Know Your Routes: Route 398
Since the 398 is my local route, I thought it would be best to start with that!
History of the 398
The 398 was introduced in January 1997, running between Ruislip and Islip Manor Park in Northolt, using Mercedes minibuses run by Sovereign from their Harrow (SO) base.
In 2001, the route was extended to Westway Cross Retail Park in Greenford via Castle Lane and Currey Road, now using DPF-classed Plaxton Pointers.
In September 2009, a decision was made to split the 398 in two, the Ruislip end still carrying the 398 badge, whilst the Greenford end was extended to Harrow via the H9 and coded the 395. The 398 now terminates in Wood End Estate, near to Whitton Avenue and Pett's Hill. From 2009, the route uses 10.2m Enviro200 buses coded DE.
In September 2011, the contract for routes H9, H10, H11, H14 & H17 renewed, and London Sovereign got some 38 more new buses. These are seen a lot on the 398.
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| Sovereign M460UUR on route 398 to Northolt, Islip Manor Park (C) Alican Reilly |
In 2001, the route was extended to Westway Cross Retail Park in Greenford via Castle Lane and Currey Road, now using DPF-classed Plaxton Pointers.
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| Sovereign 551 V551JBH at Ruislip Station (C) John Delaney |
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| Sovereign 559 V559JBH at Northolt (Mandeville Rd) (C) John Delaney |
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| Transdev London Sovereign DE56 YX59BYH at South Harrow Bus Station with a broken window (C) Lewis N |
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| London Sovereign DE89 YX11FZR at Wood End displaying blinds to South Harrow (C) Lewis N |
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| London Sovereign DE71 YX11GDA at South Harrow on a journey to Ruislip (C) Lewis N |
Timetable of the 398 is here
And, typical to West London Bus Blog, I have included a fleetlist. This fleetlist includes all the DEs at Harrow (SO) garage that run on the route. The DPS-classed buses do not run on route 398.
DE50 - YX59 BYA
DE51 - YX59 BYB
DE52 - YX59 BYC
DE53 - YX59 BYD
DE54 - YX59 BYF
DE55 - YX59 BYG
DE56 - YX59 BYH
DE71 - YX11 GDA
DE72 - YX11 GDE
DE73 - YX11 GDF
DE74 - YX11 FZA
DE75 - YX11 FZB
DE76 - YX11 FZC
DE77 - YX11 FZD
DE78 - YX11 FZE
DE79 - YX11 FZF
DE80 - YX11 FZG
DE81 - YX11 FZH
DE82 - YX11 FZJ
DE83 - YX11 FZK
DE84 - YX11 FZL
DE85 - YX11 FZM
DE86 - YX11 FZN
DE87 - YX11 FZO
DE88 - YX11 FZP
DE89 - YX11 FZR
DE90 - YX11 FZS
DE91 - YX11 FZT
DE92 - YX11 FZU
DE93 - YX11 FZV
DE94 - YX11 FZW
DE95 - YX11 FZY
DE96 - YX11 FZZ
DE97 - YX11 COH
DE98 - YX11 COJ
DE99 - YX11 CNJ
Many thanks to all those whose photos feature above!
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Know Your Routes
This route is a lot, lot older than 1997! It used to be the 98A, operated by Elm Coaches. And for many, many years (late 70s to 97) was operated by Scorpio Coaches as the 398. Up until 1997 it was a commercial route that had never been part of the London Buses network, although in the last few years of its operation by Scorpio Coaches, LT did give some support, and the frequency was increased from hourly to every 45 minutes. I believe, if memory serves correctly that LT wanted another frequency increase, and Scorpio (rebanded as Blue and White by this stage) could not muster the operational support to facilitate this. This is why and when in 1997, it was formally tendered as a proper LT bus route to Sovereign.
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