London OmniBus Updates

Time for your regular London OmniBus update!

Recent tender awards announced that we have won routes 223 and 420, and intend to operate both with existing MAN/MCV buses. Route 421 will get new Tempos replacing the MAN/MCVs.

Route 420 is a new route which runs from Heathrow Terminal 6 to Denham via West Drayton and Iver. As it follows the busiest part of commercial route 45, the 45 will be withdrawn when the 420 contract begins. What will be done with the three Optare Versas has yet to be decided. Route 41 will continue to operate between Terminal 6 and Britwell, albeit with an amended timetable including a few services terminating at West Drayton Rail Stn.

Over the course of the next few weeks, many buses are being refurbished including MAN/MCVs for Byfleet routes, Scania OmniCitys for route 195, Wright Meridian 113 for route 701 and 114 for route 218A. In addition, three buses are set to be withdrawn and either sold on or scrapped, these being 152 (CB52BUS), 104 (CU04AMK) and 106 (CU56AVP).

The MAN 18.290 / Plaxton President buses will arrive in late November to convert route 195 to double-deck, and one more B5LH / President has been ordered to take up services at Harrow Weald (HD).

That's all for now, another update will precede once any more major changes are announced!

L1/Group News October 2013

General Note:

The Loaned Fleet (with same numbers): 
ex-Metroline VP317-347, 466-472, 474, 476, 477, 479. Code VPN  These will be returned when the 409 passes to Croydon Buses in 2014.

ex-GAL WVL124-126, on loan from Southdown PSV. Code WVN. These have been returned to Southdown PSV for sale.

TE1256, the E45H demonstrator with non-standard doors will now move across each of the garages over 25 weeks (three weeks at each garage, 4 at UP), moving to SA on 27th October, before moving to DI from the 20th November, and continuing via WE, LF, UP (for 4 weeks), HO, SD and U before returning to HN for use on Route X91.

In partnership with Philippine Airlines and Philippine Tourism Board, we will start accepting their air tickets on the 7series. In response, we will place Philippine Airlines and "It's More Fun in the Philippines" adverts on some of our non-showbus double deckers and two 7series Citaros.

In another partnership with local football club (of which one of the owners is a supporter of) Brentford FC, adverts for them will appear on many buses from Heathrow Buses, and ten so far have been adorned with overall advertising for the football club for the season.

This is in addition to the existing arrangements with all over adverts on double decker (mainly) buses.

L1/Heathrow Buses

Heathrow North (HN)

The "Slough Locals" DEs are being refurbished and repainted to a base yellow:
DE391-399, DE494-504. The new Beeline livery will be applied after the 2nd November, when the official launch for Beeline is done.

Some buses will be used on the 409 from November under the temporary contract, mainly VPNs will be used, the same buses used on the 408 earlier this year.

The Volvo B5TL demonstrator is at HN on Route 105 (usually), coded VTN1090 and will move on 4th November to the 456 at SA

For Greenline 701/702, TENs ex-23 are being refurbished at HN, and will be ready by December 2013. Regular TEs will be drafted into HN as spares.

Route 335 will now have a half/half allocation at each HN and SA, as opposed to just the double decker workings. All the MCNs (non-hybrids) will move to HN, leaving the hybrid MCs at SA.

Route 9 (Addlestone-Englefield Green) operated by Jeakins Coaches currently will be transferring to L1/Heathrow Buses from 4th November 2013 using 2 E25Hs from either Beeline or Surrey Local services. The route will be advertised as a "Surrey Local" route, and will run hourly Mon-Sat, every 2hrs every Sunday. Also, it would be extended to Slough from Englefield Green Cherrywood Avenue, thus a 3rd bus may be needed.

Route 305 (Colnbrook-Staines) operated by Bear Buses currently will be transferring to L1/Heathrow Buses from 20th November 2013 using 2 E25H from Beeline services. The route will be advertised as a "Beeline" route, and will run hourly Mon-Sat only, except late evenings. The route will be extended on the same date to Heathrow North Bus Garage.

7series X74 will be extended to Oxford Station from Oxford Carfax from 2nd November 2013. The PVR will increase by 1, this covered by TE peak extras being all day, until new extra buses arrive for the 7series/Surrey Locals. This may be the Enviro 350H (options are being evaluated).

A E350H from First Essex is being evaluated for use on 7series. This bus will run on route 74 as an extra bus, or on the 75 peak extras. In response, a E25H bus will move to First Essex to cover, and evaluation. This will be from the London fleet, displaced from the 456.

RML2584 (JJD584D) and RML2569 (JJD569D) are new acquisitions for the heritage fleet from various owners in order to help supplement the existing fleet of heritage Routemasters, and the hand-over will be at HN Open Day, on the 2nd November 2013.

Southall (SA)
Garage news - the site now has access via a new level crossing towards Southall Station, on the western end, adjacent to the Brentford Branch Line off the GWML. Unless there is a train passing, the level crossing will be in use for buses, allowing an adjacent site to be annexed to Southall Garage. The annex is currently being used to store LTs for the 392 full route conversion, where 45 LTs are planned to be used. Half the allocation will be shared with 311 at DI, half at the 392 solely.

The duty share between Routes 695 and 392 has ended, the working moving solely to the 392 in order to get full day extra workings on this busy route. Route 695 shared duty will now share with Route 483 on Monday-Thursday, and will share with Route 311 on Friday, both at DI. This change happens on the week beginning 21st October 2013.
LTs 112-138 will be based at SA.

Due to bus shortages, the conversion of Route 456 to full allocated double decker with increased frequency will be deferred, thus incurring penalties for us (it is currently allocated single deckers, but using mostly double deckers due to overcrowding). This has also led to Route 195 being pressured to be double decked too.
Both conversions are expected to be done by February. 
New E45Hs are being built for the 456 at this time (TE1300-1325), with TE1300 expected in service in November.

OVE1 that was in not in service trials on the 456 has now gone to another operator.

Route N7 has transferred to SA, no buses have moved.

Route 335 will now have a half/half allocation at each HN and SA, as opposed to just the double decker workings. All the MCNs (non-hybrids) will move to HN, leaving the hybrid MCs at SA.

The deliveries for the 83 contract are continuing, with TE1270 (E45H) in service as of posting.

Brentford (DI)
We say farewell to another DI route, Route 267, moving back to its former home with London United Fulwell. The E40Hs will be distributed across the company.

All ex-First "DNH" (TE) buses have L1/Group logos applied and are in a refurbishment at HN at the moment.

All diesel buses from the 23 (except TEN111) have been replaced with TE (E40H/E45H) ex-266.

Route 695 shared duty will now share with Route 483 on Monday-Thursday, and will share with Route 311 on Friday, both at DI. This change happens on the week beginning 21st October 2013. LTs 139-164 will be based at DI, along with existing LTs 1 and 50 (for the earlier trials).

From 2nd November, Route 392 will have half the allocation shared with 311 at DI, half at the 392 solely. This means that Route 311 will be officially converted to NBfL with another batch of NBfLs eventually, after modifications to Kew Riverside Bus Station are made. This is planned to be 31st May 2014.

Wembley (WE)
NBfLs from the trial at DI and for 392 are at WE for driver training for Route 16.
Due to the future loss of the 18 and N18, N18 will move to WE from 2nd November.

Fulwell (LF)
Routes 85 and 213 are now settling nicely at Fulwell Garage with their new E45Hs.

L1/Romford Buses

Upminster (UP)
The first Volvo B5LH/Plaxton President for the East London Transit is at UP for evaluation.

The first production E45H, TE1257 is in service in UP, running mainly on the 5 and 248.

Hackney (HO)

E45H has been ordered for 55/N55, Volvo B5LH/Wright Gemini 2 (x5 - the last new Wright Gemini 2s), Volvo B5LH/Wright Gemini 3 (x15) and Plaxton President (x9) have been ordered for the 48. The Volvo Gemini 3s will be coded VT.

Stratford (SD)

Routes 25 (full HO allocation), 425 has moved to SD. Existing TELs and TEs for the 25/425 have moved for the change.

Upton Park (U)

All the LTs for the 15 conversion to NBfL are currently being stored at UP before use. Some are being tested on Routes 15 and N15.

Croydon Buses Mini-Update

This is a small update to keep you up to date with the latest stuff at Croydon Buses Ltd. We have recently purchased 2 buses, both of which are Dart Pointers. These are; MX56YHE (PDL2), a 10.7m Dart Pointer for Route 445, our new commercial route between Biggin Hill and East Croydon, Bus Garage running every 2 hours. Another bus we have purchased is AE53GHF (PDL1), a 8.8 metre Dart Pointer for Route 445, as a spare bus. We have since refurbished these buses, and here are some pictures! (PDL1 is pictured on test run at Waddon Marsh, PDL2 is on Wellesley Road doing route learning)

PDL1 at Waddon Marsh tram stop, route learning. It seems one of our drivers got a little lost!

PDL2 in Wellesley Road, route learning. That's it from us, we'll update you in 2 weeks, cheerio!

Henlev Group News: Cornish pasty

Henlev Buses in London are proud to have gained the 411 contract from Quality Line. 8 Mercedes Benz Citaro 12m have been ordered for the route which will run from our Walton & Molsey garage.

The T88 trials have been somewhat successful with a Caetano Nimbus and a Dennis Dart proving to be the most suitable buses for this route. Therefore, 5 Enviro E25H's will be ordered for the route. These should be in service by the end of the year. Until then, spares will continue to be used on this service.

The new SDE's entered service on the 598 two weeks ago, however SDE4 was involved in a RTI, so PP01 has been transferred back to Barwell to replace it while it is sent for repairs at Alexander Dennis.

Henlev is also in the process of buying Coaches Etc's division, Buses etc. The services run by Buses Etc would transfer to Chessington garage, but the coaches will remain at Dorking South as the garage will still be owned by Coaches Etc. If the deal goes ahead, the purchase price would be £1 million 

 More bad news comes here as one MCA (Citaro G) has caught fire whilst operating the 18 (Newport - Apse heath). All MAL's have been withdrawn and all but one is awaiting scrap. The one not being scrapped will be sent as a donation to the Isle of Wight bus museum for preservation.

Route replanning is well underway with timetables and duties being compiled for the new 1 service replacing current routes 4 and 5. The current route 1 will be renumbered 10 and will continue to run as normal. New route 1 will provide more frequent services between Ryde/Newport and East Cowes.

New night services will also follow soon

A new addition to Henlev south is Western Greyhound! We are already looking into replacing the fleet with new wheelchair accesible vehicles. Henlev is also looking into the takeover of Emsworth and District. If sold, we would be buying it for around £1.5 million. In purchasing Western Greyhound, we will rename it Henlev West. Here is a prototype logo

Thats all from Henlev for this month, Goodbye!

London OmniBus: By the Fleet

Officially at 0300 tomorrow morning, Byfleet (BF) garage will become London OmniBus property.

We'd like to firstly thank L1/Group for their cooperation behind the transferal and the drivers who are switching companies to become part of our wonderful team.

In the run up to the addition of BF to our garage collection, it was decided to transfer a few other commercial services which we already operate to the garage. These include:
Route 218 - Staines to Kingston
Route 218A - Staines to Shepperton
Route 701 - Heathrow Central to Woking (National Express Railair)
The buses have been transferred accordingly.

Finally, refurbishments for other buses are currently under the way smoothly, and I will update you again soon!

FRED BRUNDELL

L1/Group News September 2013

General Note:
The Loaned Fleet (with same numbers): 
ex-Metroline VP317-347, 466-472, 474, 476, 477, 479. Code VPN  These will be returned when the 409 passes to Croydon Buses in 2014.
ex-GAL WVL124-126, on loan from Southdown PSV. Code WVN. These are expected to be returned when we lose the 266.

L1/Heathrow Buses

Heathrow North (HN)
The "Slough Locals" DEs are being refurbished and repainted to a base yellow:
DE391-399, DE494-504

All diesel buses from the 23 (except TEN111) will be repainted in Green Line livery, converted to LED displays (a first for L1/Group) with white LEDs, have an interior refit and be converted to one door for use on Green Line 701/702 when they are gained in November.

Some buses will be used on the 409 from November under the temporary contract, mainly VPNs will be used, the same buses used on the 408.

TE1256, the E45H demonstrator with non-standard doors is now in service on the 140 and 335.
The Volvo B5TL demonstrator is at HN, coded VTN1090 and will run from 2nd October on the 105. This will run on the 105 for three weeks before moving to SA for the 456.


Southall (SA)
Due to bus shortages, the conversion of Route 456 to full allocated double decker with increased frequency will be deferred, thus incurring penalties for us (it is currently allocated single deckers, but using mostly double deckers due to overcrowding). This has also led to Route 195 being pressured to be double decked too.
Both conversions are expected to be done by February. 
New E45Hs are being built for the 456 at this time (TE1300-1325), with TE1300 expected in service in November.

An experimental Optare Versa EV (Electric Vehicle), OVE1, will be trialled not in service tracing route 456 as part of a bid with other companies to see if electric buses can be used on certain routes.

The loss of the 7 means more E40Hs can be converted to E45Hs at a faster rate, and also allows space at SA. Route N7 will move to SA as of 2nd November.

The first of the early deliveries for the 83 contract is starting, with TE1258 (E45H) in service on the 456 already as of last week.

Brentford (DI)
All ex-First buses have L1/Group logos applied and are in a refurbishment at HN at the moment. 

We say farewell to one of our most popular routes - the 266. It is moving to London United, leaving TEs able to cover the 23 and relieve the spare buses issue for once! This also allows the WVNs to return to Southdown PSV.


Wembley (WE)
NBfLs from the trial at DI are at WE for driver training for Route 16.
Due to the future loss of the 18 and N18, N18 will move to WE from 2nd November.

Fulwell (LF)
All the E45Hs (some are converted from new E40H, some are newly built E45Hs) are ready for routes 85 and 213, for the takeover on the 2nd October. If you are lucky, one might be on driver training!

L1/Romford Buses

Upminster (UP)
The first Volvo B5LH/Plaxton President for the East London Transit is at UP for evaluation.

The full allocation of the 25 will now not include HO, thus increasing the allocation for UP.
Routes 147 and 238 will now have part allocations at UP to relieve U/HO. Route W14 will also move to UP to relieve HO for the 48/55/N55 win.
The first production E45H, TE1257 is in service in UP, running mainly on the 5 and 248.

Hackney (HO)

Routes 25 (the full HO allocation), 425 will move to SD in order to make room for new wins of 48 and 55/N55. E45H has been ordered for 55/N55, Volvo B5LH/Wright Gemini 3 (most) and Plaxton President (4) have been ordered for the 48. The Volvo Gemini 3s will be coded VT.

Stratford (SD)

Routes 25 (full HO allocation), 425 will move to SD. Existing TELs and TEs for the 25/425 will move for the change, which will happen before 2nd November.

Upton Park (U)

Route 147 will now have a part allocation at UP to create space.

OmniBus News : September

London OmniBus have been struggling a little since the win of trunk route 18. As a result, a lot of shifting has had to take place:
- Route 18/N18 will be run from Harrow Weald (HD) using new E40H / Enviro400H buses
- Routes 398, 408, 421 (DD) and 640 will remain at Harrow Weald (HD)
- Route 114/N114 will be retransferred back to Hayes West (HS) to make room for 18/N18.

The contract for route 195 has also been surrendered due to pressure from both TfL and L1/Group to convert the route to double decker (which we have not been able to provide). However it has been recently announced that the contract was retained by us, and with assistance from L1/Group we hope to be able to provide the double decker service wanted  by February. 8 Scania OmniCitys were drafted in to cover the 195 whilst the 408 got a few MAN MCVs last month, which have all already begun service. The new buses on route 408 will take over soon, following which the original MCVs will transfer again to East Hayes and Byfleet (which we obtained through L1/Group) for new commercial services. Route 421 will also have a mild service increase with leftovers from the 195. The 195 will get the four B5LH hybrid buses from Harrow Weald, before they are replaced by new MAN 18.290 / Plaxton President buses (two of which are already in service on route 114) and the single Enviro400. A few E45Hs destined for route 18 have thus entered service on the 114, 335D, 421D and 640, whilst others can be found on driver training for routes 18 and N18.

Our new services from Byfleet are:
39A: Chobham-Woking (Mon, Wed, Fri)
39B: Hermitage Estate-Woking (Thurs)
39C: Claydon Road-Woking (Tues, Thurs)
40: Ripley-Woking (Tues)
81: Woking-Barnesbury Estate
84: Chobham-Collingwood College SCHOOLDAYS ONLY
570: Ashford Tesco/Staines-Grovebarns loop (Mon, Wed, Fri)
571/572: Staines-Grange Farm (Mon-Fri Limited Service)
574: Ashford-Sunbury Tesco (Tues, Thurs)
637: Byfleet-Salesian School SCHOOLDAYS ONLY
663: Walton-Esher High School SCHOOLDAYS ONLY
690: Worplesdon-Kingfield Green SCHOOLDAYS ONLY

Thanks for reading our post, and we will keep you updated in times of many changes!
FRED BRUNDELL