The London Line 701 and 702 Flightline 703 | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Overview | |
Operator | Reading Buses (The London Line 701 and 702) Thames Valley Buses (Flightline 703) |
Vehicle | Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City |
Route | |
Start | Reading station (701) Legoland Windsor (702) Bracknell (703) |
Via | Windsor Slough Hammersmith (702) |
End | Legoland Windsor (701) Green Line Coach Station (702) Heathrow Terminal 5 (703) |
Service | |
Operates | Monday – Sunday |
Windsor Express (The London Line 701 and 702 & Flightline 703) are bus routes that run between Reading, Windsor, Bracknell and London. [1]
In 2015, FirstGroup announced plans to withdraw all their services, including route 702, from Bracknell. [2] However, it was subsequently announced that the route would be retained. [3]
In December 2017, Reading Buses took over the 702 route from FirstGroup. For the first day of service on 24 December, passengers could board for free and various heritage vehicles were used on the route. [4] [5] First had previously announced it would withdraw the route as it said it had become unsustainable due to increasing costs of operation. [6] [7]
On 8 May 2018, route 703 was introduced. [8] [9] Buses were branded as the "Royal Express" and painted in a gold and purple livery, coinciding with the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. [10] At the time, the routes were operated using Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMCs. [11]
From 2 November 2020, some early morning and late evening 702 journeys started running via the M4 between Reading and Slough. [12]
In January 2021 route 702 was suspended due to low usage as a result of the COVID-19 lockdown. [13]
On 24 July 2022, route 703 increased its frequency to provide a half-hourly service between Heathrow Airport and Slough, as a result of the airport's partnership. There is also now an improved hourly service between Legoland Windsor and Slough throughout the day.
In February 2023, seven 37.8 ft (11.5 m) 76-seater Alexander Dennis Enviro400 Citys were ordered to upgrade routes 702 and 703. [14] Delivery of these buses in June 2023 coincided with Reading Buses dropping the Green Line brand for both routes, with route 702 becoming The London Line and route 703 becoming the Flightline, both under the new Windsor Express brand. 3 extra vehicles were delivered in February 2024 to complete the Flightline upgrade, coinciding with the Reading Buses' Lion 4/X4 upgrade. [15]
In March 2024, Thames Valley Buses took over the operation of Flightline 703 from Reading Buses. [16]
Route 701 operates via these primary locations: [17]
Buses on route 701 continue beyond Legoland to and from London Victoria as route 702.
Route 702 operates via these primary locations: [17]
Limited early morning and late evening buses continue beyond Legoland to and from Reading as route 701.
Route 703 operates via these primary locations: [16]
Slough is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley 20 miles (32 km) west of central London and 19 miles (31 km) north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021 Census, the population of the town was 143,184. In 2021, the wider Borough of Slough had a population of 158,500. Slough borders the ceremonial counties of Greater London and Buckinghamshire.
Bracknell is a town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the borough of Bracknell Forest. It lies 11 miles (18 km) to the east of Reading, 9 miles (14 km) south of Maidenhead, 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Windsor and 25 miles (40 km) west of central London. Bracknell is the third largest town in Berkshire.
Windsor is a historic town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British monarch. The town is situated 21.8 miles (35.1 km) west of Charing Cross, central London, 5.8 miles (9.3 km) southeast of Maidenhead, and 15.8 miles (25.4 km) east of the modern county town of Reading. It is immediately south of the River Thames, which forms its boundary with its smaller, ancient twin town of Eton. The village of Old Windsor, just over 2 miles (3 km) to the south, predates what is now called Windsor by around 300 years. In the past, Windsor was formally referred to as New Windsor to distinguish the two.
Reading Transport Limited, trading as Reading Buses, is an English municipal bus operator owned by Reading Borough Council, serving the towns of Reading, Bracknell, Newbury, Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead, Wokingham and the surrounding areas in the counties of Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Surrey and Hampshire, as well as parts of Greater London.
Heathrow Terminal 5 is a shared railway and London Underground station serving Heathrow Terminal 5. It serves as a terminus for Heathrow Express services to Paddington, and for Elizabeth line and London Underground Piccadilly line services to central London. It is managed and staffed by Heathrow Express.
Feltham railway station serves Feltham in the London Borough of Hounslow, west London. It was opened on 22 August 1848 by the Windsor, Staines and South Western Railway.
RailAir describes a number of airport bus and coach services designed to connect the National Rail network to airports in the United Kingdom. Services are currently concentrated on Heathrow Airport, with one other from Luton Airport. RailAir services are operated as public transport services by or on behalf of train operators, where the whole journey is paid for as a through ticket which combines the railway and bus journey, although journeys can be made using the bus only. As such, many are operated where the train and bus operator are owned by the same company.
Staines railway station is on the Waterloo to Reading line and is the junction station for the diverging Windsor line, in southern England to the west of London. It is 19 miles 2 chains (30.6 km) down the line from London Waterloo. It serves the town of Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England.
Green Line is a long standing commuter coach brand in the Home counties of England. The trademark is owned by Arriva, with services operated by Arriva Herts & Essex.
First Beeline Buses Limited, trading as First Beeline, is a bus operator providing services in and around Slough. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
Carousel Buses Limited, trading as Carousel Buses, is a bus company based in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. Originally an independent company, it is a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group. It is grouped together with Oxford Bus Company and Thames Travel, both of Oxfordshire, and with Pulham's Coaches of Gloucestershire, with the fleets of each operator regularly interchanged.
Thames Valley Buses Limited, trading as Thames Valley Buses, is a bus company based in Bracknell, England. It was known as Courtney Buses until 2021. Founded in 1973, the company operates a network of commercial and contracted local bus services and school buses in Berkshire, north Hampshire and small parts of Oxfordshire, Surrey and Buckinghamshire. In March 2019 it was purchased by Reading Buses, with the company having gradually rebranded to its current name between October 2019 and April 2021.
Green Line Coach Station is a coach station in London, England, situated in Bulleid Way, Victoria.
Reading's location in the Thames Valley at the confluence of the River Thames and River Kennet, and on both the Great Western Main Line and the M4 motorway, some 40 miles (64 km) west of London has made the town an important location in the nation's transport system.
The Western Rail Approach to Heathrow is a proposed bi-directional link westward from London's Heathrow Airport to the Great Western Main Line. It would thus run, in council areas, from Greater London under Iver, South Bucks, Buckinghamshire to Langley, Slough. Beginning at Heathrow Terminal 5 station, it would run via a tunnel to a junction east of Langley station, therefore allowing trains to run to and from destinations in the west: Slough, Reading and beyond. When completed, it would improve rail connections to Heathrow from the Thames Valley as well as from South West England, South Wales and The Midlands. It would also reduce congestion at London Paddington station by removing the need, which presently exists, for passengers from Heathrow who are bound for those regions, to travel to Hayes and Harlington and then change at Reading or to make their interchange at Paddington, central London. Paddington would remain an interchange for services to/from Euston, Saint Pancras and London generally and a little of the Great Western Main Line would gain rail capacity as many services would take the resultant side loop via Heathrow.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2014, replacing the Alexander Dennis Enviro400. The Enviro400 MMC is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom.
C.E. Jeatt & Sons Limited, trading as White Bus Services, is a bus operator based in Berkshire and runs bus and coach hire services within Windsor and Ascot. It is part of the Rowgate Group.
Over the years, a number of transport proposals have been made to improve public access to Heathrow Airport, near London in the United Kingdom.
The Alexander Dennis Enviro400 City is a low-floor double-decker bus produced by the British bus manufacturer Alexander Dennis since 2015, as an alternative to the standard Alexander Dennis Enviro400 MMC bodywork. The Enviro400 City is produced at Alexander Dennis' Falkirk and Scarborough factories in the United Kingdom. It is available as a complete integral diesel or hybrid bus, as well as the Enviro400EV complete integral battery electric bus or Scania N280UD compressed natural gas-powered chassis.