| 120 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Overview | |
| Operator | Metroline |
| Garage | Lampton |
| Route | |
| Start | Northolt tube station |
| Via | Yeading Southall Norwood Green Lampton |
| End | Hounslow bus station |
London Buses route 120 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Northolt station and Hounslow bus station, it is operated by Metroline.
In 1994, it became the first bus route in the United Kingdom to solely use low floor, accessible buses. [1] [2]
Route 120 commenced operating on 27 January 1926. The route initially ran from the Victory, The Green, Southall to the Hussar, Staines Road, Hounslow Heath, via King Street, Norwood Road, Heston Road, Lampton Road, Staines Road, Tivoli Road and Gloucester Road to a stand in Barrack Road, returning directly to Staines Road. On Saturday afternoons and evenings and all day on Sundays it was extended from Hounslow Heath to the Red Lion, Feltham via Staines Road, Hounslow Road, and High Street, Feltham. It was operated by two single-deck K-type buses (three on Saturday pm) based at Hounslow garage. The practice until 1934 was to use suffixes to the route number for different termini: Southall to Feltham was 120, Southall to Hounslow Heath was 120A. [3]
On 12 October 1938, route 120 was reinstated between Southall and Hounslow Heath on Monday to Saturday. Route 105 continued to provide the Sunday service to Hounslow Heath until 15 October 1939, after which it was replaced by route 120, running between Cambridge Road, Southall and Hounslow Heath. The evening service between Southall and Hayes was withdrawn on 6 December 1939, but was reinstated on 15 May 1940. On 29 June 1941 the route was extended to Hayes on Sundays, but withdrawn again over this section on 1 November 1942. [3]
On Saturday mornings the service was like midday Mon-Friday until around noon when it was increased to every five minutes to and from Hounslow Heath, every 30 minutes to Hayes, and every ten minutes to Greenford. On Saturday afternoons 18 buses (8 on 120 and 10 on 120A) provided 16 buses an hour between Hounslow Heath and Southall, with alternate journeys projected to Greenford and two an hour going to Hayes. On Sunday mornings buses ran every ten minutes between Hounslow Heath and Southall, with alternate journeys going on to Greenford. In the afternoon there was a 5-minute service from Hounslow Heath, and a 15-minute one to Greenford. In the evening there was a 6-minute headway on the trunk section, and 4 buses an hour to Greenford, at alternately 12 and 18 minute headways. The Sunday allocation was 12 buses, all on 120A. The running time between Hounslow Heath and Southall was 23 minutes, between Southall and Hayes it was 16 minutes, and between Southall and Greenford it was 9 minutes. [4]
On 12 October 1955, new route 232 (Hounslow Garage to Greenford, via what had been part of route 111 to Vicarage Farm Road, then Hyde Lane, and Thorncliffe Road and then the route 120A road) took over most of route 120A's service between Southall Town Hall and Greenford. Buses on route 232 were evenly spaced between route 120 journeys, except in Mon-Friday peaks, when route 232 ran every 12 minutes. Route 120A was withdrawn on Mon-Friday and Sunday, but continued on Saturday, running between Hounslow Heath and Southall Town Hall and on to Greenford during the afternoon. Route 120 was reinstated on Sundays, running between Hounslow Heath and Southall. On 16 October 1957 the 120A was withdrawn on Saturdays. [3]
On 3 March 1975, the permanent closure of Gloucester Road at Hounslow Heath forced a diversion via Martindale Road and Corporation Avenue to Barrack Road. [3]
The weekday service was extended on 14 August 1976 from Greenford station, via Oldfield Lane to the Lyons Maid Bridge Park factory. On 1 July 1979 the Sunday afternoon service was extended to Greenford Broadway. The Monday-Friday off-peak service was withdrawn between Greenford Red Lion and Bridge Park in September 1982, and three months later the Monday-Friday peak hour and Saturday daytime service was also cut back to Greenford Station. [3]
On 28 November 1987, the route was extended at the Hounslow Heath end Monday to Saturday daytime, replacing the Beavers Farm Estate route 257. From Martindale Road buses ran in a loop via Beavers Lane, Salisbury Road, Green Lane and Staines Road, whence they continued via Hounslow High Street to Hounslow Bus Station. On the section of Staines Road between the Bell and Martindale Road buses ran both eastbound and westbound to both Southall or Greenford, and to Hounslow Bus Station. Moreover, alternate journeys ran direct between Lampton Road and the Bus Station, missing out Staimes Road and the Beavers Farm Estate loop. Buses serving the loop used black on yellow blinds. [3]
On 28 April 1990, the route was withdrawn from Staines Road and the Beavers Farm Estate, cutting the link between Hounslow Heath and Southall which had existed since 1926. The service now ran from Lampton Road via High Street directly to the Bus Station. On 24 March 1993 the route was extended from Southall to Northolt station via Lady Margaret Road, Ruislip Road, Church Road and Mandeville Road to replace the cut-back route 232. [3]
The 120 was one of the five routes in London to use the first fully accessible low floor single deckers in 1994: it gained 10 Wright Pathfinder bodied Dennis Lance SLFs. [5] These entered service on the route on 29 January 1994, making the route the first in Britain to be run entirely with low-floor vehicles; comparable vehicles previously delivered to Merseyside PTE and Tayside Buses had been used alongside step-entrance vehicles. [1]
Upon being re-tendered, the route was retained by London United with a new contract commencing in June 2005 [6] London United successfully tendered to retain the route with a new contract commencing on 23 June 2012 with existing Scania OmniCitys and new Alexander Dennis Enviro400s. [7]
Route 120 operates via these primary locations: [8]
Hounslow is a large suburban district of West London, England, 10+3⁄4 miles west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan centres in Greater London.
The London Borough of Hounslow is a London borough in west London, England, forming part of Outer London. It was created in 1965 when three smaller borough councils amalgamated under the London Government Act 1963. It is governed by Hounslow London Borough Council.
Feltham is a town in West London, England, 13 miles (21 km) from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party MPs since 1992. In 2011, the population of the combined census area of Feltham, Bedfont and Hanworth was 63,368.
The London Borough of Ealing is a London borough in London, England. It comprises the districts of Acton, Ealing, Greenford, Hanwell, Northolt, Perivale and Southall. With a population of 367,100 inhabitants, it is the third most populous London borough.
Heston is a suburban area and part of the Hounslow district in the London Borough of Hounslow. The residential settlement covers a slightly smaller area than its predecessor farming village, 10.8 miles (17.4 km) west south-west of Charing Cross and adjoins the M4 motorway but has no junction with it; Heston also adjoins the Great West Road, a dual carriageway, mostly west of the "Golden Mile" headquarters section of it. Heston was, historically, in Middlesex.
West Ealing railway station is on the Great Western Main Line in Ealing, situated in west London. It is 6 miles 46 chains (10.6 km) down the line from London Paddington and is situated between Ealing Broadway to the east and Hanwell to the west. Its three-letter station code is WEA.
Hounslow Central is a London Underground station in Hounslow in West London. The station is on the Heathrow branch of the Piccadilly line, between Hounslow West and Hounslow East stations. The station is located on Lampton Road (A3005) about 500m north of Hounslow High Street and close to Lampton Park. It is in Travelcard Zone 4. The station has an island platform reached by stairs. The station also has male and female toilets inside the ticket gateline.
Greenford is a London Underground and National Rail station in Greenford, Greater London, and is owned and managed by London Underground. It is the terminus of the National Rail Greenford branch line, 2 miles 40 chains down the line from West Ealing and 9 miles 6 chains measured from London Paddington. On the Central line, it is between Perivale and Northolt stations while on National Rail, the next station to the south on the branch is South Greenford.
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.
The Hounslow Loop Line is a railway line in southwest London which was opened by the London and South Western Railway in 1850. It leaves the Waterloo to Reading Line at Barnes Junction and after some seven and a half miles rejoins it at a triangular junction between Whitton and Feltham. Barnes Railway Bridge carries the line over the River Thames. Passenger services, all operated by South Western Railway, either loop back to Waterloo by the junctions or continue southwest via Feltham. The line is electrified at 750 V DC. It provides access to the North London Line for freight services both passing through Clapham Junction to the north east and connecting to the rail network to the south west.
The Waterloo–Reading line is a National Rail electric railway line between London Waterloo and Reading. The line runs west through a series of South West London suburbs to Reading, in central Berkshire. Its passenger operation is by South Western Railway (SWR), which also manage its stations.
Hatton including Hatton Cross is a small settlement and locality in the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Hounslow, on the south-eastern edge of London Heathrow Airport and straddling the A30 road. Prior to 1965 it was in the county of Middlesex.
Norwood Green is a place in the London Borough of Ealing in London, England, that forms the southern part of Southall. It is a suburban development centred 10.7 miles (17.2 km) west of Charing Cross and 4 miles (6.4 km) ENE of Heathrow Airport.
Elthorne was a hundred of the historic county of Middlesex, England.
London Buses route 18 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Sudbury & Harrow Road station and Euston bus station, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.
London United Tramways Company Limited was an operator of trams and trolleybuses in the western and southern suburbs of London, UK, from 1894 to 1933, when it passed to the London Passenger Transport Board.
The A312 is an A road in England, running across west London from Hampton to Harrow. Its status varies from a local urban street to a major dual carriageway in Hayes. Part the road has been diverted to make way for Heathrow Airport, while another stretch was originally planned to be Ringway 3, one of four major ring motorways around London.
London Buses route 81 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Berkshire, England. Running between Slough and Hounslow bus station, it is operated by Metroline.
London Buses route 111 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Heathrow Central bus station and Kingston upon Thames, it is operated by Transport UK London Bus.
London Buses route 117 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London and Surrey, England. Running between West Middlesex University Hospital and Staines-upon-Thames, it is operated by RATP Dev Transit London.
Media related to London Buses route 120 at Wikimedia Commons
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