Abellio (London & Surrey)

Abellio London
Abellio Surrey

Alexander Dennis Enviro400s on route 3 at Crystal Palace
Parent	Abellio
Founded	May 2009
Headquarters	Camberwell
Service area	Greater London Surrey
Service type	Bus services
Routes	59 (July 2014)
Depots	6
Fleet	656 (July 2014)
Website	www.abellio.co.uk

Abellio London and Abellio Surrey are bus companies operating services in Greater London and Surrey. They are subsidiaries of Abellio and operate services under contract to Transport for London and Surrey County Council.

History

Alexander Dennis Enviro200 Dart on route 407 in Purley

Alexander ALX400 bodied Dennis Trident 2 on route 211 on Whitehall

Alexander Dennis Enviro400 on route 452 on Kensington Road

Alexander Dennis Enviro 400 on route 343

A pair of Plaxton Pointer bodied Dennis Darts at Byfleet depot

East Lancashire bodied Dennis Dart outside Walton on Thames station

The origins of Abellio can be traced back to June 1998 when National Express commenced operating routes C1 and 211 under the Travel London brand. In August 2000, National Express sold the business to Limebourne Buses, who in July 2001 sold out to Connex. In February 2004, National Express repurchased the business. Further expansion in 2005 saw the purchases of the London bus operations of Tellings-Golden Miller with a depot in Byfleet and various Surrey County Council contracts.

Travel London operated contracts on behalf of Transport for London, Surrey County Council, and Kingston University. Operations were split between three registered companies; Travel London Limited, Travel London (Middlesex) Limited, and Travel London (West) Limited. The Surrey routes were rebranded as Travel Surrey in September 2007.

In May 2009, National Express sold Travel London to Abellio, a wholly owned subsidiary of Netherlands state-controlled rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen, with which it shares a logo. The sale included 66 routes, 36 Transport for London tendered services and 30 Surrey County Council and Kingston University routes. All vehicles, depots and staff were included.

On 30 October 2009 the businesses were rebranded as Abellio London and Abellio Surrey.

In November 2014 an Abellio bus caught fire in Wallington, with one of its rear wheels exploding. A casualty was treated by London Ambulance service.

Garages

Abellio operates six garages in London and Surrey. Beddington Cross, Battersea and Walworth are operated by Abellio London Limited and Byfleet, Fulwell and Hayes by Abellio West London Limited.

Beddington Cross (BC)

As of October 2015, Beddington garage operated routes 109, 152, 157, 201, 407, 433, 455, 931, N109, P13 and S4. On 19 March 2016, Beddington Cross will take over the operation of route 367 from London General.

History

Opened in early 2000 by Connex Bus to stable buses for its then new route 3 contract, the garage consists of two industrial units.

Battersea (QB)

As at December 2015, Battersea garage operated routes 3, 49, 156, 159, 211, 344, 414, 452, C2, C3, C10 and N3.

History

This garage was established by Q-Drive in the late 1990s, hence the QB code. Travel London's original bus garage was situated further north towards Stewarts Lane railway depot which was the home of the Gatwick Express, a rail franchise then operated by its parent National Express. Connex moved into these premises after purchasing the Limebourne business in July 2001. In December 2015, Battersea Garage started operating route 159.

Walworth (WL)

As at May 2015, Walworth garage operated routes 35, 40, 172, 188, 343, 381, 415, 484, N35, N343 and N381. On 30 April 2016, Walworth garage will commence operating 345 with routes 35 and 40 to pass to London Central on the same date.

History

Originally a site acquired by the London County Council for its electric trams, it was known as Camberwell Tram depot until 1950 when its name was changed to Walworth with the arrival of buses. This was to avoid confusion with Camberwell Garage located opposite the Walworth garage. Major rebuilding took place during the 1950s to repair bomb damage from the World War II during which time some buses were worked out of Camberwell.

In the late 1960s the garage assumed operation of the Red Arrow routes with AEC Merlins and later Leyland Nationals until its closure in 1985. Following the closure of the Victoria and Ash Grove garages, from 1987 Walworth operated the Red Arrow routes for a short time until Waterloo garage was ready.

During the early 1990s the garage once again re-opened, this time for the Londonlinks operation of routes 78 and 176. The Cowie Group undertook a major restructure a few years later which once again saw closure of Walworth garage in 1997. The garage was owned by the Go-Ahead Group and they leased it out.

The garage lay dormant for the next six years until late 2003 when work started on refurbishing the garage for Travel London, who needed more garage space after some contract wins.

Byfleet (BF) - Abellio Surrey

This garage holds 50 buses and is the base for several Surrey County Council tendered routes as well as some commercial services.

History

This garage was operated by Tellings-Golden Miller and was sold to National Express in June 2005. It was rebranded as Travel Surrey in September 2007 and ran buses in a livery of white with a red skirt. Renamed Travel London, in September 2007 it was rebranded as Travel Surrey. In October 2009 it was rebranded Abellio Surrey.

Fulwell (TF)

Main article: Fulwell bus garage

Fulwell bus garage operates London bus routes 117, 235, 290, 481, 490, 969, H20, H25, H26, K1, K3, R68 and R70. The garage is split into two sections, with northern half used by London United and the southern half used by Abellio. A part of Abellio's section is used by London United as the terminus for its route 33.

History

Until September 2009, Fulwell was also responsible for the Kingston University shuttle services. These are now run by Tellings-Golden Miller.

Hayes (WS)

Hayes garage operates London bus routes 350, E1, H28, U7 and U9.

Fleet

As at July 2014, the fleet consisted of 656 buses.

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons
• Abellio London & Surrey website