It was Inevitable

If something gets neglected over a long period of time then chances are its quality will degrade. That's exactly what has happened with Hammersmith Bridge lately, various infrastructure issues which manifested themselves resulted in the bridge being completely closed to motor traffic due to growing weakness in the structure. As we know a fair few bus services cross the bridge and these have all been altered to accommodate the closure, of which will be covered in this post. 

A closed Hammersmith Bridge
© EastLondoner

The problem of Hammersmith Bridge is not a new problem, it's been a growing problem. The current structure was initially opened to motor traffic in 1887 and since then has undergone many refurbishments and fixes. The latest bout of problems started in 1997 when many key structural elements were found to be failing eventually leading to it closing to private traffic in February, it reopened in July 1998 after the necessary repairs had taken place. It was at this time that a weight limit was put in place and all buses crossing the bridge were restricted to single deck vehicles only. The bridge was bombed in 2000 resulting in a closure and following refurbishment, however it's believed by many that this is what accelerated the degradation of the bridge's structure. 

Since then the bridge has closed multiple times for essential repair works to be carried out on it. Most notably in 2014 and 2016, although the repairs in 2016 were blighted by disagreements between Hammersmith & Fulham council and TfL over who should take ultimate responsibility for the financing of the repairs. Around this time a plan surfaced to sort the bridge's problems once and for all, strengthening it completely to a point it is unlikely to need many further closures and even allowing for double deck vehicles to use it. However further disagreements between H&D council and TfL saw this continually being pushed back and during this time the bridge continued to degrade. Soon a one bus at a time restriction was imposed resulting in route 283 being cut back to Hammersmith. In April 2019 significant cracks had been discovered in the bridge's structure and an immediate decision was taken to completely close Hammersmith bridge to motor vehicles until the bridge was repaired.

As TfL and H&F are still arguing over who should finance the repairs to allow Hammersmith bridge to be restored to motor vehicles any repair is unlikely to happen for a few years now, as a result TfL have made a handful of changes to the routes which use the bridge. The routes affected are 33, 72, 209, 419 and 485. Route 283 previously used to also cross the bridge but as I mentioned earlier that route was already altered. 

The 72s standing on the north side of Hammersmith bridge
© EastLondoner

The two major routes affected are the 33 and 72, prior to the bridge's closure the 33 operated between Fulwell, Stanley Road and Hammersmith Lower Bus Station while route 72 operated between East Acton and Roehampton, Bessborough Road. The closure has resulted in both of these routes being curtailed, with route 33 being cut short at the South side of Hammersmith bridge, also known as Castelnau while route 72 has been cut short at the north side of the bridge. Route 485 has also been cut to Castelnau. Both routes also have a night element to them, being among the few single decker routes to operate 24 hours a day 7 days a week. These night variants have been renumbered N33 and N72 respectively and have been diverted to run via Putney Bridge. Resulting in the N33 running between Hammersmith and Fulwell with route N72 running between East Acton and Roehampton. The section between Hammersmith and Roehampton has been mitigated by providing extra workings on route 265 between Putney Bridge and Roehampton and telling punters to get a 220 to Putney Bridge from Hammersmith. 

DE20112 stands on Lonsdale Road at Castelnau
© EastLondoner

DE20116 stands at Barnes Pond
© EastLondoner

Another route affected has been route 419, this route previously ran between Hammersmith, Lower Bus Station and Richmond. A short route but very handy link, especially for a lot of the local population. The route was also among the last routes in London to be allocated Dennis Darts, a type that was pretty much the Enviro200 of its day in terms of popularity. The changes saw the 419 being rerouted to run between Richmond and Barnes Pond via Lonsdale Road. From my observations this has been one of the more popular changes that has resulted from the changes associated with Hammersmith Bridge. While I was waiting at Barnes Pond for a bus a 419 came and picked up a healthy crowd. 

By far the most substantial change to come out of these changes has been to route 209. Route 209 prior to the closure of the bridge ran between Mortlake Bus Station and Hammersmith, Lower Bus Station via Barnes. A very short route, barely taking longer than 15 minutes end to end although a very busy and frequent route. The whole route's purpose is to link the quiet area of Barnes to Hammersmith, so no doubt the existence of the route was thrown into question when the closure of the bridge effectively made it impossible for the route to get to Hammersmith without a lengthy diversion. 

DE1601 seen on stand at Putney Bridge
© EastLondoner

For such a short route which pretty much had no purpose left as a result of the bridge's closure surely it would make sense to withdraw it and change local route to accomodate? After all TfL have happily withdrawn other routes such as the 10 and C2, and are planning to withdraw the 48 in two months. However the route was retendered at the end of 2018 with a brand new contract being awarded to Go Ahead London operating out of Putney bus garage (AF) from Metroline with the contract starting on the 17th of August 2019. Brand new Enviro200 MMCs had even been ordered for the route as a result. The initial step TfL took was diverting route 209 to run between Putney Bridge and Mortlake via Putney Common with the belief that people in the area of Barnes and Mortlake used the 209 for a link to the tube. 

However for good measure they did introduce a temporary route in the form of route 533 which runs between Castelnau and Hammersmith via Barnes and Chiswick Bridge then performing a loop in the Barnes area to serve Barnes Pond. Although this route currently only runs every 30 minutes, the contract was awarded to Metroline to operate out of Brentford (AH) using some existing Enviro200s. The contract was awarded based on a year's worth of operation, although at the rate things are going it could be much longer than that!

A 533 seen on stand at Hammersmith, Lower Bus station
© EastLondoner

The 533 has so far proved very popular with the locals, with even crush loading being reported on the route after just a few days of operation. Sadly however the same couldn't be said for route 209. Many of the commuters that used the route had opted to not use the route with many seemingly opting to walk over Hammersmith Bridge on foot instead so that they could reach Hammersmith. 

A DM on route 378 under Metroline
© LBOTG

Soon after a review of the service TfL decided to make a further change to route 209. On the 3rd of August the decision was taken to effectively split the 209 service into two. One of it running between Mortlake Bus Station and Putney Bridge with the other leg running between Mortlake Bus Station and Castelnau. The leg that would run to Putney Bridge was going to be renumbered route 378. The 378 was going to be operating off the 209s contract so it resulted in Metroline operating a brand new route for just two weeks. I didn't have much time to catch up with the 378 during these two weeks so LondonBusesOnTheGo has kindly approved his photo to be used on this post to illustrate the route's very short time under Metroline. Unsurprisingly the buses were not blinded for the route during it's time at Metroline as it wouldn't have made too much sense splashing out some money for new blinds for a route which wouldn't even last a month!

The 17th of August came around and Go Ahead took on routes 209 and 378, introducing brand new Enviro200 MMCs (SE293-SE303), their first diesel variants since the delivery of SE291 and SE292 in 2016. These buses come with the latest technology such as intelligent speed assist which automatically prevents buses exceeding the speed limit and smart vision cameras which replace the need for wing mirrors and are said to reduce blind spots. 

One of the new Smart Vision Cameras
© EastLondoner

SE302 seen on stand at Putney Bridge
© EastLondoner

I didn't have time to go out and investigate the changes until the 22nd of August. Luckily both the 378 and 209 are high frequency routes so I didn't have to wait too long for them to show up wherever I was waiting. Initially I headed to Putney Bridge with the intention of taking the 378 to Mortlake where I could pick up the 209 back to Hammersmith Bridge. The 378 doesn't stand or pick up in the little bus station type area in the forecourt of Putney Bridge Station, you need to go to Putney Bridge approach where the first stop for the route is on the bridge itself. There isn't much to talk about this route due to its extremely short nature. Diamond Geezer has reported on his blog that as a result of these changes route 209 has actually become the second shortest route in London and route 378 has taken the place of 8th shortest route in London. 

SE303 seen at Mortlake
© EastLondoner

There were 6 other people on the bus throughout my journey so this route is still in its early days, it certainly shows why route 209 wasn't kept on the same route and was reinstated back to Castelnau, people simply are not using the link to get between Barnes/Mortlake and Putney. After I had reached Mortlake I got back on a 209 heading the other direction towards Castelnau. The 209 was much better used through this journey than my 378 was, with more than 20 people boarding and alighting throughout the journey. A healthy number of people got off at the last stop at Lonsdale Road and walked to Hammersmith over the bridge. I spent some time wandering about in the area as well, mostly attempting to work out where the buses stand before walking over the bridge myself. 

The buses themselves are pretty much identical to every single Enviro200 MMC in London except for the Go Ahead interior, like all Enviro200s these days they come equipped with a Voith gearbox which is capable of stop-start meaning that the engine shuts down when the bus is at a standstill. As will also be standard now the buses come equipped with USB ports on the back of every seat and should be capable of charging your phone or tablet. 

The interior of one of the Enviro200MMCs
© EastLondoner

It's not long now until Diesel Single Decker buses are a thing of the past, especially as from next year TfL has required that any brand new single decker bus that is ordered is zero emission. However there are still four more batches of diesel single decker buses on their way, both of the Enviro200 MMC variant. Two buses for Stagecoach route 497, One batch of 10.9m vehicles ordered by Go Ahead for route 364 which operates between Ilford and Dagenham East, another batch by Arriva for the takeover of route 192 which operates between Enfield and Tottenham Hale and a batch for Metroline route 393 which operates between Chalk Farm and Clapton Pond. After that starting with route 323 electric single decker buses will become mandatory. 

SE298 seen turning onto Lonsdale Road
© EastLondoner

As for the Hammersmith Bridge debacle, we seem to be inching closer to a permanent solution regarding the buses in the area. Another change has already been penciled in on route 419 where it's expected to be extended to Roehampton, Bessborough Road. This seems to be restoring the link from Castelnau and Barnes to Roehampton, as a result it's probably safe to say the extra buses on route 265 will cease operating. After that, who knows it seems as if TfL is making this up as they go along...