A further Superloop limited-stop bus route in London will start on 24 January with the SL11 between Abbey Wood and North Greenwich, operated by Go-Ahead London.
Along that axis It replaces 24-hour route 472, currently in the hands of Stagecoach London, and will operate between approximately 0500-0000hrs. Outside that period new night service N472 will run, also delivered by Go-Ahead London.
A shift to the Superloop approach will improve access to Elizabeth Line and Docklands Light Railway (DLR) stations, Transport for London (TfL) says. The SL11 will have a higher frequency than the 472 while reducing journey times and following a more direct routeing.
Free travel will be provided for the first week. Serving the Thamesmead housing area will support regeneration there and the planned DLR extension to Thamesmead, which was approved in the autumn 2025 Budget.
The SL11 follows success of other Superloop-branded routes in the capital. TfL says that the limited-stop network has carried around 60 million passengers since launch in July 2023 when previous express service 607 became the SL8 between Uxbridge and White City.
Material circulated by TfL shows a Wrightbus New Routemaster in Superloop livery with branding for the SL11. The contracting body says vehicles used will have dedicated priority seat moquette and that most will be equipped with USB charging points.
Upon introduction of the SL11, the 12-route Superloop network will total 218km and have added a claimed 8.1 million bus-km in the capital. While largely observing the SL numbering series, a BL1 also operates on the same basis between Waterloo and Lewisham to mirror the proposed Bakerloo Line tube extension that remains unfunded.
Plans for further Superloop expansion are in place, although TfL says that current 472 passengers at stops that the SL11 will not serve “may need to use other bus routes and change to complete their journeys.” In a consultation, 56% of respondents said that the SL11 would be more convenient for them.
Additional proposed Superloop routes to have been consulted on are the SL12 between Rainham and Gants Hill in East London; an SL13 between Ealing Broadway and Hendon in the western arc of the capital; the SL14 between Stratford and Chingford; and an SL15 between Clapham Junction and Eltham.
