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 Alexander Dennis Enviro200 at High Wycombe Eden bus station in November 2013 | |
| Parent | FirstGroup |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 1986 |
| Headquarters | Fareham [1] |
| Locale | Slough |
| Service type | Bus services |
| Routes | 9 (June 2024) [2] |
| Destinations | Slough Heathrow Airport Winsdor |
| Depots | 2 |
| Fleet | 53 (June 2024) |
| Website | www.firstbus.co.uk/berkshire-thames-valley/ |
First Beeline Buses Limited, [3] trading as First Beeline, is a bus operator providing services in and around Slough. It is a subsidiary of FirstGroup.
In January 1986 Alder Valley North Limited, later renamed, The Berks Bucks Bus Company [4] took over the Bracknell, High Wycombe, Maidenhead, Newbury, Reading and Wokingham operations of Alder Valley as part of the preparation for privatisation of the National Bus Company, trading as "Beeline" once the name was changed in October 1986. In late 1987 The Berks Bucks Bus Company was sold to Q Drive. [5]
In 1990 the High Wycombe operations were sold to the Oxford Bus Company, and in 1992 the Reading and Newbury operations were sold to Reading Buses. In 1993 Beeline purchased the Slough operations of Luton & District Transport, until 1986 the Slough depot of London Country Bus Services and later part of the London Country North West division. [5]
In March 1996 Beeline was sold to CentreWest who in turn was sold to FirstGroup in March 1997. Initially trading as First Beeline, in 2001 it was rebranded as First Berkshire & The Thames Valley.
Following the loss of nine Bracknell Forest Council supported services to Courtney Buses on 13 July 2015 and the sale of route 90 Bracknell to Reading to Reading Buses on 26 July 2015, the Bracknell garage closed on 28 August 2015. [6] [7] [8]
In April 2023, the company was rebranded to First Beeline. [9]
First Beeline currently operates bus services in and around Slough and to surrounding areas including Heathrow Airport, Maidenhead and High Wycombe. [10] The company also operates the RailAir coach services connecting Heathrow Airport with surrounding major National Rail stations. [11]
The company were the primary operator of services in and around Maidenhead until 2004 when most local services were withdrawn. These services are now operated by Thames Valley Buses. [12]
The company also formerly operated the Green Line branded routes 702 and 703 between London, Heathrow Airport, Slough, Windsor, Legoland and Bracknell. Operation of these services transferred to Reading Buses in December 2017. [13]
First Beeline currently operate the following bus services: [10]
| Route | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Slough | Uxbridge |
| 6 | Wexham | Maidenhead |
| 7 | Britwell | Heathrow Terminal 5 [lower-alpha 1] |
| 8 | Slough | Heathrow Terminal 5 |
| 12/13 | Slough | Burnham |
| A4 | Cippenham | Heathrow Central |
| X74 | Slough | High Wycombe |
First Beeline currently operate the following RailAir branded coach services: [11]
| Route | Start | End |
|---|---|---|
| RA1 [14] | Reading | Heathrow Terminal 3 |
| RA2 [15] | Guildford | Heathrow Terminal 3 |
| RA3 [16] | Watford | Heathrow Terminal 3 |
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.
The Royal County of Berkshire, commonly known as simply Berkshire, is a ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London to the east, Surrey to the south-east, Hampshire to the south, and Wiltshire to the west. Reading is the largest settlement and the county town.
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.
Poyle is a largely industrial and agricultural area in the unitary authority of Slough, in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, England. It is located 18.5 miles (30 km) west of Charing Cross in London and immediately west of the M25 motorway, near Heathrow Airport; it also adjoins the Colne Valley regional park.
First Great Western Link (FGWL) was a train operating company in England owned by FirstGroup that operated the Thames franchise from April 2004 until March 2006.
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.
Langley railway station is in Langley, a suburb of Slough, Berkshire, England. It is 16 miles 18 chains (26.1 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Iver to the east and Slough to the west. The station is served by local services operated by the Elizabeth line.
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.
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.
Heathrow Airtrack was a proposed railway link in the United Kingdom which would link Heathrow Airport in west London to London Waterloo railway station in Central London.
Alder Valley was a bus operator in South East England.
Thames Valley Traction Company Limited was a major bus company operating services to and from Reading, Bracknell, Maidenhead, Newbury, High Wycombe and Oxford and surrounding areas for 52 years in the 20th century. For many years it ran the "Reading A" and "Reading B" limited-stop services between London's Victoria Coach Station and Reading via two differing sets of intermediate stops.
The Oxford to London coach route is an express coach route between Oxford and London along the M40 motorway. Operated by Stagecoach West under the brand name Oxford Tube, there are up to five coaches an hour via Lewknor, High Wycombe Coachway, Hillingdon, Shepherd's Bush and Baker Street terminating on Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria.
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.
Heathrow Central bus station is a large bus station that serves terminals 2 and 3 of Heathrow Airport, in London, England. It provides urban bus and long-distance coach services to destinations in London and to regional destinations across Britain. It is the UK's busiest bus and coach station with over 1,600 services each day to over 1,000 destinations. An estimated 13% of air passengers using Heathrow Airport use bus and coach services from Heathrow Central bus station.
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.
Windsor Express are bus routes that run between Reading, Windsor, Bracknell and London.
Bus operators in South East England | ||
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| Buckinghamshire | ||
| East Sussex | ||
| Hampshire | ||
| Isle of Wight | ||
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| Oxfordshire | ||
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| West Sussex | ||
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