London Buses route X26
| X26 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Overview | |
| Operator | Quality Line |
| Garage | Epsom (EB) |
| Vehicle | Mercedes-Benz O530 12.0m |
| Peak vehicle requirement | 9 |
| Night-time | No night service |
| Route | |
| Start | Heathrow Airport Central bus station |
| Via |
Teddington Kingston New Malden Worcester Park Sutton East Croydon |
| End | West Croydon station |
| Length | 23.75 miles (38.22 km) |
| Service | |
| Level | Daily |
| Frequency | 30 minutes |
| Journey time | 80–130 minutes |
| Operates | 04:00 until 00:00 |
London Buses route X26 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Heathrow Airport and West Croydon bus stations, it is operated by Quality Line. It is the longest London Buses route.
Route X26 has its origins in Green Line Coach route 725, which started in the 1950s and ran from Gravesend and Dartford through Bromley, Croydon, Sutton and Kingston to Staines and Windsor. In the late 1970s route 726 was introduced as a variant, from Gravesend to Windsor via Heathrow Airport and Slough instead of Staines.
By the 1980s, the sections of route between Heathrow and Windsor and between Gravesend and Dartford had been withdrawn. At that time the Green Line network was operated by London Country Bus Services, but when that company was broken up in 1986 route 726, which ran almost entirely within Greater London, came under the control of London Country North West (SL),& Kentish Bus & Coach (NF).In 1991,London Country North West planned to withdraw the route,but LT stepped in & took the route over.LCNW won the route on a short term 1-year contract.On the 29th of February 1992, London Coaches, a subsidiary of London Buses privatised in 1992, operated the route using dual-purpose DAF SB220 vehicles.
The contract changed from London Coaches to Capital Logistics in the late 1990s, and passenger numbers continued to decline. In 1997 London Transport attempted to withdraw the service, but at the end of year it was given an 18-month reprieve after over 1,600 letters had been received in its support.
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