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X26
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| Overview | |
| Operator | Metrobus |
| Garage | Croydon (C) |
| Vehicle | Scania OmniCity |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 9 |
| Nighttime | No night service |
| Route | |
| Start | Heathrow Airport |
| Via | Teddington Kingston New Malden Worcester Park Sutton East Croydon |
| End | West Croydon |
| Length | 21 miles (34 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | Every 30 minutes |
| Journey time | 79-123 minutes |
| Operates | 6:00am until 11:00pm |
| Transport for London • Performance |
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London Buses route X26 is a Transport for London (TfL) contracted bus route from Heathrow Airport to West Croydon. The service is currently contracted to Metrobus.
The route is the longest London Buses route in London.[1]
Contents |
The X26 has its origins in Green Line Coach route 725, which started in the 1950s and ran from Gravesend and Dartford through Bromley, Croydon, Sutton and Kingston to Staines and Windsor. In the late 1970s the 726 was introduced as a variant, running from Gravesend to Windsor via Heathrow Airport and Slough instead of Staines.[2]
By the 1980s, the sections of route between Heathrow and Windsor and between Gravesend and Dartford had been withdrawn. At that time the Green Line network was operated by London Country Bus Services, but when that company was broken up in 1986, Green Line route 726, which ran almost entirely within Greater London, came under the control of London Transport. London Coaches, a subsidiary of London Buses privatised in 1992, operated the route using dual purpose DAF SB220 vehicles.[3]
The contract changed from London Coaches to Capital Logistics in the late 1990s, but passenger numbers continued to decline. In 1997 LT attempted to withdraw the service, but at the end of year it was given an 18-month reprieve after over 1,600 letters had been received in its support.[4]
Early in 1999 the service was cut back to run between Bromley and Heathrow only; the service returned to regular hourly, with no early morning or late evening service. Capital Logistics was bought by Tellings-Golden Miller (TGM) on 1 June 1999, shortly after a new contract for the 726 had been awarded to TGM in their own right. New low-floor buses were specified, and seven Alexander ALX300-bodied Volvo B10BLE buses were purchased.[3]
In April 2005 the 726 was remodelled. The section between Bromley and East Croydon was withdrawn. Many stops were removed to reduce run times and improve reliability, including one at Hampton Court. The service was renumbered X26 and awarded to Metrobus who introduced new Scania OmniCities. London Buses hoped that the re-modelled route would attract more passengers and therefore specified large single deck buses. It was initially intended to remove stops at Carshalton, Cheam, North Cheam and Worcester Park, but these were restored to the route, and a new stop at Teddington added. The route's peak vehicle requirement (PVR) fell from six buses to four.[3]
Despite the series of cut in its length, the X26 remains the longest Transport for London contracted route, at a distance of 23.75 miles.[1]
On 22 November 2008, route X26 was doubled in frequency to every 30 minutes for most of the day, including Sundays, although the evening service remained hourly.[5] To cover for the increase in PVR while new vehicles were prepared, Metrobus hired some Mercedes-Benz Citaros from Wealden PSV, but delivered directly from original owner Quality Line. The Citaros have since been returned to Wealden PSV and replaced with Scania OmniCitys from the Crawley Fastway network, which have been refurbished and painted red; these are two years older thean the OmniCitys that previously worked on the route.[6]
In June 2010, a proposal to reintroduce the former 726 stop at Beddington to the X26 was rejected by TfL, despite support from many residents and local MP Tom Brake.[7]
Quality Line has sucssesfully gained contract for route X26 and will be operating it from 14 April 2012. 10 new single-deck 12m Mercedes-Benz Citaros will be used on the route. [8]