446 extension and new coach service for Blackwater Valley

It looks like more links to/from Heathrow Airport from our local area are set to begin in the coming months, following a perusal of recent London Service Permit (LSP) applications. Operators must apply to Transport for London (TfL) to run stage carriage services into the Greater London boundary.

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White Bus 446 extension

The 446 between Woking and Staines has been operated by White Bus since 2017, after Surrey County Council (SCC) awarded Abellio Surrey’s remaining council contracts to other operators from that September. Initially reported at the time as Stagecoach having won the tender, it is understood the hourly White Bus operation was taken on commercially Monday to Saturday, with the Sunday 446/456 being a combined supported contract. September 2019 saw the current weekday ‘shorts’ between Woking and Chertsey introduced, I believe possibly in some sort of partnership with St. Peter’s Hospital.

The 446 had previously operated beyond Staines to Ashford Hospital until the end of August 2015, from which time it was extended to/from Heathrow Terminal 5 via Stanwell and Stanwell Moor. This only lasted little over a year though, as from 31st December 2016 the Staines – Ashford – Stanwell – Stanwell Moor – Heathrow T5 section was withdrawn and replaced by Carlone Limited’s then-new 442 (and which appears to have gone from strength to strength ever since). It looks as though the 446 is set to receive an extension back towards Heathrow soon though. In the process this also restores a direct bus link between Woking and Ashford Hospital which has become somewhat of a local aspiration in Woking of late, with an increase in locals reportedly being given appointments there rather than the much closer St Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, also served by the 446.

The application gives a commencement date of Tuesday 29th August and the timetable would see the current hourly weekday Woking to Chertsey ‘shorts’ extended not just to Staines to provide a half-hourly Woking to Staines service, but also beyond there to Ashford Hospital, Heathrow Terminal 4 and terminating at Hatton Cross Station. The current weekend and public holiday timetables would remain hourly between Woking and Staines, to what appear to be largely current timings. Every day of the week though would also see additional new weekday/weekend 0256/0258, 0358/0400 and 0500/0502 Chertsey to Hatton Cross early morning journeys, as well as 2115, 2215 and 2315 Hatton Cross to Chertsey late evening journeys (2100 to Woking on weekdays).

The routing between Staines and Hatton Cross would appear to be: Staines Bus Station > South Street > London Road > (Ashford Hospital) > London Road > Staines Road > Great South West Road > (Terminal 4) > Southern Perimeter Road > Hatton Cross Station. This will give Woking a direct link to Terminal 4, with the RA2 Railair coach service already providing a link to Terminal 5 and Terminals 2/3 (at Heathrow Central Bus Station).

Vehicle specification is single deck with a maximum 10.8m length. Looking at the timetable, I’d guess the weekday peak vehicle requirement (PVR) will be increased from three to five vehicles.

Timetable can be viewed by clicking here

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New coach service for Frimley, Camberley and Bagshot

Those with a good memory may remember that in June 2019 I posted about proposed enhancements of bus and coach services serving Heathrow Airport as part of wider expansion plans. Since then though, we have of course had a global pandemic that affected travel considerably. One such service proposal was for a bus service to Camberley via Egham, Sunningdale and Bagshot. I did at the time ponder if extending White Bus’ 500 east of Staines might fit the bill fairly cheaply.

Another LSP currently out for consultation comes not from White Bus but from Reading Buses’ Newbury & District subsidiary. Numbered 730, this Monday to Sunday route is specified for vehicles up to 12 metres in length. The timetable doesn’t make mention of Egham or Sunningdale, but it does serve both Bagshot and Camberley in addition to an apparent terminus point of Frimley.

With a generally hourly frequency and a journey time between Frimley and Heathrow Terminal 5 of under an hour each way, it could be achieved using two vehicles. First and last departure times from each end are the same regardless of the day of the week, although timings in between do vary. First/last times would be 0315/2330 from Frimley and 0435/0020 from Heathrow T5. The first morning journey of the day in each direction would continue to/start from Heathrow Central Bus Station.

With pick up points being stated as Frimley High Street, Camberley Station and Bagshot Green, I can only presume the route to be taken may be something like this:- Frimley High Street > Frimley Road > Park Street/Park Road OR London Road/Charles Street/Southwell Park Road > Pembroke Broadway (Camberley Station) > Portesbery Road/Knoll Road OR High Street/Upper Park Road/Church Hill/Crawley Hill/Portsmouth Road > A30 London Road > High Street > Guildford Road (Bagshot Green) > New Road > A322 > M3 J3-2 > M25 J12-14 > (Terminal 5) > Western Perimeter Road > Northern Perimeter Road > Tunnel Road > Heathrow Central Bus Station.

Reading Buses’ CEO Robert Williams is active in the enthusiast community himself and, in his recent monthly update post on the Bus Zone Google Group, he mentioned “Four new Volvo B8R / Plaxton Panther 3 53-seat coaches are on order for delivery in the summer and entry into service from 1 September for new services”. One presumes these may well be for this route, although the LSP service introduction date is Monday 24th July. This would certainly tie in with their advert for coach drivers to help “bed in and grow” an “exciting new coach service to Heathrow”. With the Greenline name, which is currently licenced from Arriva, being dropped from routes 702/703 with the new buses currently being delivered (the routes will become London Line and Flight Line respectively, both with Windsor Express branding), it’ll be interesting to see if the new 730 would be marketed in a similar fashion alongside these.

Timetable can be viewed by clicking here

UPDATE 22 JUNE: Had a drive along the local part of the route yesterday and saw route 730 e-plates on the Surrey County Council bus stop flags at Bagshot (Square, not Green), Camberley (Knoll Road, not Station), and Frimley High Street. The Frimley High Street westbound stop showed 731 and, upon further investigation, the Team Heathrow Colleague Guide states that the hourly 730 will extend beyond Frimley on a two-hourly basis to/from Basingstoke via Old Basing as route 731. It also says the route is “expected to be introduced by 29th August”, aswell as the aforementioned new Flightline graphic that is to also be used as 703’s brand in place of Greenline. A screenshot of the document can be found below, as well as some shots of the bus stop flags I took.

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While talking about Reading Buses…

As a side note as its out of our area really, Reading Buses’ Thames Valley division also have an LSP application in for a new route named ‘Go2Gate’ with a half-hourly frequency running between Heathrow Terminal 5 and Clewer, with typically quarter of an hour “flexible time” to serve the Clewer/Dedworth area on a demand responsive basis. This has a proposed start date of Saturday 19th August using two vehicles with a length of up to 7.4 metres, covering a 0300-0000 period. You can view the timetable for Go2Gate by clicking here. One presumes this is what their advert for Bracknell/Slough-based minibus drivers is for.

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