ELEPHANT & CASTLE
A slight change in style and format for Elephant & Castle that’s the busiest, and arguably the best location to enjoy viewing red buses in London.
OPERATIONAL DETAILS MON-FRI DAYTIME courtesy of
www.londonbusroutes.net/details.htm1 / Go-Ahead / MG / 15 / 10 / Canada Water - Surrey Quays - South Bermondsey - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo - TCR
12 / Go-Ahead / Q / 15 / 12 / Dulwich - Peckham - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Westminster - Oxford Circus
35 / Go-Ahead / Q / 27 / 7.5 / Clapham Junction - Clapham Common - Brixton - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - London Bridge - Shoreditch
40 / Go-Ahead / Q / 18 / 10 / Dulwich Library - East Dulwich - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Blackfriars - Clerkenwell
45 / Abellio / WL / 13 / 10 / Clapham Park - Brixton Hill - Brixton - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle
53 / Stagecoach / PD / 29 / 8 / Plumstead - Woolwich - Blackheath - Deptford - New Cross - Elephant & Castle - Lambeth North
63 / Abellio / WL / 26 / 7.5 / Honor Oak - Peckham - Trafalgar Avenue - Elephant & Castle - Blackfriars - King's Cross
68 / Abellio / WL / 21 / 10 / West Norwood - Herne Hill - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo - Aldwych - Holborn - Euston
133 / Arriva / BN / 23 / 7.5 / Streatham - Brixton - Kennington - Elephant & Castle - London Bridge - Bank - Liverpool Street Station
136 / Stagecoach / TL / 20 / 10 / Grove Park - Downham - Catford - Lewisham - New Cross - Peckham - Elephant & Castle
148 / RATP / S / 18 / 10 / Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle - Westminster - Victoria - Marble Arch - Notting Hill Gate - Shepherd's Bush - White City
155 / Go-Ahead / SW / 17 / 8 / Tooting St George's Hospital - Balham - Clapham - Stockwell - Kennington - Elephant & Castle
168 / Metroline / HT / 18 / 8.5 / Hampstead Heath - Camden Town - Euston - Holborn - Aldwych - Waterloo – Elephant & Castle - Old Kent Road
171 / Go-Ahead / NX / 15 / 12 / Bellingham Catford Bus Garage - Catford - Crofton Park - New Cross - Peckham - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle
172 / Go-Ahead / NX / 14 / 10 / Brockley Rise - Crofton Park - New Cross - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo - Aldwych
176 / Go-Ahead / Q / 22 / 10 / Penge - East Dulwich - Camberwell - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo - Aldwych - Trafalgar Square - TCR
188 / Go-Ahead / Q / 21 / 8 / North Greenwich - Surrey Quays - Bermondsey - Elephant & Castle - Waterloo - Aldwych - Holborn - Russell Square
196 / Abellio / WL / 16 / 12 / Norwood - Herne Hill - Brixton - Stockwell - Lansdowne Way - Vauxhall - Elephant & Castle
333 / Arriva / BN / 16 / 10 / Tooting - Streatham - Brixton - Stockwell - Kennington - Elephant & Castle - London Bridge - Tower Bridge - Aldgate
344 / Abellio / QB / 21 / 8 / Clapham Junction - Battersea - Vauxhall - Lambeth – Elephant & Castle - Southwark Bridge - Liverpool Street Station
360 / Go-Ahead / Q / 11 / 12 / Albert Hall - South Kensington - Sloane Square - Pimlico - Vauxhall - Imperial War Museum - Elephant & Castle
363 / Go-Ahead / PM / 14 / 10 / Crystal Palace - Honor Oak - Peckham - Trafalgar Avenue - Elephant & Castle
415 / Abellio / QB / 9 / 12 / Tulse Hill - Brixton - Kennington - Elephant & Castle - Old Kent Road Tesco
453 / Go-Ahead / NX / 30 / 7.5 / Deptford - New Cross - Elephant & Castle - Westminster - Oxford Circus - Regents Park - Marylebone Station
468 / Arriva / N / 24 / 9 / South Croydon - Croydon - Selhurst - Thornton Heath - Norwood - Herne Hill - Camberwell - Walworth - Elephant & Castle
C10 / Abellio / WL / 21 / 8 / Canada Water - Surrey Quays - Rotherhithe Street - Rotherhithe - Bermondsey - Long Lane - Elephant & Castle - County Hall - Lambeth Bridge - Pimlico - Sutherland Street - Victoria
P5 / Abellio / WL / 10 / 15 / Nine Elms Patmore Estate - Stockwell - Clapham North - Bedford Road - Brixton - Walworth - Elephant & Castle
28 Routes / 6 Operators / 13 Garages / Total PVR = 527 / Bus Departures per hour = 360
Why the strange name?No surprises that ‘Elephant & Castle’ refers to the name of a Pub / Coaching Inn that was located at
“this major crossroad” with the earliest surviving record of this name dates back over 200 years appearing
“in the Court Leet Book of the Manor of Walworth, which met at "Elephant and Castle, Newington" on 21 March 1765.
Without the aid of a map, describe the area and road layout to someone who’s never been there?A key and very busy London intersection located south of Waterloo Station where five major roads converge and which borders the Central London ULEZ zone. Clockwise from the South the five major roads are:
A3 / Newington Butts (south to Kennington / Brixton)
A302 / St. George’s Road (north-west to Lambeth North n.b. one-way)
A201 / London Road (north-north-west to Waterloo (only buses can use road northbound)
A3 / Newington Causeway (north-east to Borough / London Bridge)
A201 / New Kent Road (south-east to A2 / Old Kent Road)
So where is the best place to view London buses at E&C?With the exception of the large pedestrianised area in the middle of the intersection anywhere besides the road works well. However, my view is that the very best location is located adjacent to LU Elephant & Castle Station (Bakerloo Line) that lies on the east side oF A201 / London Road. From here walk across the pedestrian crossing on the A3 to the crossing area ‘in the middle’ that lies between A3 northbound and southbound. From here you’ll have a great view of everything with the exception of northbound 12 & 148 which can fleetingly be seen, in the distance as they head north up St. George’s Road.
What makes E&C and the specific area described above such a good place to view London buses?1) The six main operators all have a presence here with just niche operators Sullivan Buses and UNO absent
2) By some distance the busiest bus location in London with a staggering 28 routes and a PVR of 527 (that’s around 50 down compared pre Central London bus cuts) – Bus departures of 360 per hour equate perfectly to on average one bus every ten seconds
3) A good but not outstanding mix of Hybrid DD, Electric DD, Electric SD, New Routemasters but sadly no diesel DD or SD (code for clapped-out Enviro 200s)
4) The location in what is the middle of the A3 is close enough to both carriageways to be
‘up close and personal’ without feeling vulnerable
5) Road layout not ruined for us with some horrendous one-way system and strange one this but the traffic light sequencing seems to be for want of a better word ‘sympathetic’ to the steady flow of vehicles
6) Foot-fall not too heavy and plenty of space to stand and walk around
What are the main garages servicing routes that serve Elephant & Castle?I’d like to pick five local garages that have all been around for decades and feel like good, honest bus garages; not some transient glorified ‘bus park’ on a grim industrial estate. Maybe I’ve picked these five as they remind me of childhood Red Bus Rover visits in the 1970s? Anyway these garages currently account for 77% of the PVR at E&C.
Brixton (BN) – 133 / 333
Opened in 1892 by London Tramways Company to house cable operated trams that operated from Telford Avenue to Kennington. London Tramways was taken over by London County Council Tramways in 1899 when the depot was closed to allow conversion to electric tram operation. The last trams moved out in 1951 to be replaced by RTs but of course the garage is now electrified again for 22 Alexander Dennis Enviro 40EV Citys that operate the 319.
Camberwell (Q) – 12 / 35 / 40 / 176 / 188 / 360
Another garage that dates back well over a century Q was completed in 1914 but was immediately requisitioned as part of the war effort and was not used as a bus garage until 1919. Bombed in WWII, the garage located just to the west of Camberwell Green was modernised in the 1950s.
New Cross (NX) – 171 / 172 / 453
Another very old garage dating back to 1906 when it opened by London County Council as a tram depot later converted to a bus garage in 1952 when the trams were withdrawn. The garage has been owned and operated by Go Ahead since 1994.
Stockwell (SW) – 155
The ‘new-boy’ of this quintet of garages being only 71 years old having opened as recently as 1952 when, as widely known it possessed Europe’s largest unsupported span and has a colossal floor area of 6,814 square metres. With steel in short-supply post WWII concrete was used for the roof construction. It’s a very distinctive Modernist building, that’s been afforded Grade II listed building status since 1988.
Walworth (WL) – 45 / 63 / 68 / 196 / C10 / P5
Opened in 1871 as Camberwell Tram Depot for horse trams, was converted in 1903 to house electric trams. In 1950 renamed Walworth to avoid confusion with Camberwell (Q) that as readers will know is across the road. During the 1950s the garage was extensively rebuilt after sustaining bomb damage in WWII. There have been periods of closure but reopened in 2004 and operated by Abellio, indeed as their head office since 2009.
Focus on Selected Bus Routes Serving E&C
Operated from Plumstead the 53 is one of two Stagecoach routes that can be seen at E&C. It’s a broadly east-west trunk route that pretty much follows the A2 down the Old Kent Road, through New Cross passing NX, then Blackheath, Vanbrugh Park, Woolwich, Plumstead Common terminating effectively at PD. Any of the 150+ Hybrids based at PD could be allocated to this route.
The 360 is operated from Q with electric SEe and from E&C it’s the only route to serve three stops in Black Prince Road east of Vauxhall. North of the Thames again the 360 uniquely serves roads between Sloane Square, South Ken and the museums in Exhibition Road before terminating in Prince Consort Road south of Royal Albert Hall.
Meanwhile the 453 is the third busiest route to serve E&C (24th overall TfL) and is one of just seven routes left that have a PVR of 30 or more. Northbound, the New Routemasters follow a route that is unashamedly touristy that includes Parliament Square / Trafalgar Square / Piccadilly Circus / Regent Street / Oxford Circus prior to terminating near Marylebone Station.
Upcoming ChangesAs widely discussed on the forum the 168 will be withdrawn on 30th September that will result as things currently stand in Metroline no longer operating a route to serve E&C. As a result, the 1 will be withdrawn between Holborn and Tottenham Court Road Station and re-routed to Hampstead Heath via route 168. Currently operated by EH/MHV/WHV
“The contract for the 40 retained by London Central with 16 new electric double deckers” – I wonder when we will see them in service. Finally the 363 has been gained by Abellio from Go-Ahead and will operate the route from November with
“A mix of 6 new electrics and 7 existing hybrids”.IN CONCLUSIONA tremendous location to view London buses but slightly lacking in facilities such as WC / coffee shops with good views. E&C feels 'authentic', 'lived-in' and just a little rough around the edges and I like that - give me a choice of E&C or Belgravia and I'd choose E&C 95% of the time...last summer I had reason to be at E&C around 8pm on a Saturday evening, it was still light and I was surprised at the volume of people out with friends, or may be on a date visiting E&C to enjoy the local bars and restaurants here.