London Buses route X26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, England. Running between

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 ...

and West Croydon bus stations, it is operated by

London General London General is a bus company operating in Greater London. It is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group and operates services under contract to Transport for London. The company is named after the London General Omnibus Company, the principal ...

. It is the longest bus route currently operating in London, covering a distance of 23.75 miles, albeit with limited stops.

History

Route X26 has its origins in Green Line Coach route 725, which started in the 1950s and ran from

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...

and

Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...

through

Sidcup Sidcup is an area of south-east London, England, primarily in the London Borough of Bexley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, bordering the London Boroughs of London Borough of Bromley, Bromley and Royal Borough of Greenwich, Greenwich. Before ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

Sutton Sutton (''south settlement'' or ''south town'' in Old English) may refer to: Places United Kingdom England In alphabetical order by county: * Sutton, Bedfordshire * Sutton, Berkshire, a List of United Kingdom locations: Stu-Sz#Su, location * S ...

and Kingston to Staines and

Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...

. In the late 1970s route 726 was introduced as a variant, from Gravesend to Windsor via

and

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

instead of Staines. By the 1980s, the sections of route between Heathrow and Windsor and between Gravesend and Dartford had been withdrawn. At that time the Green Line network was operated by

London Country Bus Services London Country Bus Services was a bus company that operated in South East England from 1970 until 1986, when it was split up and later sold as part of the bus deregulation programme. History Formation London Country Bus Services Ltd was ...

, but when that company was broken up in 1986 route 726, which ran almost entirely within Greater London, came under the control 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 ...

(LCNW) and Kentish Bus & Coach. In 1991 LCNW planned to withdraw the route, but

London Regional Transport London Regional Transport (LRT) was the organisation responsible for most of the public transport network in London, England, between 1984 and 2000. In common with all London transport authorities from 1933 to 2000, the public name and operatio ...

stepped in and took the route over. LCNW continued to operate the route on a short term one-year contract. On 29 February 1992,

London Coaches London Coaches was a former bus and coach operator operating open top tourist services in London and commuter services from Kent to London. History London Coaches originated from the London Transport Tours and Charters division. In January 1 ...

, a subsidiary of London Buses privatised in 1992, commenced operating the route using dual-purpose

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 ...

vehicles. The contract changed from London Coaches to

Capital Logistics Capital Logistics was a bus and coach operator in London. History Capital Logistics was formed in August 1997 following the merger of Whyte's Airport Services and Capital Coaches the previous April. It operated a variety of coach and contract ...

in the late 1990s, and passenger numbers continued to decline. By 1997, London Transport attempted to withdraw the service, but at the end of year it was given an 18-month reprieve after over 1,600 letters had been received in its support. Early in 1999 the service was cut back to run between Bromley and Heathrow only; the service became hourly, with no early morning or late evening service. Capital Logistics was bought by

Tellings-Golden Miller Tellings-Golden Miller is a charter coach operator in England. It was a subsidiary of Arriva twice previously, but once again has returned to family ownership. The company is now a subsidiary of Falcon Coaches based in Byfleet, Surrey. History ...

on 1 June 1999, shortly after a new contract for the 726 had been awarded. New low-floor buses were specified, and seven

Alexander ALX300 The Alexander ALX300 (later known as the TransBus ALX300 and the Alexander Dennis ALX300) was a low-floor bus body manufactured by Alexander and later Alexander Dennis in Falkirk, Scotland. It was launched in 1997 as a replacement for the Stri ...

bodied

Volvo B10BLE The Volvo B10BLE was a rear-engined low-entry single-decker bus chassis manufactured by Volvo in Sweden between 1993 and 2004. The first prototypes were built in 1992, but mass production started in 1993, only a year after the high-floor B10B. It ...

s were purchased. In April 2005 route 726 was renumbered X26 and the section between Bromley and

East Croydon East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of t ...

was withdrawn, rerouted to run via

Teddington Teddington is a suburb in south-west London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. In 2021, Teddington was named as the best place to live in London by ''The Sunday Times''. Historically in Middlesex, Teddington is situated on a long m ...

instead of

Hampton Court Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chief ...

, and many stops were removed to reduce run times and improve reliability. The contract was awarded to Metrobus, which used

Scania OmniCity The Scania OmniCity is an integrally constructed transverse-engined low floor city bus that was available from Scania on the European market between 1997 and 2012. The OmniCity was introduced in September 1996 as the first product based on t ...

vehicles. London Buses hoped that the re-modelled route would attract more passengers and therefore specified large single-deck buses. It was initially intended to remove stops at

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to tw ...

North Cheam Cheam () is a suburb of London, England, south-west of Charing Cross. It is divided into North Cheam, Cheam Village and South Cheam. Cheam Village contains the listed buildings Lumley Chapel and the 16th-century Whitehall. It is adjacent to tw ...

and

Worcester Park Worcester Park is a suburban town in South London, South West London, England. It lies in the Boroughs of London, London boroughs of London Borough of Sutton, Sutton and Royal Borough of Kingston, Kingston, and partly in the Surrey borough of Ep ...

, but these were retained. The peak vehicle requirement (PVR) fell from six buses to four. On 22 November 2008, route X26 was doubled in frequency to every 30 minutes for most of the day, including Sundays, although the evening service remained hourly. To cover for the increase in PVR while new vehicles were prepared, Metrobus hired

Mercedes-Benz O530 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 from Wealden PSV, delivered directly from original owner

Quality Line Quality Line was a bus company based in Epsom, England. A subsidiary of the RATP Group, Quality Line operated bus services throughout the South West (London sub region), South West London and Surrey area, with many under contract to Transport fo ...

. The Citaros have since been returned to Wealden PSV and replaced with Scania OmniCitys from the

Crawley Fastway Fastway is a bus rapid transit network in Surrey and West Sussex, United Kingdom, linking Crawley with Gatwick Airport and Horley, the first to be constructed outside a major city. It uses specially adapted buses that can either be steered by the ...

network, refurbished and painted red; these are two years older than the OmniCitys that previously worked on the route. In June 2010, a proposal to reintroduce the former 726 stop at

Beddington Beddington is a suburban settlement in the London Borough of Sutton on the boundary with the London Borough of Croydon. Beddington is formed from a village of the same name which until early the 20th century still included land which became t ...

was rejected by Transport for London, despite support from many residents. Upon being re-tendered, on 14 April 2012 the route passed to

with new Mercedes-Benz O530s. On 15 April 2017 it was taken over by

with double deck buses introduced.

Current route

Route X26 operates via these primary locations:Route X26 Map
Transport for London *

Heathrow Central bus station Heathrow Central bus station is a large bus station that serves terminals 2 and 3 of Heathrow Airport, in London, England. It provides urban bus and long-distance coach services to destinations in London and to regional destinations across Br ...

* Hatton Cross station *

''Broad Street'' * Kingston ''Wood Street'' * Kingston ''

Cromwell Road bus station Kingston upon Thames in South West London, England is served by two bus stations as well as a large number of on-street bus stops. Due to the Kingston one-way system, the various stops and bus stations are physically separate, however passengers ...

'' *

New Malden New Malden is an area in South West London, England. It is located mainly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and the London Borough of Merton, and is from Charing Cross. Neighbouring localities include Kingston, Norbiton, Raynes ...

''Fountain Roundabout'' *

''Queen Victoria'' *

''Broadway'' *

''Town Centre'' *

''High Street'' * Wallington ''Wallington Green'' *

East Croydon station East Croydon is a railway station and tram stop in Croydon, Greater London, England, and is located in Travelcard Zone 5. At from , it is one of the busiest non-terminal stations in London, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It is one of th ...

West Croydon bus station West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:X26, London buses route Bus routes in London Green Line Coaches routes Transport in the London Borough of Croydon Transport in the London Borough of Hillingdon Transport in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames Transport in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames Transport in the London Borough of Sutton X26