Barely a year after the £6million introduction of the Superloop network, with rebranded express routes mostly around outer London, Mayor Sadiq Khan is considering axing Croydon’s long-standing bus link to Heathrow Airport.
Power outage: the SL7 is London’s longest bus route, and too long for electric vehicles
The SL7 Superloop bus was introduced in 2023, replacing the previous express route, the X26, from West Croydon to Heathrow, via Sutton and Kingston. The SL7 has twice the frequency of the old X26.
The SL7 is currently London’s longest bus route, with journeys supposed to take 1hr 42min, but even with bus priority lanes and a reduced number of stops, can often take longer.
Or, as Transport for London would have it, the SL7 is “susceptible to traffic conditions as it travels through key town centres and shopping hubs in outer London”.
Such a long route is impractical for new, electric-powered buses, as Transport for London is rolling out across all its services. TfL is looking at adjusting the SL7 so that it only goes as far as Sutton, with the SL5 Bromley to Croydon route to be extended to Sutton.
TfL reports state that they want to consult on “reducing the length of the route to improve reliability”. The change would see a single-decker bus operating from Sutton to Heathrow.
Croydon Council has so far been silent on the proposals, which if introduced, would remove a public transport link between Heathrow and Gatwick airports.
At City Hall last month, London Mayor Khan said, “TfL has explored potential route improvements to SL5 and SL7, and continues to analyse customer demand and route performance to establish the potential benefit for communities along these routes.
Superloop 2: leaked TfL plans show the SL5 running from Bromley to Sutton, where the SL7 will stop
“If significant changes are proposed for either route, a public consultation would be undertaken in the usual way.”
Some publicity leaflets were distributed over the summer by TfL, revealing the plans to amend the SL5 and SL7 routes.
But as all public authorities were under a state of “purdah” before the General Election, no consultation could be held at the time.
TfL is expected to roll-out a second phase of Superloop next year, after Mayor Khan promised more outer London bus routes during his election campaign earlier this year.
As Inside Croydon found out two years ago, it is possible to travel from Croydon to Heathrow using Thameslink and Elizabeth line trains in 1hr 15min – almost half-an-hour quicker than taking the bus, although with significantly more expensive fares.
Read more: Not so superloopy about our Superloop route into London
Read more: Lick of paint and a new logo won’t get our axed bus routes back
Read more: All change for Elizabeth Line trains on faster track to Heathrow
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