469, 486, B11, B12, B16, school routes 601 and 602, and night routes N21 and N89.
Built as a trolleybus depot by the London Passenger Transport Board, this is the only new garage built for trolleybuses. The depot is a large and imposing building, slightly set back from the main road to enable parking on the forecourt and being used as a terminus for route 122. Bexleyheath closed in 1986, with work moved to Plumstead, Catford, and Sidcup garages, although it re-opened in 1988 under the guise of Bexleybus, a unit set up by London Buses under de-regulation, and had a large and varied allocation from Iveco/Robin Hood's & MCW Metroriders to NC Olympians & Fleetlines. the move to set up the new company to tender for routes backfired, and in the next round of tendering only the B16 was awarded to Bexleybus, whilst London Central won nine. London Central took control of the Bexleyheath routes (including B16) from 1990 instead of 1991 and also took over the garage from Stagecoach London. Lately the garage has had a good utilisation figure, up to 139 in 2001 which necessitated parking in the rear yard and the forecourt. In January 2007, the garage received its first Enviro 400s for use on route 486.
- Bus types in use
- 23x Dennis Dart SLF/Marshall Capital (DML/DMS)
- 27x Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer (LDP)
- 3x Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 1 Trainer (NV)
- 80x Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President (PVL)
- 17x Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 10.1m (E)
[edit] Camberwell (Q)
As of January 2008, the Camberwell garage holds 217 buses, and runs London bus routes 35, 40, 45, 68, 360, 468, 484, P5, 24-hour route 12, express route X68, and night routes N35 and N68.
Although built in 1914, Camberwell garage was not used as a bus garage until 1919 as it had been requisitioned for the war effort. Once it came into use it was one of Londons biggest garages and also carried out body overhauls in 1940-1941. The garage was bombed during WW2 in 1940 which resulted in 4 buses being destroyed and a further 13 seriously damaged. During the early 1950s the garage underwent modernisation with the welfare & operational block reconstructed and the parking area extended. The new building also incorporated a new pit and workshop layout in a separate self contained block which also undertook heavy maintenance for Walworth Garage, 350 buses in all. The allocation at Q decreased slightly over the years from 165 in 1952 until the closure of Walworth in 1985 increased the allocation to 142. Camberwell was also the home of the three Titans fitted with electronic blinds which were used on the night bus standby duties.
- Bus types in use
- Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President (PVL)
- Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer (LDP)
- Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP)
- Volvo B7TL/Wright Eclipse Gemini (WVL)
- Volvo B7TL/Alexander ALX400 (AVL)
- Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro (articulated) (MAL)
- Wright Electrocity (WHY)
[edit] New Cross (NX)
As of November 2006, the New Cross garage holds 149 buses, and runs London bus routes 21, 36, 171, 172, 225, 321, 436, C10, school route 621, and night routes N21 and N171.
Said to be the largest of London's bus garages with space for over 300 buses the garage was fully opened in 1906. The garage has never been even close to its capacity due to the close proximity of other garages, but has at various times been used to store surplus vehicles. The garage allocation has fluctuated over the years, from 191 in 1966 to 132 in 2001. The garage also houses some of the private hire fleet which is painted in the style of the former London General company. New cross was also the garage for two special services, first in 1972 when it operated en ex-Tilling ST on route 100 and the DAF/East Lancs Myllennium LPG powered buses for the Millennium Dome services M1 & M2. In 2003 the garage also began operating Mercedes-Benz articulated buses on route 436.
- Bus types in use
- Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer (LDP)
- Mercedes-Benz O530G Citaro (articulated) (MAL)
- Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President (PVL)
- Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 (E)
[edit] Peckham (PM)
As of November 2006, the Peckham garage holds 66 buses, and runs London bus routes 36, 63, 363, P12, 24-hour route 37, and night route N63.
The new Peckham garage was converted from a local authority maintenance depot and opened in 1994 with a capacity for 75 buses. In 2000 the garage put London's first Volvo B7TL/Alexander ALX400 low-floor vehicles into service on route 63 alongside NC Palatines and Plaxton Pointers. Peckham Garage won bus garage of the year in 2004, although this turned out to be a poisoned chalice for the garage, losing almost half of its work in the next year's tender awards.
- Bus types in use
- Volvo B7TL/Alexander ALX400 (AVL)
- Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer (LDP)
- Dennis Dart SLF/Plaxton Pointer 2 (LDP)
- Volvo B7TL/Plaxton President (PVL)
- Volvo Olympian/Northern Counties Palatine 1/2 (NV, Training buses)
- Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 (E)
[edit] See also
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