The Spoilt Child...and a Forgotten one

In South London a route has just been restocked with new buses...again. Route 53 which operates between Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade and Plumstead Station gets its very own batch of Enviro400 MMCs.

12380 is seen at Scotland Place
© EastLondoner

Route 53 has had far more than its fair share of buses in recent years. If you go back to the article Stagecoach Shambles then you will remember route 53 had just recieved brand new Euro6 Volvo B5LH/Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 vehicles. Since then Stagecoach London have retained the contract for the route and instead of retaining with existing as many expected, the route was awarded with brand new Euro6 Hybrid Double Deckers.

Route 53 is a well known and very well used route in South-East London. Connecting the suburb of Plumstead to Central London it provides a much cheaper alternative to using a train service....and maybe even a more reliable service. The route starts at Plumstead Station working its way west through Woolwich, Charlton, Blackheath, Deptford, New Cross, Old Kent Road, Elephant & Castle, Lambeth North and Westminster Bridge before arriving at Whitehall, Horse Guards Parade.

© EastLondoner

A big route like that also has a lot of history behind it! The route was born in 1952 operating between Camden Town and Plumstead Garage using RTL type buses. The RTLs were then replaced by RTs in 1955, in 1956 the route was extended on Sundays to Erith however that weekly extension didn't last very long and the route was cut back to Plumstead all days of the week in 1963. However in 1984 the route was extended to Parliament Hill Fields from Camden Town but again that extension didn't last very long and in 1988 the route was withdrawn between Oxford Circus and Parliament Hill Fields and having that section replaced by route C2. The route then remained unchanged until 2004, the route was cut back to Whitehall from Oxford Circus and that section was replaced with new route 453 operating between Marylebone and Deptford Bridge which has formed the 53 that operates today. 

When I found out that route 53 was receiving brand new E40H MMCs I used it as a perfect opportunity to ride the route, a route highly praised by enthusiasts to see what was so good about the route. The first new MMC entered service on the route on the 13th of July and it was 12371 (YX16OGK) however the buses had already got some experience carrying people as they were used on the shuttles for the British Grand Prix, which Stagecoach usually provide buses for. 

© GloriousWater
12372 operating while the 53 was cut back to Lambeth North

During 2015 route 53 was cut back temporarily to Lambeth North from Whitehall in an attempt to help route 53s reliability as there were a myriad of roadworks affecting the route, most notably works in Elephant and Castle.  However this cut back was not very welcome by many locals, various news articles were released criticising the cut back and claiming the route was a vital link for central London, there was even a petition released to try and restore the route back to Whitehall. 

However the people's cries were listened to by TfL and the route was re-instated to serving Whitehall on the 23rd of  July 2016. I saw this as a perfect opportunity to test out the new buses on the route. I set off to ride the route and I was greeted by a 25 minute wait for the next MMC. However the time did pass and 12387 did eventually turn up on the route. It was a warm day and the first thing that struck me about the new buses was the effective air conditioning, it kept me nice and cool and made the bus very comfortable to ride. The bus was cruising along at good speed throughout most of its journey with occasional stops every now and again at traffic lights.

12374 at Whitehall
© EastLondoner

However upon arrival at Westminster we were greeted with the usual traffic in the area. The traffic was almost at standstill, however something made me want to stay on the bus, maybe the comfortable seats and the working air conditioning but at the time I really didn't know what made me want to stay on, all I knew was that I didn't want to get off. We must have taken over 20 minutes to ride from the end of Westminster Bridge to Downing Street, however at not one point was I irritated that we were stuck in traffic. We eventually reached the final stop at the Horse Guards Parade and I got off the bus along with everyone else on the bus. 

Interior wise there isn't a huge difference between the E40H MMC and the E40D MMCs, however there is quite a noticeable difference on the lower deck between the E40H MMC and the B5LH MMC.

Upper Deck of 12387
© EastLondoner

Lower Deck of 12387
© EastLondoner

On the exterior there are not too many noticeable differences, the most noticeable one being the rear where the number is much higher up on the bus due to the location of the battery on an E40H bus. 

12380 seen on stand at Whitehall Place
© EastLondoner

There are 36 new buses in this batch and below a fleetlist can be found:

12365 - YX16OGD

12366 - YX16OGE

12367 - YX16OGF

12368 - YX16OGG

12369 - YX16OGH

12370 - YX16OGJ

12371 - YX16OGK

12372 - YX16OGL

12373 - YX16OGM

12374 - YX16OGN

12375 - YX16OGO

12376 - YX16OGP

12377 - YX16OGR

12378 - YX16OGS

12379 - YX16OGT

12380 - YX16OGU

12381 - YX16OGV

12382 - YX16OGW

12383 - YX16OGY

12384 - YX16OGS

12385 - YX16OHA

12386 - YX16OHB

12387 - YX16OHC

12388 - YX16OHD

12389 - YX16OHE

12390 - YX16OHF

12391 - YX16OHG

12392 - YX16OHH

12393 - YX16OHJ

12394 - YX16OHK

12395 - YX16OHL

12396 - YX16OHN

12397 - YX16OHO

12398 - YX16OHP

12399 - YX16OHR

12400 - YX16OHS

Overall I have to say these are very nice buses, they are fun while flying at speeds and even when crawling at 5mph. I don't know how long it will be until route 53 gets new buses again but however long these buses stick around on the route, they are a wonderful addition to the route as well as a welcome addition to Plumstead garage's diverse fleet. 

12387 seen at Whitehall Place
© EastLondoner

Meanwhile, over in East London there is a route that might not be as looked after as the 53, one that hasn't had new buses for over 13 years and won't get any new buses for the forseeable future. One route I use almost daily. Route 86 had its contract retained by Stagecoach London with the new contract starting on the 16th of July, however the result did not go as many people probably expected. If you go back to the Know your Routes article that I wrote about the route many moons ago you'll remember the route goes through many pollution hotspots in East London as well as being the 10th most used route in London.

17857 seen at High Road Ilford
© EastLondoner

So it was quite a surprise when the result was released specifying existing Euro5 diesel Double Deckers when most people expected Hybrids, or at least Euro6 Double Deckers, especially when routes 62 and 294 were awarded with Euro6 Double Deckers. There was also the added question of where the existing Euro5 buses would come from. However it was soon announced that the existing buses for route 86 would be coming from Plumstead (PD) garage, with the Geminis from route 53 moving to other routes to allow the Enviro400s to be released to service at NS. The buses would then undergo a refurbishment to make sure that they lasted until the end of the current 86 contract in 2021 or 2023. 

19736 is seen at Ilford
© EastLondoner

The Enviro400s from Plumstead (PD) started to transfer during mid July and were also joined by some examples from Barking (BK) which were made free through the help of route 145 partially converting to Enviro400 MMC operation. These can be found intermixed with Romford's (NS) own batch of Enviro400s. The conversion has been pretty slow with the highest number of Enviro400s on the route not exceeding 8 at any point so far. They still have some time to go! The buses themselves are your average Euro5 Voith E40D, nothing too special. Personally I see route 86 as more of an ALX400 route rather than an Enviro400 route. However we all know that buses cannot stick around forever! 

19827 seen at Redbridge Central Library displaying its new NS garage codes
© EastLondoner

I use route 86 often, and I think I will eventually adjust to having Enviro400s on the route rather than Tridents. Maybe I will warm up to these buses in the future once they fully convert the route and I have more frequent rides on them.