London Transport
Central Area Express Routes

Last updated 16-11-09.


Numbered Routes | Lettered Routes | Other Services

These “E” plates all feature a blue background, which was traditionally used by London Transport for express services. They are far less common than white “E” plates. The 5xx-series Red Arrow routes are on a separate page.


NUMBERED ROUTES

Route 74X was a seasonal express working of the 74 between Baker Street Station and London Zoo during the 1980s. It was operated by a wide range of vehicles, sometimes on loan to London Transport, and the “E” plates would have only been found at either Baker Street or the Zoo, as buses did not stop intermediately. It is therefore an astonishingly rare “E” plate.

 74X SEE BELOW
130 MON.-FRI. PEAK HOURS EXPRESS

Route 130 ran daily between Croydon (Barclay Road) and New Addington (Central Parade) via East Croydon, Shirley and Addington. In 1951 it was extended in New Addington from Central Parade to Salcot Crescent, and further extended the following year to Homestead Way. In 1952 it was extended on Mondays to Saturdays from Croydon to Streatham Common via Thornton Heath Pond and Streatham Vale, replacing part of route 166. In 1953 the Sunday service was similarly extended. In 1954 the route was diverted in Croydon via George Street instead of Katharine Street. In 1955 an express service was introduced during Monday to Friday rush hours and Saturday shopping hours between East Croydon Station and New Addington, although the Saturday express operation was withdrawn in 1956. In 1957 the Streatham terminus was changed to Streatham Garage. In 1963 the express service was extended from East Croydon to West Croydon. In 1970 the express service was withdrawn and replaced by new routes C1 and C3. In 1982 the Monday to Saturday service was withdrawn between Thornton Heath Garage and Streatham, and further withdrawn between West Croydon and Thornton Heath Garage during peak hours, but on Sundays the service was extended from Streatham Garage to Brixton Garage. An express service was reintroduced between West Croydon and New Addington during Monday to Friday peak hours, replacing route C3. In 1987 the express service was withdrawn and the main service was withdrawn between West Croydon and Thornton Heath/Brixton Garage. There were also routeing changes in New Addington with a service introduced to Vulcan Way although this was withdrawn in 1993. In 2000 the evening and Sunday service was withdrawn with the opening of Tramlink. In 2003 the route was diverted at Shirley Park to run to Norwood Junction via Woodside and a Sunday service was introduced. The route was also taken over by Metrobus.

Route 130C was a short-lived (September 1967–April 1970) service. It operated between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon Bus Station via Gascoigne Road, Goldcrest Way, Headley Drive, Merrow Way, Field Way, Lodge Lane, Addington, Shirley and East Croydon. On Sundays it was extended to Thornton Heath (High Street) via London Road, Thornton Heath Garage and Brigstock Road. Weekday journeys all ran express. It was replaced by routes C2 (Monday to Friday), C4 (Saturday) and C3 (Sunday).

 130C EXPRESS MON.-SAT.
174 EXPRESS
This plate could date from the original introduction of the express service, as days of operation are not shown, and the style of manufacture is similar to older plates.		 174 EXPRESS
 174 EXPRESS
174 EXPRESS

Route 174X ran between Dagenham, Kent Avenue and Noak Hill, Tees Drive via Heathway, Oxlow Lane, Rush Green, Romford, Gallows Corner and Harold Hill. An express service was introduced during Monday to Friday peak hours and Saturday shopping hours in November 1955 running between Romford Station and Harold Hill, Gooshays Drive. In 1957 the Saturday express service was withdrawn, but the peak hour service remained unchanged until it was withdrawn on 23 July 1977. In June 1986, a Saturday express service was reintroduced, replacing weekend journeys to Ford’s Foundry on the 174. The express service was yet again withdrawn on 1 September 1990.

Route 292 was introduced on 3rd January 1962 on Mondays to Saturdays between Borehamwood (Rossington Avenue) and Willesden Garage via Theobald Street, Elstreet Way, Manor Way, Stirling Corner, Burnt Oak, Colindale, West Hendon and Cricklewood, replacing the northern end of route 52. Express journeys on the 292 were also introduced during Monday to Friday rush hours between Borehamwood and Colindale. It seems that the express service was withdrawn at the beginning of 1965, and thus lasted for just three years.

Express route plates are not common at the best of times, but one for a conventional route such as this is astonishingly unusual, particulalrly as it appears to have had such a short life.

 292 EXPRESS
296 EXPRESS

Express route 296 was introduced on 31 March 1979 at the request of Barnet Council. Running from Copthall Stadium to Hendon Central Station via Private Road, Page Street, Pursley Road, Engel Park, Bittacy Hill, Frith Lane, Lullingon Garth, Argyle Road, Alexandra Grove, Ballards Lane to Tally Ho Corner returning via Ballards Lane, Regents Park Road, Hendon Lane, Finchley Lane, Church Road, The Burroughs and Watford Way, returning via Queens Road and Brent Street, it stopped only at Mill Hill East Station, North Finchley and Finchley Central Station. Evidently the expected patronage never materialised, as the last day of operation was 28 September 1979.

Route 606 wasn’t actually a London Transport service; rather it was operated by Golden Miller and ran in the Staines area, linking Stanwell Moor and Stanwell Village with Staines town centre. The 606 was separate from the rest of the Golden Miller network. The route has long since disappeared.

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Normally a blue “E” plate is associated with an express route, but in this case I think it was simply a colour used by the operator in their livery and on their publicity. Also unusual is that the plate does not give the operator’s name.

 606 MON.-SAT.
615 EXPRESS MON-FRI

Route 615 was introduced in 1970 as a Monday to Friday flat-fare, limited-stop service that ran between Poplar (Iron Bridge Tavern) and St. Paul’s via Limehouse, Stepney, Aldgate and Bank. No evening service was provided. It was a very short-lived route and was withdrawn at the end of 1971, having run for less than two years. The number was chosen because it paralleled regular service on the 15.

Route 615 “E” plates are quite difficult to find nowadays, and are far less common than the route 616 variety.

Route 616 was one of two express routes numbered in the 6xx series (the other being the short-lived 615 between Poplar and Cheapside) which did not fall into the Red Arrow network. It was introduced on 15 June 1970, running Mondays to Fridays between Cricklewood and Oxford Circus via Kilburn, Edgware Road and Marble Arch, supplementing the 16. In latter days it was reduced to peak hours only, and was eventually replaced by route 16A (which has also now disappeared).

This eight-page booklet was distributed to introduce passengers to the 616 and it’s Pay-As-You-Enter flat-fare Merlins. Place cursor over the image to start the animation.
616 leaflet
616 MON-FRI EXPRESS
 616 MON.-FRI. PEAK HOURS EXPRESS
This “E” plate dates from the mid-1970s when the route was reduced to peak hours only.		 1 MON.-FRI. - 616 MON.-FRI. EXPRESS
This “E” plate is interesting because it combines the lowest-numbered route with the highest-numbered Central Area one, and would presumably have come from a stop in Oxford Street. I would imagine that London Transport avoided making split-background-colour plates as far as possible owing to their additional complexity.
LETTERED ROUTES
A1 AIRPORT EXPRESSThere were only two bus stops on the A1 Airport Express: one at Hounslow West Station and one at Heathrow Airport Central Bus Station. However, only the bus stop at Hounslow West carried conventional “E” plates such as this, because the stop at Heathrow, over the years, always had special plates—sometimes plastic and sometimes signwritten—to match the non-standard size of the signs. Garage journeys on the A1 did continue to and from Hounslow bus station, but “E” plates were not displayed there as there was not a regular service. The route is particularly special in having just one pair of “E” plates at the sole bus stop at Hounslow West Station. The description AIRPORT EXPRESS also makes this unusual, as does the special route number A1. This is an astonishingly rare plate and, as far as I know, there is only one other. It sold on ebay for £575 in February 2008. A1 AIRPORT EXPRESS
This example is painted and signwritten on aluminium and fractionally wider than a standard enamel “E” plate. It has smears of blue paint on the reverse.		 Airbus A1 & A2 faretableThis single-sided faretable for Airbus services A1 (Heathrow–Victoria Station) and A2 (Heathrow–Paddington Station) unusually has fares in five currencies: British pounds, American and Canadian dollars, French francs and German marks. The table is not wrinkled, but rather is printed with a blue sky and cloud effect background. The chart measures 13" × 19¼" (49 cm x 33 cm) and was posted on board the buses. I think that this was the first faretable issued for these services and dates from 1981. It was in use from the routes’ introduction, and the adult single fare between the Heathrow and central London was only £2 (US$6 / CAD$6 / 20F / 10DM)!

The A1 Airport Express was introduced in 1969, providing a direct non-stop link between Hounslow West Underground Station and Heathrow Airport Central, as a forerunner to the Piccadilly Line extension to Heathrow. The route was initially operated by MBSs and later SMSs, and was withdrawn in 1977 when the Piccadilly Line extension opened.

The number A1 was reused in 1981 for London United’s express Airbus service between Heathrow and London (Victoria Station) via Cromwell Road. It was withdrawn in 1999 when Heathrow Express trains began running to Paddington.

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Route C1 was one of four flat-fare routes between Croydon and New Addington introduced in 1970 as express runnings of the 130 group of services. It was effectively the Sunday version of the C3, with a different routing at the Croydon end. Originally operated by XA-class Atlanteans, the “C” routes were converted to DMS vehicles in 1973. The C1 lasted until 1980 when the C3 was introduced on Sundays. Today the express service to New Addington is provided by TramLink. A Sundays-only express operation is extremely rare!

 C1 SUNDAY EXPRESS
C2 MON-FRI EXPRESS

The C2 was introduced in 1970 as part of an express network that ran between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon (Bus Station). It replaced part of the express services on the 130 group of routes and was operated by the XA class of experimental Atlanteans until they were sold to Hong Kong. The route has long since been withdrawn.

The C3 was effectively the Saturday version of the C1. It ran between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon (Bus Station) via King Henry’s Drive, Lodge Lane, East Croydon Station, Croydon High Street and North End. Monday to Friday journeys were added in 1978 or 1979, replacing the C1, and it was rerouted from King Henry’s Drive to Arnhem Drive. The C3 lasted until 1982.

These “E” plates date from the introduction of the route in 1970.

C3
This plate is unusual in that it does not have the word EXPRESS, nor the days of operation. The route details were posted separately on the bus stop at West Croydon Bus Station.		 C3 SATURDAY EXPRESS
 C3 SATURDAY EXPRESS NEW ADDINGTON
This “E” plate likely came from Croydon High Street or the vicinity of East Croydon Station.
C4 SATURDAY EXPRESS

Route C4 was introduced in 1970 as part of an express network and ran between New Addington (Salcot Crescent) and West Croydon (Bus Station). It replaced part of the express services on the 130 group of routes and was operated by the XA class of vehicles until they were sold to Hong Kong. The route has long since been withdrawn.

Route W2 was introduced in September 1968 as part of the Wood Green flat-fare scheme. It replaced route 231 between Turnpike Lane Station and Alexandria Park (Victoria) and ran via Priory Road, with a Monday to Friday peak hours extension to Finsbury Park via Crouch End and Stroud Green. In 1976 the weekend service was withdrawn, and all journeys ran to Finsbury Park. In the early 1980s the route was extended to Wood Green during shopping hours.
W2 route map
Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.
W2 MON.-FRI. EXPRESS
 W2 MON.-FRI. PEAK HOURS EXPRESS
One of the paper stickers which were used in the era between vinyl sitckers and plastic “E” tiles. It likely came from the Finsbury Park extension.
OTHER SERVICES
STAR BUS
 ◀ This is one of the most outstanding plates I have seen and is astonishingly rare. Just a handful of bus stops would have carried “E” plates and it was very short-lived, therefore a rare survivor. It is also unusual to find quotation marks on an “E” plate. The edge chips are caused by this being a very thick plate and therefore a tight fit in the bus stop runners. As with other express services, the colour blue was used for the background. Star Bus timetable 14.10.72
The original Star Bus timetable, dated 14.10.72.
Star Bus route map
Adapted from The Greater London Bus Map.

The “Star Bus” service was a very short-lived experiment introduced by London Transport on 14th October 1972 using six DMSs (a shared allocation between Victoria [GM], Wandsworth [WD] and Walworth [WL] garages). The buses from Victoria garage were adorned with stick-on stars on the outside, and could be seen in the daytime on route 10A (which did not run during the evenings). It was designed to take people from the evening theatre shows to reach their cars at the Park Lane car park or Paddington Station, and provided a ten-minute service between 21.00 and midnight from Aldwych via Piccadilly Circus and Tottenham Court Road Station. The return journey from Paddington to Aldwych ran out of service. The service was reduced after just two weeks of operation and then worked by just three DMSs from Victoria garage. It was obviously not a success, as the route was withdrawn on 4th March 1973 after less than five months’ operation.

Numbered Routes | Lettered Routes | Other Services | Red Arrow

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Click on any of the tiles below to go to images of the “E” plates and the route descriptions for that number series.
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Central Area Routes 1-3 Central Area Routes 4-6 Central Area Routes 7-9
Central Area Routes 10-12 Central Area Routes 13-16 Central Area Routes 17-19
Central Area Routes 20-24 Central Area Routes 25-26 Central Area Routes 27-29

Central Area Routes 30-35 Central Area Routes 36-39 Central Area Routes 40 & 40A
Central Area Routes 41-44 Central Area Routes 45-49 Central Area Routes 50-55
Central Area Routes 56-59 Central Area Routes 60-65 Central Area Routes 66-69

Central Area Routes 70-73 Central Area Routes 74-76 Central Area Routes 77-79
Central Area Routes 80-82 Central Area Routes 83-89 Central Area Routes 90-95

Central Area Routes 96-99 Central Area Routes 100-106 Central Area Routes 107-109
Central Area Routes 110-115 Central Area Routes 116-119 Central Area Routes 120-129
Central Area Routes 130-133 Central Area Routes 134-139 Central Area Routes 140-149

Central Area Routes 150-159 Central Area Routes 160-164 Central Area Routes 165-169
Central Area Routes 170-174 Central Area Routes 175-179 Central Area Routes 180-184
Central Area Routes 185-189 Central Area Routes 190-194 Central Area Routes 195-199

Central Area Routes 200-209 Central Area Routes 210-219 Central Area Routes 220-223
Central Area Routes 224-229 Central Area Routes 230-239 Central Area Routes 240-245

Central Area Routes 246-249 Central Area Routes 250-259 Central Area Routes 260-269
Central Area Routes 270-276 Central Area Routes 277-279 Central Area Routes 280-289

Central Area Routes 290-299 Country Area Routes 300-303 Country Area Routes 304-309
Country Area Routes 310-316 Country Area Routes 317-319 Country Area Routes 320-324
Country Area Routes 325-329 Country Area Routes 330-334

Country Area Routes 335-339 Country Area Routes 340-344 Country Area Routes 345-349
Country Area Routes 350-359
Country Area Routes 360-369 Country Area Routes 370-379 Country Area Routes 380-389

Country Area Routes 390-394 Country Area Routes 395-399
Country Area Routes 400-405 Country Area Routes 406-409 Country Area Routes 410-419

Country Area Routes 420-423 Country Area Routes 424-429 Country Area Routes 430-439
Country Area Routes 440-449 Country Area Routes 450-456 Country Area Routes 457-459
Country Area Routes 460-469 Country Area Routes 470-479 Country Area Routes 480-484

Country Area Routes 485-489 Country Area Routes 490-499
Red Arrow & Express Routes 500-616 Trolleybus Routes 513-699
Green Line Routes 701-703 Green Line Routes 704-705

Green Line Routes 706-708 Green Line Routes 709-710 Green Line Routes 711-713
Green Line Routes 714-715 Green Line Routes 716-718 Green Line Route 719
Green Line Route 720 Green Line Route 720A Green Line Routes 721-723

Green Line Routes 724 & 727 Green Line Routes 725-799 Country Area Routes 800-804
Country Area Routes 805-854A Mobility Routes 900-980 Lettered Routes A-C
Lettered Routes D-M Night Routes N1-N83 Night Routes N84-N88

Night Routes N89-N93 Night Routes N94-N299 Lettered Routes P-T
Lettered Routes U-W Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes
Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes Other Operators’ Routes
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