London Buses route 52 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. It runs between Willesden garage and

Victoria bus station Victoria bus station is a bus station outside London Victoria station. It is managed only by Transport for London. In 1970, work commenced on a substantial roof canopy. This was demolished in April 2003 as part of the station's refurbishment. ...

, and is operated by

Metroline Metroline is a bus company operating services in Greater London and south Hertfordshire. It is a subsidiary of ComfortDelGro Corporation and operates services under contract to Transport for London. As at March 2021, the fleet consisted of 1,5 ...

History

Route 52 began on 28 March 1923, running from

Raynes Park Raynes Park is a residential suburb, railway station and local centre near Wimbledon, London, and is within the London Borough of Merton. It is situated southwest of Wimbledon Common, to the northwest of Wimbledon Chase and to the east of Ne ...

Ladbroke Grove Ladbroke Grove () is an area and a road in West London in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, passing through Kensal Green and Notting Hill, running north–south between Harrow Road and Holland Park Avenue. It is also a name given to ...

. The service was changed many times, on 13 Feb 1924 it ran from Wormwood Scrubs to Tooting and later on, on 9 April 1924 the route was revised to run Ladbroke Grove to Victoria. It was extended to Mill Hill in 1932. Later, some services were extended on to

Borehamwood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...

on Monday to Saturday peak journeys where it was changed several times: in 1951, it was withdrawn from Warwick Road and Drayton Road to Elstree Way Hotel, but extended back on 3 February 1953, and further extended to Brook Road on 3 February 1954. Another extension took the route to Rossington Avenue on Sundays from 1956. Seven years later this was extended to include Monday to Friday peak workings. In 1967 the Mill Hill terminus was changed from Mill Hill ''Green Man'' to the rebuilt Mill Hill Broadway Station. The route was then withdrawn beyond Mill Hill Broadway in 1969, the Borehamwood - Mill Hill section being replaced by route 292. Frequency cuts led to over 2,000 passengers signing a petition for the improvement of route 52 in the same year. In December 1993 the contract to run the route was won by

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 ...

, who in July 1994 transferred the route to its Atlas Bus & Coach subsidiary as it had a garage in Willesden, close to the route's terminus. Atlas operated the route with Leyland Titans in a route-specific livery. In November 1994, route 52 was included in the sale of Atlas Bus & Coach to

. On 8 December 2012, route 52 was retained by

. On 17 November 2016, 14 people were injured as a bus on route 52 mounted a pavement and crashed into

Kensal House Kensal House is a housing estate of two curved blocks of 68 housing association Apartment, flats at the northern end of Ladbroke Grove, London, completed in 1937 and designed by the architect Maxwell Fry. It was the first Modern architecture, mo ...

Current route

Route 52 operates via these primary locations:Route 52 Map
Transport for London * Willesden bus garage * * Kensal Rise station *

''Sainsbury's'' *

Ladbroke Grove station Ladbroke Grove is a London Underground station on the Circle and Hammersmith & City lines, between Latimer Road and Westbourne Park stations, and in Travelcard Zone 2 set in The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. History Originally ope ...

Notting Hill Gate station Notting Hill Gate is a London Underground station near Notting Hill, London, located on the street called Notting Hill Gate. On the Central line (London Underground), Central line, it is between Holland Park tube station, Holland Park to the wes ...

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

''Church Street'' for '' High Street Kensington station'' *

Kensington Palace Kensington Palace is a royal residence set in Kensington Gardens, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London, England. It has been a residence of the British royal family since the 17th century, and is currently the official L ...

Palace Gate Palace Gate is a street south of Kensington Gardens in London, England. It was previously part of Gloucester Road, and was initially developed in the 1860s. 1a Palace Gate and 10 Palace Gate are both Grade II* listed buildings. The street is ...

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

* Knightsbridge station * Hyde Park Corner station *

for Victoria station

References

External links

*
Timetable
{{DEFAULTSORT:052, London buses route Bus routes in London Transport in the London Borough of Brent Transport in the City of Westminster Transport in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea