London Buses route SL8, formerly London Buses route 607, is a Transport for London contracted Superloop express bus route in London, England. Running between Uxbridge station and White City bus station, it is operated by Metroline.
History 607
Route 607 was established on 21 July 1990 as an express service on the same route as route 207 between Uxbridge station and Shepherd's Bush Green via Uxbridge Road on Mondays to Saturdays.Low-floor double-deckers flood in Buses issue 536 November 1999 page 14
Its number was previously used by a trolleybus route over the same roads, which operated from 15 November 1936 until 8 November 1960 when it was abolished as part of the London Trolleybus Withdrawal Programme and replaced by bus route 207. It was the only regular route in the 6xx series that is otherwise reserved for school routes. (There had been 6xx limited-stop routes in the 1970s.)
Route 607 was originally operated by Leyland Nationals and Leyland Lynxs.CentreWest puts on the style LT News issue 400 21 November 1991 page 9 In 1995 Northern Counties bodies Volvo Olympians were introduced. The route was included in the sale of CentreWest to First London in March 1997.
In the early 2000s, it was proposed that the route be replaced by the West London Tram, however this project was abandoned in 2007. On 29 November 2008, route 607 was extended from Shepherd's Bush Green to White City bus station to coincide with the opening of Westfield London.New White City bus station will cater for 10,000 passengers a day Transport for London 25 November 2008
On 22 June 2013, route 607 was included in the sale of First London's Uxbridge garage to Metroline.FirstGroup Announces Sale of Eight London Bus Depots FirstGroup 9 April 2013 In April 2019, Metroline commenced a new contract.Metrobus and Abellio gain TfL contracts Coach & Bus Week issue 1351 17 July 2018 page 7
SL8 On 15 July 2023, route 607 was renumbered SL8, becoming part of the Superloop express bus network.First TfL Superloop bus route to start this weekend Route One 14 July 2023New numberng for Superloop services Buses issue 821 August 2023 page 20
On 19 August 2023, the hours of operation were extended.
Current route Route SL8 operates via these primary locations:Route SL8 Map Transport for London Uxbridge station Hillingdon Heath Hayes End Hayes Southall Ealing Hospital Hanwell West Ealing Ealing Broadway station Ealing Common station Acton Town Hall Acton Vale Shepherd's Bush Market station Shepherd's Bush stations White City bus station
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