TfL Superloop: Harrow to Heathrow express bus service to launch this weekend

An express bus service will be launched in west London this weekend as part of the new Superloop network, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.

Customers using the Route X140 between Harrow and Heathrow Central will see the bus renumbered SL9 from Saturday August 26.

Buses on the route will run every 12 minutes from Monday to Saturday and Sunday running every 15 minutes. Other improvements, including improved customer information and USB charging, will also follow on many of the buses.

Buses on the SL9 route will call at the same stops as the X140, but some of the bus stop names have changed to better reflect their locations, such as Willow Tree Lane, which is now Yeading Lane / Willow Tree Lane.

The SL9 is the fourth bus route to become part of the Superloop express bus network since the service was announced in March.

On July 15, the first bus route to become part of the network, running from Uxbridge and White City, was renumbered SL8 and rebranded as a Superloop service.

TfL has also confirmed that subject to consultation, the complete loop of the Superloop network will be in service by Spring 2024.

This is with the exception of route SL4, which would be launched when the Silvertown Tunnel opens in 2025.

The full proposed Superloop network consists of existing bus routes, which are being given new route numbers and branding, and newly proposed bus routes, which TfL is consulting on.

The network is part of a £6m investment by the mayor to compensate for the impact of the ultra-low emission zone expansion, due to start on August 29.

From Saturday August 26, customers in outer London will also be able to take advantage of other improved bus services including:

• Route 123 will be a 24-hour service, seven days a week travelling between Wood Green Station and Ilford.
• Route 158 will be a 24-hour service, seven-days-a-week travelling between Stratford Bus Station and Chingford Mount.
• Route 86 travelling between Stratford Bus Station and Romford Station will see its frequency increased on Sundays. It will run every 8-9 minutes instead of every 10 minutes during the day.
• Route 141 travelling between London Bridge and Palmers Green will see its frequency increase. It will run every 10 minutes instead of every 12 minutes in the evening every day of the week, and all day on Sundays buses run every 10 minutes instead of every 12 minutes. There will be changes to the times of the first buses on Sundays with services running earlier.
• Routes 79 (which runs between Alperton Sainsbury’s and Edgware station) and 83 (which runs between Alperton station and Golders Green station) will be extended, following a consultation that took place earlier this year. Route 79 will be extended to Stonebridge Park station via Mount Pleasant and Beresford Avenue. Route 83 will also be extended from its current terminus at Alperton station to Alperton Sainsbury’s via Ealing Road, replacing route 79 between these points.

Deputy mayor for Transport, Seb Dance said:"It’s great to see more Superloop buses on the streets of London, and I’m excited for the SL9 to join them from Saturday.

“The Superloop is delivering more frequent and longer running bus services, with the express services circling the city, providing quicker links between transport hubs, town centres, schools and hospitals and offering Londoners even stronger alternatives to private car use, helping us to build a better, greener London for everyone.”

Louise Cheeseman, director of Buses at TfL said: “The newly renumbered and branded SL9 will ensure people in outer London have an instantly recognisable express bus route, helping to make it easier to choose a sustainable way to travel.

“Buses are the most accessible, available and affordable form of public transport connecting outer London’s network to town centres, hospitals, schools and transport hubs. We’ll continue to work on our further plans for the Superloop to make it even easier for people to travel around outer London.”

Tory critics have however dubbed the Superloop initiative the “Superflop”.

Nick Rogers, the City Hall Conservatives transport spokesman, said: “Sadiq Khan’s Superloop announcement is a Superflop, amounting to nothing more than a repackaging of existing routes and vague promises that will not be delivered before his Ulez expansion hits Londoners.

“This is a microscopic level of investment. The mayor’s rushed plans have been thrown together in a panic, and do nothing to address the devastating impact of his ULEZ tax.”