Express bus link between Woolwich Elizabeth line station and Thamesmead to see 2025 consultation
A £23 million Bus Rapid Transit project linking Thamesmead to nearby stations in Abbey Wood and Woolwich should see consultation commence in early 2025.
The news is included in a report written for a Bexley Council Transport meeting to be held next week.
The report states:
“Officers are continuing to engage with TfL on the design of this scheme, which is planned to be running by 2026 and will use the improved A2041 Harrow Manorway in our borough.
“It is anticipated that TfL will undertake a public consultation on the proposed transit system early in the New Year”.
Funding for the project was announced in the 2023 Budget with a spending deadline set for 2026 according to TfL’s Bus Action Plan. It’s a bit like a modern revival of the former Greenwich Waterfront Transit scrapped by Boris Johnson in 2009 albeit truncated to Woolwich rather than North Greenwich via Charlton.
You may well wonder if this is needed at all right now. After all, Superloop route SL3 now takes people from north and central Thamesmead to the Elizabeth line at Abbey Wood in just five minutes (or less) and half this route will duplicate it.
And in West Thamesmead many existing buses already operate to Woolwich.
New homes
And if you are thinking that, you’re probably right as things stand. The project was designed to assist thousands moving to new homes across north Thamesmead’s vast and empty – or underused spaces – including retail and car parks link and enable quick, higher capacity links to nearby stations. However with a 2026 deadline for operation, Peabody have failed to build or even start a single new home in north Thamesmead.
Planning documents state up to 4,000 homes can be built in areas near the Bus Rapid transit route in north Thamesmead before a more substantial transport solution is required.
Sadly in the decade since Peabody took over we havn’t even seen an outline plan for north Thamesmead of any note nor any substantial consultation into building.
Meanwhile a Thamesmead retail park in the area featuring masses of tarmac car parks is dying a death as yet another retailer vacated last week with Pets at Home closing.
Lombard Square
The biggest benefit in the short term from the BRT will come to those set to move into 1,913 homes at Lombard Square in west Thamesmead located directly beside Plumstead which is already well served by buses, but extra capacity will be welcome.
It’s located just five minutes away from Woolwich Elizabeth line station as well as DLR and National Rail services from Southeastern and Thameslink.
With that being the only development on the route a specific £23m BRT project may seem like overkill – and right now it is. Boosting, say, the existing 472 or 244 buses would be cheaper. Yet hopefully this will spur Peabody to at least start the ball rolling on the first few thousand homes in north Thamesmead.
But as we’ve seen in south Thamesmead mere minute’s walk from Abbey Wood station they’ve been extremely poor at building new homes.
A brand new £19bn rail line opening which taking people to Canary Wharf is nine minutes and the City in less than twenty is running there – and Peabody don’t plan to build on some flattened plots two minute’s away until the late 2030s.
If they don’t build near a new railway line that has 12 Elizabeth line trains per hour alongside eight trains per hour from existing services from Southeastern and Thameslink, will they build in north Thamesmead near a new £23m rapid bus route?
No real point the rapid express bus service is not required. We just need.to see improvements to existing services between Thamesmead and Woolwich with frequency increases. Or a new local stopping bus service between Thanesnead North and .Wookwich via Thamesmeas, Abbey Wood (Elizabeth Line Station) , Plumstead Station, Woolwich (Elizabeth Line Station) and possibly on to terminate Wookwich Common Queen Elizabeth Hospital) due to lack of space for buses to stand in Wookwich. Routes 51 99 301 and 386 will need to find new bus stands in Wookwich when new developments and cycle lanes on Beresford Street and the local area are completed and work starts on the old Riverside House building..
I agree not required. Instead introduce a new bus route between Thamesmead North and Lewisham Town Centre via Abbey Wood, Plumstead, Woolwich, Lower Charlton, East Greenwich and Greenwich Town Centre. Following the old 180 routing before route 180 wax withdrawn between Lower Charlton and Lewisham and re-routed to North Greenwich via Greenwich Peninsula.. The bus link to Lewisham is still vety much needed.for local residents.
Express (rapid routes) tend to be very lightly used as is the case with Superloop route SL3 outside of the peak hours..
I like the idea of a new bus service between Thamesmead and Lewisham reinstating the link once provided by route 180. This would be of benefit to many local residents along the route compared to a limited stop express service between Thamesmead and Woolwich.
Only problem with with a bus going from Thamesmead to Lewisham through Greenwich is the traffic which slows the bus down, which is why the 180 terminates in north Greenwich,
One reason buses are slower is because the floating bus stops by cycle lanes in East Gteenwich. This is causing traffic congestion as traffic cannot pass buses stopped at the floating bus stops. These floating bus stops are also a danger for pedestrians as cyclists do not stop at crossings to allow pedestrians to cross the cycle lane to reach the floating bus stops..
Is the £23 million the capital cost alone?
Hard to see why that amount is needed given all roads on the proposed route are dual carriageways with bus lanes already on most of them so no expensive roadworks needed. Some stylish bus shelters for branding purposes I could see but no need to overengineer it. I suppose a positive would be if it’s popular then it’d show a tram would be popular instead of the busted flush of a DLR to nowhere when in Thamesmead we want to reach the Elizabeth line quickly and easily.
I think it should be a very high frequency stopping bus route operating about every 6 to 8 minutes peak hours and during the day on Monday to Saturdays and every 10 minutes evenings and Sundays. Allowing everyone living along the new proposed bus route to take advantage of using the new bus service. Both Abbey Wood and Woolwich Elizabeth Stations will be served so people using the new bus service will only be a few minutes away from a Elizabeth Station..
Express routes other than those travelling to Heathrow or in to Central London have proven not to be that successful and are often lightly used especially outside of peak hours. I do think a new route is needed between. Thamesmead North and Woolwich but think it should be a high frequency stopping bus service operating daily. It would still provide faster services to both Abbey Wood and Woolwich Elizabeth Line Stations. I would have liked to also seen a new bus service from the area through the Silvertown Tunnel providing a bus link for those unable to use the underground.
Would rather they brought the X53 back