Green Line route 724 is a bus service currently operated by
as part of the
Green Line Coaches
Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home counties of England. The trademark is owned by Arriva, with services operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and Reading Buses.
Green Line had its origin in the network of coach services established ...
network. It runs on an orbital route round the north and western outskirts of London between
Harlow
Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...
and
Heathrow Terminal 5
Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Terminal 5 is currently used exclusi ...
, and is partly funded by airport operator
Heathrow Airport Holdings
Heathrow Airport Holdings is the United Kingdom-based operator of Heathrow Airport. The company also operated Gatwick Airport, Stansted Airport, Edinburgh Airport and several other UK airports, but was forced by the Competition Commission to se ...
.
History
Route 724 was started by
Green Line Coaches
Green Line is a commuter coach brand in the Home counties of England. The trademark is owned by Arriva, with services operated by Arriva Shires & Essex and Reading Buses.
Green Line had its origin in the network of coach services established ...
(then part of
London Transport) on 10 July 1966, on a route from
High Wycombe
High Wycombe, often referred to as Wycombe ( ), is a market town in Buckinghamshire, England. Lying in the valley of the River Wye surrounded by the Chiltern Hills, it is west-northwest of Charing Cross in London, south-southeast of Ayl ...
to
Romford
Romford is a large town in east London and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Havering. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Historically, Romford ...
via
North London
North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire.
The term ''nort ...
using
AEC Regal coaches. By June 1972 it had been rerouted to start from
Staines and serve
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...
. The sections of route between Staines and Heathrow, and between
Harlow
Harlow is a large town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a new town, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire and London, Harlow occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the upp ...
and Romford were later dropped.
Route 724 was included in the sale of
London Country North West
London Country North West was a bus operator in South East England and London. It was formed from the split of London Country Bus Services in 1986, and operated a fleet of around 360 buses from five garages, with its headquarters located in Gar ...
to a
management buyout
A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management-, and/or leveraged buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
when
privatised
Privatization (also privatisation in British English) can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when ...
in January 1988, in turn passing to Luton & District Transport in 1990,
British Bus
British Bus was a bus group in the United Kingdom. It was sold to the Cowie Group in August 1996.
History
British Bus was founded in November 1992 when the Drawlane Transport Group split its bus interests from its National Express in the lead u ...
in 1994 and finally the
.
In December 1997, a fleet of nine
Plaxton Prestige
The Plaxton Prestige is a low-floor single-decker bus body built by Plaxton at the Wigan, England factory of its Northern Counties subsidiary, and at its main Scarborough, North Yorkshire factory, during the latter half of the 1990s.
The Prest ...
bodied
DAF SB220
The DAF SB220 was a full-size single-decker bus chassis produced by DAF Bus International from 1985. Initially only built in left hand drive, in 1988 a right hand drive version was launched for the United Kingdom market. An articulated vers ...
s were purchased, with extra luggage space built in. These were some of the first
low-floor bus
A low-floor bus is a bus or trolleybus that has no steps between the ground and the floor of the bus at one or more entrances, and low floor for part or all of the passenger cabin. A bus with a partial low floor may also be referred to as a low- ...
es to operate in the United Kingdom.
These were replaced in August 2006 by nine
Mercedes-Benz Citaro
The Mercedes-Benz Citaro is a single-decker, rigid or articulated bus manufactured by Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus. Introduced in 1997, the Citaro is available in a range of configurations, and is in widespread use throughout Europe and parts of Asia ...
s. These were the result of a Quality Bus Partnership between Arriva Shires & Essex,
BAA and
Hertfordshire County Council
Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England, the United Kingdom. After the 2021 election, it consists of 78 councillors, and is controlled by the Conservative Party, ...
. These buses seat 39 and also have extra luggage racking. Journey times were also improved.
In March 2008, the route was diverted to serve the new
Heathrow Terminal 5
Heathrow Terminal 5 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London. Opened in 2008, the main building in the complex is the largest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom. Terminal 5 is currently used exclusi ...
. From 19 May, the service was withdrawn from
Heathrow Terminal 4
Heathrow Terminal 4 is an airport terminal at Heathrow Airport, the main airport serving London, England, situated to the south of the southern runway, next to the cargo terminal. It is connected to Heathrow Terminals 2 and 3 by the vehicular ...
, with another new timetable introduced. Short workings on other parts of the route became routes 725 and 726.
In February 2021, the Citaros were replaced by a fleet of 8
Alexander-Dennis Enviro 200MMCs, which were transferred from
Arriva Kent Thameside
Arriva Kent Thameside is a bus operator based in North-West Kent, England. It is a subsidiary of Arriva. The company operates services in Northfleet, Gravesend & Dartford as part of the Arriva Southern Counties division from their Northfleet ...
.
In July 2022, part of the batch of ADL Enviro200 MMCs were replaced by
Wright Pulsar 2 bodied
VDL SB200
The VDL SB200 (originally the DAF SB200) was a light-weight 12m low floor single decker bus chassis produced from 2001 by VDL Bus & Coach (formerly DAF Bus International). It superseded the SB220.
It is originally designed for use by Arriva (VD ...
s transferred from Derby in return for the Enviro200s.
From 24 July 2022, additional early morning, late evening and weekend journeys were introduced in conjunction with the Heathrow Airport Partnership.
Current route
References
*
External links
Arriva 724 Harlow to London Heathrow AirportGreen Line Coaches website
{{DEFAULTSORT:724, Green Line Coaches Route
Bus routes in England
Green Line Coaches routes
Transport in Essex
Transport in Harlow
Transport in Hertfordshire
Transport in the London Borough of Hillingdon
Transport in St Albans
Transport in Watford
724
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Year 724 ( DCCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 724 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...