TFL Rail: a review

After years of delays and setbacks, the Elizabeth Line is now in full operation. This blog post will discuss my experience of using TFL Rail before it's rebranding to the Elizabeth Line in May 2022.

The TFL Rail Logo, under the old operator seen on a Class 315.

TFL Rail

A TFL Rail Class 315 is seen at Goodmayes station on a service towards Shenfield.
Taken during: April 2021

After many years (even before the 2000s) of many proposals being submitted and rejected, in 2007, construction for the Crossrail Project had begun. While the construction was in progress, TFL Rail began operation in 2015, taking over the eastern section of the Liverpool Street to Shenfield route - previously operated by Abellio Greater Anglia. The existing Class 315s previously with Greater Anglia stayed with the route, the trains being refurbished internally and externally for the TFL Rail brand.  

The Bombardier Class 345 Aventra made it's debut on the route in June 2017. TFL Rail took over the following sections on the western part of the route between 2018 and 2019;

London Paddington to Hayes and Harlington (May 2018)

previously run by Great Western Railway.

London Paddington to Heathrow Terminal 4 (May 2018)

previously run by Heathrow Connect.

London Paddington to Reading (December 2019)

previously run by Great Western Railway.

A TFL Rail Class 345 is seen at Goodmayes station on a service towards Gidea Park.
Taken during: June 2018

Class 345s were also introduced onto the routes above upon takeover however, there were issues with the signalling in the Heathrow section as it was outdated for the Class 345s to pass through at the time, so the Class 360s were retained for use along this section. They could only last so long though, as the Class 345s began operation on the Heathrow service in July 2020 - the Class 360s were taken out of service by September 2020. 

A TFL Rail Class 360 is seen approaching West Ealing station on service towards London Paddington.
These trains previously worked the Heathrow Connect service between; Paddington and Heathrow Airport.
Photo taken by: R~P~M

By now, both sections of the TFL Rail routes were largely allocated Class 345s, apart from the Class 315s which still managed to hang on. It's now 2021 and at last something related to the Crossrail project was mentioned, with the first half of the project scheduled to open in the "first half of 2022". All of the stations that were being served by the Elizabeth Line on the Great Western Main Line and Great Eastern Main Line, had to receive major refurbishment, at first the progress was quite slow, however as time went on purple roundels were placed and platforms at stations were extended in order to accommodate the Class 345 trains which entered into service as 7-cars, though later being expanded to 9-cars. 

The platforms at Goodmayes was one of many stations on the route to be expanded, as part the Crossrail Project. 

The destination boards on display at Goodmayes. 

Poster at Stratford station mentioning about Class 345s being upgraded from 7 to 9 carriages, along with information mentioning about the short platforms at certain stations.

TFL Rail was then rebranded to the Elizabeth Line on the Tuesday 24th of May 2022, after 7 years of operation. The operation over the past 7 years, to be honest, well.... the service had it's ups and downs but when I travelled with the operator on most days it has been fine, of course though I did have some bad days where the line was completely messed up. Has it improved under the Elizabeth Line? I guess you have to stick around and find out in the next blog post.

Thanks for reading and happy riding!

The 173 Bus Route - under the new

On Saturday 17th of October 2020, Stagecoach London commenced operation of London Bus Route 173 taking over from Arriva London. I did two posts already on Arriva's part of the post previously if you want to check those out:

Part 1: https://transportunited.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-173-bus-route-under-old-day-out.html

Part 2: https://transportunited.blogspot.com/2021/09/the-173-bus-route-under-old-day-out.html

Temporary Allocation (to start off with...)

80461 (YX62BLZ) is seen in Little Heath on route 173 heading to King George Hospital - the last stop. Taken during: December 2020

As the buses ordered for the route were not yet ready, Stagecoach London had to use Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s these being from London United/Sovereign RATP Group who were generous enough to loan them. Unlike Arriva's these were 3 years younger, being new from 2012. This gave a sense of continuation in terms of the allocation of what Arriva London did - almost like passing the baton if you get what I mean. 

While I did feel tempted to see the buses myself, this was not possible and given the cases were pretty bad back then Lockdown #2 came into force during most of November.  

A month later when Lockdown #2 was done, on Christmas Eve (December 24th) I decided to take a short ride on one from Chadwell Heath to Little Heath. My bus that day was ADE40461 or 80461 (YX62BLZ). Given I wasn't going that far, I could tell the journey managed to be quick. The bus when I rode it was in good condition so yeah - well done RATP Group. Seeing RATP buses in East London was a weird sight for sure but no complaints from me. 

10137 (LX12DFO) is seen in Chadwell Heath on route 173 to King George Hospital this was one of the other types of buses that formed the temporary allocation. 
Taken during: January 2021

So 2021. New year new beginning right? Wrong. We were only a few days into the new year until we entered into another lockdown. Honestly, at this point it felt tedious and very frustrating knowing this would be the third time staying indoors. I did manage to see a Stagecoach Enviro 400 on the route when I walked around in January but otherwise that's it pretty much. 

80413 (YX12FNU) is seen at Goodmayes Station out of service heading back to Barking (BK) garage. It went back out again later on. 
Taken during: December 2020

List of buses (temporarily allocated) that appeared on the route:

80410 - YX12FNR

80411 - YX12FNS

80412 - YX12FNT

80413 - YX12FNU

80418 - YX12FOA

80425 - YX62AGU

80455 - YX62BHW

80456 - YX62BJF

80457 - YX62BJU

80458 - YX62BJZ

80460 - YX62BKO

80461 - YX62BLZ

Actual Allocation...

Nearly 4 months later...

This electric bus entered service a few days ago when taking the photo.
14118 (LF70YUR) is seen at Little Heath heading to the final stop at King George Hospital.
Taken during: April 2021

Monday 29th of March 2021. First day of lockdown #3 being eased fully. What a relief after almost 4 months. So in April I needed to go somewhere, first thing I noticed is that the temporary buses went back to their operator as I did not see them on the route. However, I did see some electrics. That's right. The actual allocation has arrived, albeit 5 months late to be exact. It was my first time on a double decker electric bus and when I boarded, I felt that "new bus smell". Went upstairs and sat at the back. Admittedly it felt weird to be on a electric bus, the motors were quiet having been used to hearing the sounds of the diesel bus for so long. The ride was okay but nothing too interesting. There were USB ports behind every seat providing if you go on long journeys. 

When I rode them during the summer between June-August the air conditioning was pretty useful - perhaps almost too useful as it almost felt like being in a freezer. Otherwise not so bad I guess. During Autumn/Winter the air conditioning can be a bit annoying though - especially when sitting upstairs at the back. Also there's not much legroom if you sit downstairs near the back. Bear that in mind. 

Upstairs interior.

Upstairs at the back.

Poster onboard advertising how it is quiet and better for environment.

View near the back.

USB charging is also available onboard.

Despite electric buses being more suited on routes that pass the city, elsewhere they are also starting to be deployed in other residential/urban routes so that emissions are reduced making it better for the environment. Overall in my opinion, the buses are smooth riding on them but with the quiet electric motors it does sound quite soulless. From an enthusiast's perspective. As a passenger I would say it is a worthy upgrade with comfortable seats and USB chargers, along with the fact that there is no loud engine - as it's a zero emission vehicle - so they can read or use their device in peace. I don't think they are bad they just lack character. Though this an electric bus so don't be surprised. You may have a different opinion to mine. As long as it takes me from A to B then I am not bothered. 

List of buses for the route:

14113 - LF70YUJ

14114 - LF70YUK

14115 - LF70YUL

14116 - LF70YUN

14117 - LF70YUO

14118 - LF70YUR

14119 - LF70YUS

14120 - LF70YUU

14121 - LF70YUV

14122 - LF70YUW

14123 - LF70YUX

14124 - LF70YUY

14125 - LF70YVA

14126 - LF70YVB

14127 - LF70YVC

14128 - LF70YVD

14129 - LG21HZP

It's been a year since these electric buses have entered service for the route and they are doing their job. As for the route itself it operates alright. That said, there have been few occasions when another bus bunches up together. Not surprising but it's better than nothing. Still Stagecoach are doing a good job operating it and I wish them all the best in operating this route. Quite a number of routes have been gaining electric buses recently here in London - I imagine that number is increasing - all in the name of reducing pollution. So don't be surprised if you start seeing them on your route soon as well in the coming years! 

Thanks for reading the blog and happy riding! :)

One of the advertisements for the electric buses on route 173.

King George Hospital

Chadwell Heath Lane, near Grove Road (Little Heath) 

King George Hospital

Beckton Bus Station

My first bus ride since Lockdown began

Hey! This blog is going to be a bit different. So lets get into it.

2020 has been a strange year so far, I never would have imagined a virus coming into the UK, forcing us to be in lockdown all of a sudden. I expected much more since it's 2020. A new decade you know?
Was actually hyped.  Anyways, here are my thoughts.

Thoughts on Lockdown

I find it odd to stay at home continuously I will be honest. The thing is I wish it happened a few weeks before, that's my only complaint. I have been busy, it's not like being in the summer holidays where you have all that freedom around you. At most it has been hard, because working at home is a completely different environment than school for example. Nonetheless the new "normal" has taken some time to get used to, though I have been finding other ways to keep myself occupied. One of these include drawing, which I decided to do one time and the end result came out pretty well - it was a bus.  

Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 MMC

I managed to draw an Enviro 400 MMC, a product that has proved to be very popular around the UK. This one in particular is a smart hybrid variant however, in my drawing I didn't add the smart cameras - let's just say it was faulty and the cameras had problems seeing the road. Technology is always reliable. Proudest drawing I have ever done, looks so realistic to the end product.

Lets move over the main topic now!

Public transport (Buses)

In the beginning of April, bus trials were going ahead on some South London bus routes. It includes people to board at the middle door, instead of being at the front. This managed to be a success, meaning by the 20th April most double and single decker routes converted - except those routes that had single door buses (you had to not tap at the card reader). Even some double decker buses were provided on single decker routes to help with social distancing. The aim was to minimize as much contact between passengers and drivers as much as possible. While that's good there came a downside; TFL ended up being low on money due to the number of people not tapping in during this time. Wait hang on. How did TFL manage to be in this situation? They had like £10 billion at the start of the year then come May they were almost bankrupt? Would have been screwed there to be honest. For now, the Government was generous to give out £1.6 billion as part of emergency funding until at least September.

Back into the outside world

©ELBE's photo - don't use without permission.

Saturday 16th May 2020. It had been coming up to the second month in lockdown, though I needed to get something in Ilford so I took the 86 bus route. When the bus arrived at the stop, I immediately noticed those changes that I discussed above; it felt really weird boarding through the back since I am very much used to using my oyster card. The front seats were taped off, presumably to protect drivers.  As we progressed the bus started to became a bit full, which felt rather odd since at the time lockdown wasn't even fully eased. Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of these stickers at the time but EastLondonBusEnthusiast has allowed these to be used in this post which I appreciate alot! 

 

©ELBE's photo - don't use without permission.

Arriving at Ilford I noticed the town centre felt deserted - almost like a ghost town! Most buses I saw were basically carrying air, with majority of shops being closed even inside the Exchange shopping mall. It's amazing how being outdoors, can notice to appreciate the little things that have been happening behind the scenes, especially in a situation like this! Once I got what I needed then I walked home to soak up some Vitamin D by the sun. I really needed it. 

©ELBE's photo - don't use without permission.

On the 29th May, TFL announced that they will be bringing back front door boarding onto all routes (124 were converted the day after). A few weeks later (Sunday 7th June 2020), I needed to go out for some shopping at ASDA so, I decided to use a bus since it was a while. I saw a brief preview of the stickers on routes 62, 86 and 362 while I was waiting. An ADL Enviro 400 (T72) 59-reg on route 173 managed to be my bus, this is known for the ridiculous stop bells that are placed inside. I should have taken a photo - oh well! The queue at ASDA seemed long but went fairly quickly than I thought. Again social distancing had to be done while queuing, with the yellow markers on the ground indicating the 2m distance. Eventhough stickers were put on the floor, inside the rule didn't seem to be applied so that's a bit worrying in my opinion... 

           

©ELBE's photo - don't use without permission.

On the way back I going to walk home however, the rain and wind were preventing me so I decided to not take any chances and just get the bus back. While I was waiting I saw T199 (ADL Enviro 400 SN08-reg) with a pretty outdated "Sonic the Hedgehog" movie advert heading to Beckton stating the cinema release date of February 14. Just goes to show that advertising companies are also struggling too. After about 10 mins my bus came (T74 - 59 reg on the same bus type towards King George Hospital). Again there were changes to the front of the bus, including the oyster reader and drivers cab being covered off for the passengers. Hopefully the drivers are safe now. The front seats are still out of use at present, though it may return much later on.








Interior photos

The last three photos are mine - I managed to take some!

Managed to pull this off well - the bus was moving too!

Exterior shot

Here you can see (almost) all of the stickers. 

While I was inside the bus, I saw some stickers for social distancing, number of people that can board at the drivers cab door and face coverings - the latter has already become compulsory on public transport from 15th June. While the bus roared away (like all E400s do) with it's engine towards King George Hospital, I considered to walk home instead of waiting again. So has this worked out? At the moment yes. People are keeping the distance on buses and going upstairs, incase seats have been occupied on the bottom deck. When I was walking back I saw an 86 bus with a slipboard saying "BUS FULL" at the front, eventhough it looks a bit empty. Is this how buses are going to be in the future? That's a question yet to be answered.


It's safe to say that the online market has dominated since March, noting the amount of delivery vehicles I have seen each day. Some shops have opened this week to the public, so that they can start their spree once again. One thing I do fear is of the queues, as most people would have had to go through over the past few months. Lockdown has started to ease down now, with more rules being put in place so I guess most of you can't wait to get outside again. In the meantime, I've been reading some blogs just so that can find my rhythm as it's been so long! Either way most of us will remember these times whether it's staying at home, the panic buying, or just witnessing life unfold day by day. Getting back to normal won't be easy, but remember there is hope - we can do it! :)

Either way I hope you liked the different layout of this post, it's different than to how I normally write so I wanted to try it out. Also at the time of writing it is the first day of summer, and today marked the longest day of the year!

As always - thanks for viewing the blog and staying safe, writing hasn't been easy. Thanks for sticking around and reading I really appreciate it. If you liked the post leave a comment below!

Thank you for reading!

Happy riding! :) (essentially of course - at the time of publish)

ELBE's links:
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoK0-Ux-ad0bePnrQGiuRHw
Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/151611131@N05/

Rail Replacement + my experience

Hi there! A question. Have you noticed something different on your road? Like a bus type for example that you've been meaning to catch for ages and appears on the weekend randomly? If the answer is yes, then it could be to do with "rail replacement". Yes. Rail replacement.

Rail Replacement

The role of rail replacement, is to replace a section of the route on the railway that is closed or for other reasons. This would mean that bus companies has to source out their own fleet, as using the current buses on route can be difficult, especially if they have a schedule to bring the next day. That's why private operators come in sometimes, since some are used commercially and not daily. Of course it happens within the UK, though I am more familiar with it in London. In some cases though, desperate times call for desperate measures so if something tragic has happened on a line, then emergency rail replacement is deployed. This took place on London Overground earlier this year, where a freight train managed to derail between Leyton Midland Road and Walthamstow Queens Road (Gospel Oak to Barking Line a.k.a GOBLIN) causing severe damage to the track. Derailments aside, I would like to talk about the route I took to reach Central London. I will start off with the past route I used to take.

Thing of the past

Once upon a time, Summer 2017. It marks the longest holiday of the year in August (7 weeks - more if you are doing educational studies etc) a perfect time to take a break and relaxxxx..... though if you have commitments then there's not much else to do. I mainly come from East London so I use TFL Rail but it didn't really cause too many issues. When it hit November I had an issue. Full closure. Just what I wanted to happen. During this time, I was skeptical on taking rail replacement since I thought you had to pay. I avoided it for that reason. Instead I decided to take London bus route 86, getting off at Ilford to board another bus - 123, 128, 150 or 179 towards Gants Hill.

Gants Hill tube station is served by the Central Line, using 1992 tube stocks coming frequently within a matter of 2-3 minutes. I managed to bag a seat, since it's so empty from the station prior, during early weekend mornings - Newbury Park. Coming back, I alight at Stratford to get my local route home, since I didn't want to go the same way as buses around Gants Hill, are a bit hit and miss on occasions. 86 is an important route in East London, since it goes from Stratford to Romford via majority of the stations on GEML (Great Eastern Main Line) so there was no surprise, that many people were waiting and I managed to end up on a packed commute.

London Bus Route 25, was the #1 busiest route in London back then, going from Ilford to Oxford Circus meaning every bus came rammed. Though in today's times, the route at present goes to City Thameslink so buses aren't as full as it was anymore, which is a shame because I found it very useful. Another bus route; 425 became extended from Stratford to Ilford in September 2018, helping out with the Romford Road corridor. Honestly I feel it was the right call, since there were many people travelling along that section so I'm thankful. Basically, that is what I've been doing over a year. Though something come to mind.... I know, I know. I missed the Wright Eclipse Gemini and ALX400 workings (older and endangered buses at the time). That's the thing of the past now.

First Ride!

I thought - why don't I try rail replacement? So in November 2018 I ventured to the bus stop. When I arrived I saw people waiting, as well as a member of train assistance staff. Makes sense. Their job is  to look out for the next rail replacement bus coming and give assistance to passengers. One of the things I had to do is keep an eye on the mini slipboard at the front of bus, as it was showing the destination that it was going to. I needed to get to Stratford, thankfully it wasn't long before I saw a rail replacement bus arriving at the stop. It was an Enviro 400 MMC double decker powered by hybrid, as I noted with the "Hybrid Cleaner Air For London" sticker towards the back. It was an 18 reg new for route 196 which was gained in May that year, by Abellio London. Once I boarded the bus we set off. This MMC had speed and overtook many buses during the journey - it's like being on a train! Unfortunately the Romford Road section near Manor Park, did contain bad traffic levels leading to long wait times. The bus started to become packed until Stratford station where most people got off. I decided to go Stratford City since that's where it terminated. The route is basically an X86 for most of the way.

In 2019, I also did the Newbury Park to Shenfield and it felt fast too with the buses allocated. Though if they don't come on time, then I usually take 396 then 173. Still works well for me. I've only been as far as Chadwell Heath on this route, sometimes it can be a bit packed during the evening.  Now I will show the route allocation for them both.

Route Allocation

Route: Stratford to Romford (UL16)

Operator: Abellio London

Garages: Walworth (WL), Hayes (WS) and Battersea (QB)

Vehicles: Alexander Dennis Enviro 400H MMC, Alexander Dennis Enviro 400/H, New Routemasters
Bulit in: Gulidford, England/Falkirk, Scotland and Ballymena, Northern Ireland

Chassis: E40H (MMC and Enviro 400), Dennis Trident 2 & E40D, Wright NBFL

Engine: CumminsISBe4.5, CumminsISBe6.7 

Gearbox: 1 speed, 5 speed & 6 speed 

Tranmission: Hybrid, ZF Ecomat and ZF Ecolife

My preferred bus to ride on: Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 (Dennis Trident 2 and E40H) 

Reasons why I chose that bus

Dennis Trident 2 (ADL Enviro 400)

• Dennis Trident 2s can have a good sounding gearbox
• Despite their age, it could provide you with a good ride
• Comfortable seats

E40H (ADL Enviro 400 and MMC)

• Quick acceleration
• Nice motor sound when the bus goes into neutral
• Seats are comfortable 
• Has a nice whine before the engine turns on 

Route: Newbury Park to Shenfield (UL51)

Operator: Sullivan Buses

Garage: South Mimms (SM)

Vehicles: Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 and Scania Ommicity
Bulit in: Gulidford, England and Slupsk, Poland

Chassis: Dennis Trident & E40D,  Scania N230UD

Engine: CumminISBe6.7, ScaniaDC9

Gearbox: 6 speed and 5 speed

Tranmission: ZF Ecolife and ZF Ecomat

My preferred bus to ride on: Scania Ommicity (though I don't mind the Enviro 400s)

Reasons why I chose that bus

• Quick once it starts moving through the gears 
• Suits the fast paced route
• Love hearing the ZF and revs

What can I say? It was a good experience in general and provided a quicker link! It's free too! To this day I use it and is honestly a great way to travel, rather than enduring your usual start-stop route since it will take more time.

This was my review on rail replacement. Hope you enjoyed!


With a new threat that arrived in the UK causing lockdown near the end of March, staying at home has been a bit weird to adjust - hence I haven't been posting blogs recently. On double decker buses in London, both doors contained stickers encouraging to people not to tap in or board at the front. The front section was blocked off with tape. Instead you would need to board at the back, this applied to single deckers too though those routes that use one door, simply had a sticker saying not to tap on the reader. I might do a blog on it soon.


Thanks for reading!

Happy riding - essentially of course! (at the time of publish)

A first review at the Class 321!

Good day or evening. I thought I should do a post on one of these trains on the Great Eastern Main Line since they are becoming endangered.

Sitting comfortably?


Then I shall begin!

British Rail Class 321

Built in: York 

Constructed between: 1988-1991

Entered public service in: 1988

Stock replaced: Class 305, Class 308, Class 309, Class 312, Class 317

Manufacturer: British Rail Engineering Limited 

Maximum speed: 100mph

Lines served: Greater Anglia (at the time of publish) and Northern

Last refurbishment: 30 units for Greater Anglia were part of the Renatus project 

Total built: 117 originally - 12 got converted to Class 320s

Formed of: 4 cars

Type: Fast, non-stopping train

The design

Back then, slam door trains were trendy like the latest product, as you would see them on long distance journeys. Not anymore. You would have be to lucky to catch one on a running day, or more specifically, a rarely used bit of track. In this case, British Rail (the designers) decided to incorporate a new train that would meet needs of passengers. The end result was the Class 321. Companies were fairly happy with the model, so British Rail developed Class 320 and Class 322 as a result. One by one they started building 117 of them - essentially like building estate houses.

Let me put this in a scenario. If you're trying to build multiple houses on one road then you would need to think about these:

• Type of material
• Length of each house
• How many rooms there would be 
• Electrical and plumbing (that's always "fun")
• Additional features of your choice

I could go on but between you and me, I ain't no constructor or designer so lets just stick with transport. Possibly an easier example could have been- that's for another day. 

Impressions...

Admittedly, the train did look a bit weird at first sight. After a while of seeing them going past to this present day, I started to like the train - so much that I wanted to ride it. It's funny how there are still some running around in the Great Northern livery (Purple and pink) - those were the days.... Annoyingly, it wasn't one of those TFL Rail services that stop at every single station, so I have had little chance of riding this train. Another problem is the colour. White. I mean don't get me wrong, the train does look good even so - but White? Once its dirty then it will need a trip to the "train-wash," making it clean as football boots do when you have played a game. Otherwise, that is how it starts to look old and stuff..

First Ride...

On the 2nd of February, TFL Rail had a part closure between Liverpool Street and Ilford due to Crossrail works. With this in mind I came up with an idea; take a TFL Rail to Romford then Greater Anglia to Stratford. Going by what Citymapper said, I decided to go through and see whether it actually was quicker.

Upon arrival at Romford, I needed to switch platforms. On Sundays, there is a 30mins Greater Anglia service that runs to Shenfield calling at Stratford, Romford, Harold Wood, Brentwood and Shenfield. Waiting was a bit of a burden so I played a game on my phone to pass up the time.

25 mins later...

A train arrives! 

Class 321 is here at Stratford with one more stop to go. What a ride!

To get a Class 321 was great. But in the Renatus livery was even better!! Stepping in felt like being in showroom. Bright lights, slick interior, just feels so modern. Probably similar to how some of Tesla  car models are. Seats are actually comfy (good job Eversholt!) with other features including: onboard wifi, charging sockets, toilets, storage for bicycles (maximum of 2) and air conditioning. Riding this train, was superb and I enjoyed the non-stop experience, especially with the Vossloh Kiepe motor sounds. A link about the Renatus project can be clicked here. Annoucements do work in their own time. Such a shame these will be going soon though...

Interior

I just noticed, that I got one of the last trains to be completely revamped. How lucky! On acceleration, I would say it sounds similar to a Class 458. Anyway, this was a nice treat as the stock will be slowly no more on the GEML. Might want to ride the older Class 321s first when I get a chance...

Train Rating: 8/10

Thanks for reading this blog!

Happy riding! :)


Here's London Connected opinion on the Class 321:
https://thewestlondonbusblog.blogspot.com/2017/10/project-renatus.html

396 - It's progress so far with Go-Ahead

Hello and welcome to another blog.

How are you? Good? Bad? Whatever you are feeling today another post is ready to be read. By me of course.

Today I am going to talk about route 396 which operates on the East side of London.

It has almost been a year, since the route has been taken over by Go-Ahead and I aim to talk about my initial reaction to the route, as well as a comparison between the recent operator.

So grab a snack or drink and enjoy! If you have any....

First Impressions

When I heard that the route was lost to Go-Ahead I was like "Ah, no!" I felt this way because Go-Ahead London, is such a big company and with their allocations, I thought there wouldn't be any double decker workings. I did use the route, quite regularly under Stagecoach London so hearing that made me feel a bit mixed honestly... 

The route, at present goes from King George Hospital to Ilford Broadway (technically Sainsburys) via Newbury Park and Gants Hill, being that way since the route was born in 1994. It's rather short, being 7km in length making it to be among the shortest routes in London. 

Places of interest: 

Aldborough Hatch - There is a stop near William Torbitt Primary School called Aldborough Road North and there's a road opposite which is ultimately under the same name - Aldborough Road South (if you walk back towards the subway then take a right). Staying on this road for a short time, a park will appear on the left hand side (Seven Kings Park). Things, such as a tennis court, slides and certain gym exercise equipment (I don't go gym, don't judge me) are situated here. However, there is much more further to explore up ahead - just requires a walk if you're interested. Those of you who want to know, I did play tennis and goodness me, it was really tough! I am still a beginner, as I only started training for the first time last summer. I ain't going to be the next Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal, unless I train as mad as a headless chicken. But that is not gonna happen so I will continue doing it for fun. Look how much training they have to do. Do you think I will be able to match that? Anyway this isn't a tennis blog - it's a transport blog so lets get back down to Earth lol. 

Newbury Park - This is the section of the route where people mainly get off ideally to get Central Line services towards London. Not to mention, there is this massive dome-shaped bus shelter that buses go under to serve the station which I find rather awesome! Can also be useful when mother nature decides to play nasty. On certain occasions when TFL Rail is closed, rail replacement buses normally go to Newbury Park so on weekends it is rather busy! 

Gants Hill - Gants Hill is the busiest station on the Central Line (Hainault Loop) meaning quite a few buses serve the area. In the morning though, there may be traffic so if you want to access Central Line quickly then getting off at Newbury Park would be more ideal. The station design is similar to stations that are operated in Moscow. A rather cool design by Charles Holden. Good on you fine chap. 

Valentines Park (near Ilford) - Funfair events take place here eventhough I never been to it. If you ever get a double decker on 396, you are able to see a pond near The Drive, close to the traffic lights. Splendid. Sometimes cricket matches also take place at this park. Notably, it is one of the biggest parks in the London Borough of Redbridge so to speak.

One more note: There is an Ilford Exchange if you want to do shopping. Not really a shopping fan myself but for those hardcore enthusiasts take your pick.

Those are the places of interest. Up next the comparisons!

Stagecoach London vs Go Ahead London

Stagecoach used Dennis Darts when it was handed over (2002) before getting Optare Versas 7 years later. Annoyingly, these buses did have loud ratting problems so that was a headache for me. If you were lucky then during the cold seasons, the driver would switch on the heating. This was mostly great since you don't want to come onboard a bus and feel like you're in the North Pole. No one wants that. In that case, hot chocolate and biscuits would be provided. Never mind who am I kidding it's a public bus! That said, other double and single decker vehicles did have to come in forming part of the allocation due to the Versas being untrustworthy. The frequency felt a like hit and miss overall with some buses coming on time or just taking ages to come. Apart from that though, Stagecoach London managed to give passengers a good service and handed over the baton to Go-Ahead.

Go Ahead also decided to follow suit with the allocation. ADL Enviro 200s (Allison gearbox) is the original allocation. However ADL Enviro 400s (Tridents - mainly 56 reg and 57 reg), Optare Esteem (sometimes) and if you're lucky 60 or 61 reg E40Ds although these tend to stay confined onto the 147 bus route. One time I managed to get thrash on E69 (LX57 reg - Enviro 400) and reached near to 47-48mph. If you're a London enthusiast, then you would know that thrash is very hard to get nowdays. That is why, people tend to go outside London in order to search for their much loved childhood buses. Having been on this route under Go-Ahead operation, I can say they are doing a good job. Frequency may not be perfect, but it's there when I need it to be so I appreciate that, since I need it sometimes to get alternative bus routes.

Tip: On single decker Enviro 200s, there is a air-conditioning/heat unit just before the back (third seat on the left hand side). Certain drivers enable this function to give passengers the best comfort. Hence, I'm saying aim to sit there since whatever season, it can really be better or worse. Trust me, I go to that seat and one time the driver switched on the heating unit. Jackpot!

Okay. Decision time.

Which operation do I prefer it under?

I would say.........................



Stagecoach.


Not trying to say Go-Ahead is bad, but I felt like there was more variety under Stagecoach. Including ALX400s which are my prime favorites! If Go-Ahead had alike types of buses e.g. Optare Olympus or Wright Eclipse Geminis in their garage then maybe........ maybe I could have changed my mind. Unforunately though in this day and age - rather unlikely.

Summary on Route 396

1. 7km route going from King George Hospital - Ilford Broadway (Sainsburys)
2. Allocation consists of single deckers and double deckers can make an appearance too
3. Passes through some places of interest including Valentines Park, Aldborough Hatch, The Exchange (Ilford shopping mall)
4. Frequency has improved under Go-Ahead operation - amount of vehicles allocated stays the same though
5. Handy (at the right time) if you need to make quick links

Generally, I feel like 396 is doing great based on what I discussed here. I wish the best for this company as they continue to dominate once again.

Hopefully I made your day/night slightly brighter or better than how it is going. 

Thanks for reading this blog! 

Take care and happy reading! :)