Superloop and the 472 bus: Riding the doomed route from start to finish

With consultation now underway on a future Superloop route between Greenwich and Abbey Wood replacing the 472 what better time to give it a ride from first to last stop knowing what TfL plan for the new route.

It’s a handy endeavour given TfL have listed proposed stops for the SL11 and it misses a fair few busy areas served by one of south east London’s busiest bus routes. This could be a problem, as unlike pretty much every other Superloop route this one will not supplement the existing 472 route but replaces it wholesale and in turn reduces buses calling at stops for many passengers.

As Diamondgeezer stated last week this has all the hallmarks of a cut from TfL being wrapped up as an improvement.

After all, a faster route means fewer buses are required and that saves money.

Start of the route

I’m starting out on this jaunt in Abbey Wood beside the railway station. Directly beside underneath the flyover. The advent of Elizabeth line services here in recent years saw the 472 extended to Abbey Wood from Thamesmead.

In the past this stop was only the preserve of poky little buses like the 244 and before that the 380 and B11 back when glorified minivans operated.

If we go back a quarter of a century ago ideas were afoot to rebuild Abbey Wood station and improve transport for Abbey Wood as the below image shows.

Back in the 2000s Transport for London planned the Greenwich Waterfront Transit which was to start at the station. Well, on the flyover anyway according to maps in contrast to earlier renders rather than down below.

The 472 eventually duplicated that route (mostly) when extended before the current SL11 plan arrived. GWT was to see some potential differences such as possibly heading through the Royal Arsenal as well as Woolwich Dockyard.

On the 472 trip from Abbey Wood we’ll be heading on a tour of Thamesmead from south to central Thamesmead then onto east Thamesmead before north Thamesmead and thousands of new homes in West Thamesmead/Plumstead, Woolwich, Charlton and north Greenwich terminating beside the Jubilee line.

What’s notable on the way are how many major growth areas the SL11 will skip and in turn see a substantial reduction in buses per hour. But more on that in a bit.

Setting off

Upon arriving at Abbey Wood two buses were waiting which is the nice thing about a start point. No waiting about today. The driver let me on a couple of minutes before we set off which gave me time to look at the remaining stump of pedestrian stairs from when the flyover was built.

The other side saw stairs and ramps knocked down with the area now entirely incorporated into the station with a concourse.

Off we went and within seconds we’ve passed our first new development with flats rising at the old post office.

Heading around the roundabout we see some spring flowers arriving. Back in the 1990s this was always a spot that showed a divide between Bexley and Greenwich council’s as the borough boundary runs right now the middle.

Each spring flowers would arrive on the Bexley side. Nothing on the Greenwich side. That divide isn’t as stark anymore and thankfully both get a bit of floral colour.

The station stop was busy as ever with people heading to and from the station before we set off for Thamesmead. When this route becomes SL11 that’s it for stops until we reach Carlisle Road in central Thamesmead.

That means skipping nearly 600 homes built on the old Tavy Bridge site and an adjacent development of a few hundred more.

Given the 472 is a high frequency route running at least every ten minutes throughout the day it’s quite the reduction in service level.

Central Thamesmead was the last part of the Greater London Council’s concrete post-war development and greatly simplified compared to housing in south Thamesmead as money ran out.

Each part of Thamesmead has its own unique character which many who don’t live or work there often seem to miss. The famous parts seen in many a film, TV show, advert and music video are mainly the first stages in south Thamesmead.

We reach Thamesmead central and this is where the money started to run out with post-war dreams.

No massive town centre ever arrived nor a marina beside the Thames, and with budgets stretched housing was simplified compared to Stage one in south Thamesmead.

Above is about as far as that original dream for Thamesmead ran out. While the buildings are higher here than areas built subsequently its not higher density. Much street levels space is given over to parking or patches of grass.

The next stop after central Thamesmead is east Thamesmead which feels entirely different to what’s come before with 1980s and 1990s suburbia now in evidence.

It’s the only part of Thamesmead that lacks much in the way of dual carriageways.

Canals and traditional housing design abounds here. Taking this meander means the SL11 will be the slowest Superloop route between parts of Thamesmead and the nearest station. The existing SL3 runs straight between north Thamesmead and Abbey Wood.

The SL11 will skip quite a few stops in east Thamesmead and judging by this trip at least (off-peak on a weekday) quite a few people will feel that reduction in service.

Then it’s on to north Thamesmead. An area that one day is supposed to see thousands of new homes. Peabody being Peabody means they havn’t built a single one in the eleven years they’ve been in charge.

A retail park with just one tenants and sprawling, half-used car parks abound.

By now we’re back on Thamesmead’s extensive network of dual carriageways.

There’s no need for expensive engineering here to speed up buses given there’s nothing slowing them down anyway. I’m not sure I’ve ever been stuck in traffic. In fact for the entirety of the route now until Charlton we’re on wide, broad roads with bus lanes. Ideal for a tram one day you might say.

Housing in north Thamesmead is like that to the east of town: low rise and very much 1990s and 2000s cul-de-sac blandsville.

Past the shops and we reach west Thamesmead with a stop at Belmarsh on Western Way. The SL11 will too stop here. A bit odd perhaps as it’s hardly that busy much of the time. In fact the SL11 route – after skipping busy east Thamesmead – stops at many existing 472 stops in relatively sparsely populated areas.

At Belmarsh we pass the “bus priority” measures which as sure as night follows day holds up the bus as cars stream through alongside on a green.

Plumstead

Next sees one of the oddest parts of the Superloop plan as major developments won’t see a stop. The 472 doesn’t stop either but that made sense when no homes were here. Now the first of almost 2,000 are completing.

A £23 million project has been delayed until 2029 (how far will the budget stretch then?) but couldn’t they even stump up a single stop here on the gyratory?

Instead it’ll head past new homes along the one-way system then swing right and stop at Plumstead station. This is close to new homes on a map. In reality it’s a grim old walk below the bridge or along very narrow pavements ill-equipped for thousands of forthcoming residents.

As part of the 2015 Housing Zone announcement the underpass was due for improvement work. It’s now finally set to happen but ten years of inflation has eaten away much of the budget. Plans looked pretty lacking in consultation.

After Plumstead station the SL11 will then skip 300 new homes and a replacement college building on Plumstead Road which the 472 currently serves.

Woolwich

The theme of not calling at stops beside substantial new builds is a common one and soon seen again after we reach Woolwich town centre. There’s just the one stop meaning others to the north and west of the town centre beside thousands of new dwellings lose eight buses per hour.

That includes new builds on Woolwich High Street. This area is also beside the ferry and foot tunnel which leads over to Superloop route SL2 but no convenient interchange is planned.

Limited stop section

Given the SL11 will be non-stop between Woolwich and Charlton it will also sail by more than 700 homes at the rebuilt Morris Walk estate.

It also doesn’t stop at the first homes to complete at Charlton Riverside.

None of this would be so bad if the SL11 duplicated an existing service – as other Superloop routes do – but remember the SL11 merely replaces a very busy route instead of enhancing provision.

At this point it reverts back to the 472’s stopping pattern passing the acres of car parking at Charlton retail parks before reaching the pedestrian-unfriendly streets of Greenwich peninsula.

The route will pass through Bugsby’s Way which lacks a bus lane and prone to clogging up. It’s also poor on foot with pavements and stairs lacking on what should be obvious pedestrian routes.

Then it’s a case of passing Greenwich Millennium Village. The latest stages are now rising.

A stop here too will be avoided.

By this stage the SL11 if running would’ve skipped seven sites of new housing providing thousands of homes – and that’s just what’s being built now. Add in what’s proposed and it’s substantially more.

All those areas will see a large drop in buses per hour stopping in the vicinity.

The more I’ve pondered this change the less sense it seems to make. It’ll not only impact many existing highly populated areas but also areas of imminent significant growth. Even where it does stop seems bizarre and based on what towns were like ten or twenty years ago rather than today.

Benefitting Thamesmead?

In terms of enabling north Thamesmead to have better transport links it also doesn’t make a huge amount of sense. Firstly Peabody aren’t in the process of building any new homes there. At all. Not even a Masterplan or Strategic Planning Document has ever arrived let alone spades in the ground.

Second, if heading to Woolwich from north Thamesmead the SL11 will be no quicker than the existing 472. If heading to Abbey Wood the Superloop SL3 is quicker and other routes are speedy anyway given that don’t divert off into east Thamesmead.

True, the route isn’t set in stone but even at this stage it seems strange TfL havn’t looked at what’s happening with new development before it even got to consultation. Havn’t Greenwich Council fed in at all? Are both even aware of changes?

Probably the biggest benefit is for those in Woolwich heading to Greenwich peninsula as they’ll skip a few stops but it’s already quick as dual carriageways and bus lanes throughout – and is that compensated by existing residents as well as those moving into new builds losing so many buses per hour?

It’s hard to shake the conclusion this is a little more than a cost-cutting measure with the glaring question of south east London only gains a Superloop here – on a route in planning for 25 years – while many people in turn have to lose an existing route?

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