London Buses route 607 is a
Transport for LondonTransport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
contracted bus route in
LondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
,
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The service is currently contracted to
First Centrewest.First London is one of many operators of London Buses and owned by First Group. They did also run the Tramlink network, in a partnership with Tramtrack Croydon before June 2008. Their registered office is at Paddington station in London...
.
History
Route 607 is one of the few limited-stop routes in London, and was established on 21 July 1990 as an express service for
route 207London Buses route 207 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest.-History:...
between
Shepherd's Bush Green-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....
and
UxbridgeUxbridge is a large town located in north west London, England and is the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. It forms part of the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is located west-northwest of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres...
on Mondays to Saturdays.
Its number was "inherited" from the
trolleybusA trolleybus is an electric bus that draws its electricity from overhead wires using spring-loaded trolley poles. Two wires and poles are required to complete the electrical circuit...
route over the same roads, which operated from 15 November 1936 until 8 November 1960 when it was abolished as part of the London Trolleybus Withdrawal Programme and replaced by bus route 207. Today, the number is unusual in that the 600-699 range is usually reserved for school routes.
When the route was established, it used
MCW MetrobusThe MCW Metrobus is a double decker bus model manufactured by MCW from 1977 until 1989, with over 4,000 examples built. The original MkI model was superseded by the MkII model in 1981/1982, although production of the original MkI continued for London Transport until 1985...
es stationed at the Hanwell (HL) and Uxbridge (UX) garages of Centrewest, at the time a subsidiary of
London Buses LimitedLondon Buses is the subsidiary of Transport for London that manages bus services within Greater London, UK. Buses are required to carry similar red colour schemes and conform to the same fare scheme...
. The Hanwell allocation was withdrawn in June 1991, and in November of that year the route was converted to single-deck operation using six LS-class
Leyland NationalThe Leyland National is a British single-deck bus built in large quantities between 1972 and 1985. It was developed as a joint project between two UK nationalised industries - the National Bus Company and British Leyland. Buses were constructed at a specially built factory at the Lillyhall...
s and five
Leyland LynxThe Leyland Lynx is a single-decker bus built by Leyland between 1984 and 1992. It was designed to replace the ageing Leyland National.Production vehicles began to enter service in 1986. From 1990 to 1992 the updated Lynx II version was produced...
es, all carrying "607 Express" route branding. The Lynxes came from the
London Borough of HillingdonThe London Borough of Hillingdon is the westernmost borough in Greater London, England. The borough's population was recorded as 243,006 in the 2001 Census. The borough incorporates the former districts of Ruislip-Northwood, Uxbridge, Hayes and Harlington and Yiewsley and West Drayton in the...
, which had bought two new and acquired the other three from Merthyr Tydfil Transport, and so were not to London specification, lacking rear route number blinds - so the route number was painted above the rear window.
Centrewest was
privatisedThe privatisation of London bus services was the progressive process of the transfer of operation of London Buses from public bodies to private companies....
in 1994, and converted the 607 back to double-deck operation in October 1996, using fifteen V-class
Volvo OlympianThe Volvo Olympian was a rear-engine double decker bus built by Volvo at Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland. It was first built in 1992 and entered production in March 1993, replacing the Leyland Olympian....
/
Northern Counties Palatine IIThe Northern Counties Palatine is a step-entrance double-decker bus body built by Northern Counties of Wigan, UK. It was built mainly on Leyland Olympian and Volvo Olympian chassis, although some were also built on DAF, Volvo B10M Citybus and Scania chassis...
s with high-back coach-style seating and tinted glass windows, as well as a distinctive red and white livery. These were supplemented from May 2002 by five similar Olympians, displaced from
route 61London Buses route 61 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to Stagecoach London.-History:...
at
OrpingtonOrpington is a suburban town and electoral ward in the London Borough of Bromley. It forms the southeastern edge of London's urban sprawl and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
(Y) and repainted and reglazed accordingly, but retaining their low-back bus seats.
On 9 April 2005, the 207 was split, with the section between
HayesHayes is a town in the London Borough of Hillingdon, West London. It is a suburban development situated west of Charing Cross. Hayes was developed in the late 19th and 20th centuries as an industrial locality to which residential districts were later added in order to house factory workers...
and Shepherd's Bush gaining new
articulated Mercedes-Benz CitarosThe Mercedes-Benz Citaro is the current Mercedes-Benz/EvoBus mainstream single-decker bus intended for public transport, introduced in 1997 and replaced the Mercedes-Benz O405/O405N series...
. The TNL-class
Dennis Trident 2Dennis Trident 2 is a 2-axle low-floor double-decker bus chassis originally built by Dennis in the United Kingdom, which was unveiled in 1997 and replaced the Dennis Arrow...
/
Plaxton PresidentThe Plaxton President was a double-decker bus body built at Northern Counties plant in Wigan, England and branded as a Plaxton product for its main production run. It was unveiled in 1997 and built between 1999 and 2005. When Plaxton became part of TransBus International, the body was sold under...
s thus displaced were duly transferred to the 607, replacing the Olympians. These do not carry route branding or a dedicated livery, but do carry white-on-blue number and destination blinds, a feature used throughout the 607's history to distinguish it from regular stopping services.
On 29 November 2008, the 607 was extended from Shepherd's Bush Green to the new White City Bus Station via the
Westfield shopping centreWestfield London is a shopping centre in White City in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. The centre was developed by the Westfield Group at a cost of £1.6bn,...
. On 11 April 2010, the route started running on Sundays.
See also
- List of bus routes in London
- First Centrewest
.First London is one of many operators of London Buses and owned by First Group. They did also run the Tramlink network, in a partnership with Tramtrack Croydon before June 2008. Their registered office is at Paddington station in London...
- London Buses route 207
London Buses route 207 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest.-History:...
- London Buses route 427
London Buses route 427 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, United Kingdom. The service is currently contracted to First Centrewest.-History:...
External links