Transport for London has revealed details of its planned Superloop bus between North Greenwich, Woolwich and Abbey Wood, which would replace the existing 472 service.
The SL11 would be a limited-stop route serving Greenwich Millennium Village, Charlton station, Woolwich town centre, Belmarsh prison and various stops in Thamesmead.
But a number of passengers, particularly in Woolwich and Charlton, would lose out with the scrapping of the 472, as the new route would not serve their local stops. Those heading to North Greenwich would have to rely on the 161 or 180 instead.
The plans come after the government gave TfL £23 million in 2023 to develop a fast bus transit service for Thamesmead. TfL hopes this will eventually complement the planned DLR extension to the Thamesmead Waterfront development. However, the works for the bus transit will not be completed until 2029.
TfL has launched a consultation into the plans, asking passengers if they think the stops are the right ones.
Between North Greenwich and Abbey Wood, the buses would stop at Millennium Village, Greenwich Ikea, Charlton Asda, Charlton (Anchor & Hope Lane – for Charlton station), Woolwich Elizabeth Line station, Plumstead bus garage, the Princess Alice in Thamesmead (or Belmarsh Prison in the other direction), Grasshaven Way, Watersmeet Place, Linton Mead Primary School, Eastgate Close (or Manordene Road in the other direction) and Carlyle Way.
Notable omissions include the Greenwich Trust School in Charlton, Woolwich Arsenal station and a stop inside the Thamesmead shopping centre. The only stop to be served in Woolwich town centre would be outside the Elizabeth Line station. A number of new housing developments would also be missed: Trinity Park (the old Morris Walk Estate) in Woolwich, Lombard Square in west Thamesmead and Cygnet Square in south Thamesmead.
The SL11 would run every eight minutes during the day and every ten minutes in the evening, but only every 12 minutes on Sundays. The 472’s night service would remain in place, renumbered N472 and running half-hourly between 1am and 5am.
The new bus would connect with the SL3 Superloop service between Thamesmead and Bromley, which launched a year ago.
Details of the new bus emerged last month when TfL confirmed plans for its BL1 “Bakerloop” service between Waterloo and Lewisham, designed to run along the route of the planned Bakerloo Line extension. During the election campaign Sadiq Khan also put forward plans for a Superloop bus linking Eltham and Streatham.
Other Superloop services, such as the SL3, have been additions to the network or rebrands of existing limited stop-route – the SL11 would be the first to simply replace a normal route.
The scrapping of the 472 and its replacement with the SL11 would mark another major change to buses in the Charlton and Woolwich area. Three years ago TfL cut services between Greenwich and Woolwich when the 180 was diverted to North Greenwich, with only the 177 serving the two centres since then.
Greenwich Council leader Anthony Okereke backed the plans for the SL11, saying: “We believe this express bus service will provide residents with faster, more reliable travel options, linking key destinations such as Abbey Wood, Woolwich, Charlton and North Greenwich. This consultation offers you the opportunity to feedback on what you believe will be best for the proposed route. We value the feedback of our residents highly and I encourage you to contribute to the consultation.”
The consultation is at haveyoursay.tfl.gov.uk/sl11-superloop and runs until April 13.
Updated on March 4 to include details of the bus transit delay and to add a line about other Superloop services being additions to the network.
📩 Follow The Greenwich Wire on Bluesky, Facebook, LinkedIn or Threads. You can also sign up for WhatsApp alerts – or subscribe to our emails through the blue box above.
Comments are closed.