Routeing through Tooting

On this journey, Watton’s Wanderings tries out a newly extended route, samples recently introduced electrics and takes a last ride on disappearing diesels in the Tooting area of South London.

TfL Map showing the extension of Route 315 from Balham to Springfield Hospital, Tooting, with the new and altered stops.

The extension was implemented as proposed with effect from 3 May 2025.

Route 315: West Norwood to Springfield Hospital (& back to Balham)

I journeyed by Southern train to West Norwood, where I alighted and walked the short distance to the northbound stop almost opposite the Bus Garage, first pick up for the 315 towards Balham. This obscure back-streets local hit the headlines by receiving an extension in early May from Balham Station to Springfield University Hospital, where there is considerable new development, some of it still in progress at the time of this visit. In addition, route G1, which passed from Go Ahead to Transport UK on the same date, was restored to serving the hospital via a double run, having been withdrawn from this section during rebuilding works.

Having just missed a departure, I had the best part of 20 mins to await the next one, which when it came was one of the usual Transport UK short single door Enviro200s, fleet no 8123 of Beddington Cross (BC) Garage. Just half a dozen on board as we left West Norwood behind and continued via the narrow back doubles towards Streatham, briefly rejoining the main roads in the St Leonard’s Church area. Then it was off into the smaller streets again for the rest of the trip through to Balham Station. Passengers on and off throughout but we were never into double figures on what was essentially a quiet run.

On then to the new extension, with me as the sole passenger to keep the driver company! Down Balham High Road via the 155 to Tooting Bec, where we swung a right into Trinity Road for a short distance, before turning left into narrow Glenburnie Road leading into Springfield Drive, the older housing giving way to new buildings around the hospital site. After dropping me at the last stop not far from the hospital entrance, the bus continued around the corner to stand. A 45 min run from the start on the extended route.

Slightly confusing as to where to reboard, as the drop off stop was marked “315 Alighting Point Only” and the stand was marked “315 Buses do not pick up passengers here”. Asking the driver, he agreed that it was unclear and kindly let me board at the stand, whilst explaining that he went around the terminal loop again to pick up at the hospital stop which was incorrectly marked as alighting only - a not untypical TfL cock-up! I rode the extension back to Balham, again as solo passenger, getting off when we resumed the existing route after 15 mins. Hopefully, usage will improve when locals get to know the new route is there, as it clearly provides useful new links.

The 315 celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year, having started in 1995, when it was introduced between Balham and West Norwood, replacing sections of the 115 and G1. Initially, it was operated by Londonlinks with long Metroriders, later morphing into Arriva London. The second operator, from 2001, was Connex (who later became Travel London) with Darts. 2006 saw Go Ahead London take over with LDP Darts, later replaced with SEN type Enviro200s. The switch to Abellio (now known as Transport UK) came in 2021 .

Transport UK Enviro200 fleet no 8123 of Beddington Cross (BC) Garage at the new Springfield Hospital stand on the occasion of my ride over the extension.

As can be seen, there is much new development around the hospital site, some of it still on-going.

Part Route 355: Balham to Clapham Park

From Balham, I took a short 10 minute hop aboard Go Ahead London SEe263 of Camberwell (Q) Garage on the 355 through Clapham North to Clapham Park. This route is in process of conversion to electrics and I noted one or two of the outgoing WS class Wright StreetLites mixed in with the SEe types.

Although not the one I rode, Go Ahead London Enviro400 City EV Ee206 of Merton (AL) Garage at Clapham Park demonstrates the new order on the 57.

The route was converted from the previous diesel Enviro400s to electrics in recent months to comply with its contract renewal requirements.

Route 57: Clapham Park to Kingston

My next complete route was the 57, converted some months ago by Go Ahead London to electric operation as part of its tender re-award. Enviro400 City EVs are now the standard fare, my previous ride on the route a few years ago being in the opposite direction aboard an E type Enviro400, now displaced.

First off the Clapham Park stand at Atkins Road was Ee217 of Merton (AL) Garage, which seemed to have a fault, as a warning buzzer was sounding in the driver’s cab for most of the trip. However, it cannot have been anything too serious, as we were able to complete the journey without incident. The interior was in the now familiar layout for new buses of high backed seating, wood effect flooring, USB ports and new style information screens.

Although we were quiet to begin with, when we turned onto the A23 and made our way past Brixton Garage to Streatham Hill and Streatham High Road, we became busier. Well used all the way through Mitcham Lane & Southcroft Road to Tooting Broadway, where one bus load was virtually replaced by another. A bit of a slog down through Colliers Wood and past Merton Abbey, although there was no driver change at the home garage. On via South Wimbledon Station and into Wimbledon Town Centre, where there was another exodus.

As we progressed on to Raynes Park, most of the remaining passengers dispersed and just as we entered the “freehold” section of the 57 through the leafy suburban housing of the Coombe Hill area, we were treated to a 5 min pause by the Controller for early running. After resuming, it was a straight run via Kingston Hospital and down into Norbition, where the usual traffic queue up to the lights at the London Road / Cambridge Road junction caused a slight hiatus. Once beyond this, it was only a couple of minutes run to the terminus at Kingston Fairfield Bus Station. A not bad 1h20m journey time on this long route, inclusive of the 5 min “hesitation”.

The 57 has its origins in a Tram Replacement route between Victoria and Tooting Broadway via Streatham, which started in 1951 with RT operation. The route gradually moved south, being extended to Kingston in 1964 but at the same time cut back at the other end to Stockwell. Two years later, it was truncated further at the northern end to Streatham, although this was soon amended to Brixton Garage. OPO came in 1971 with SMS single deckers replacing RTs, although a top deck returned on conversion to DMS in 1976/7. Metrobuses replaced the Daimler Fleetlines in 1989.

Tendering saw London & Country assume control in 1992 with Dennis Dominators, at which point the route was extended a short distance beyond Brixton Garage to Atkins Road, now known as Clapham Park. After a 5 year stint, Westlink (later London United) took over with Ms again, although within a year or so, VA Olympians replaced them, which in due course were replaced with low floor TA and then VLE types. Go Ahead took over in 2016 with E class Enviro400s, recently ousted by the current Ee electrics.

Merton Garage also operates the 131, which has similarly been retained by Go Ahead on re-tender on the basis of new electrics. Whilst a few Ee types appear, for now the balance of the allocation is made up with diesels and hybrids. WVN39 is one of the former and rests between trips at Kingston Fairfield Bus Station before my trip on it to Tooting.

This is one of the batch of Volvo B9TLs inherited from First which originally operated at Northumberland Park Garage in North London before moving south of the river.

Route 131: Kingston to Tooting Broadway

A lunchtime stroll around Kingston Town Centre brought me to the pedestrianised part of Clarence Street, where there is currently an exhibition of bronze statues by local artists known as “Wild Kingston”, which runs to late 2025, featuring animals including Gorillas, Elephants, Giant Tortoises, Rhinos, Hippos and a Baby Bengal Tiger. Any likeness to fellow bus passengers is entirely coincidental!

Back to Fairfield Bus Station, where my first route of the afternoon was to be the 131, like the 57 retained by Go Ahead London on recent re-tender and similarly operated out of Merton Garage. However, in this case, the intended full electric conversion had yet to take place, with a few Ee types being supported by WVN class diesels and WHV hybrids. A batch of brand new DEL type electric double deckers had commenced delivery and was undergoing type training at time of writing.

I was after one of the diesels and luckily WVN39 was on stand when I arrived back at the Bus Station. After a few minutes, it departed and I boarded with a couple of others. The First Bus heritage of the vehicle was instantly apparent with purple / light blue interior and appropriate moquette, this being one of several which migrated south to Merton from Northumberland Park some years ago after Go Ahead assumed operation of the latter garage. A slower journey, it has to be said, than on my inbound 57, partly due to the driving style and also caused by increasing traffic.

We ambled around Kingston Town Centre, calling at the new Cromwell Road Bus Station, before proceeding out of town and into Cambridge Road through to New Malden. Onwards to Shannon Corner, passing under the flyover, before taking the road beside West Barnes Level Crossing to Raynes Park Station. Here we rejoined the 57 for the rest of the trip, having operated over a different intermediate route between Kingston and Raynes Park. Back to Wimbledon, picking up a good load at the station, then through South Wimbledon to Merton Garage where this time we did swap one driver for another. Sticky traffic over this stretch to Colliers Wood but then a reasonable run back to Tooting Broadway Station. 65 mins end to end on this occasion.

The 131 was a longstanding route between Kingston and Walton-on-Thames, which gradually moved east and north. It began its migration in 1962, when it was extended from Kingston to Wimbledon to replace withdrawn Trolleybus 604, the route being mixed RT/RM at this stage. An unusual and long-lived extension on Sundays saw the route reach Clapham Common to replace the 155 on that day of the week, with some early morning journeys projected through to the Embankment Loop.

At the other end, the route began to retreat, being cut back to West Molesey in 1971 with a new 211 taking over the withdrawn section. By now fully RM operated, 1973 saw conversion to DMS OPO, with replacement by Ms occurring at the end of the decade. The 131 passed to London Country South West on tendering in 1987, using a selection of green double deckers from Leatherhead Garage, but this only lasted until 1990 when Westlink took the route using Titans, an unusual choice given that South West London was generally a Metrobus preserve at the time. 1994 saw the western terminus cut back to Kingston, with a new 411 assuming the West Molesey leg. The mid 90s saw transfer to London United using VA class Olympians.

The noughties ushered in the low floor era to the route with TA types, 2007 seeing the extension from Wimbledon to Tooting Broadway in lieu of the 493. Further type changes in the 2010s brought SP and VH classes to the service, but in 2017 Go Ahead took over using mainly WVNs inherited from First London, although other types have since been added to the mix as explained earlier.

The 337 passes from Go Ahead to Transport UK when the contract changes on 24 May 2025. The outgoing order is remembered by Enviro400 E154 at Richmond Bus Station after completing my ride on the route from Clpaham Junction.

My journey on this bus was a short one after the vehicle I commenced my journey with, E159, was turned short at East Sheen due to late running.

Part Route 77: Tooting Broadway to Clapham Junction

From Tooting Broadway, a 20 min positioning run on a Stockwell Garage inmate, Enviro400 MMC Hybrid EH289, operating on Route 77 via Earlsfield to Clapham Junction. I alighted at The Northcote, the commencement point for my final route of the day.

Route 337: Clapham Junction to Richmond

The 337, operated by Go Ahead London at this time, was due to pass to Transport UK, who had won the contract for the route from later in May. Therefore, a final chance for me to take a ride with the old firm on the existing Enviro400 diesels. E159 of Stockwell (SW) Garage was the next to depart the stand at Clapham Junction Northcote and I boarded alone at the first stop. We picked no-one up in St John’s Road, but on turning left we had a large number waiting for us opposite the station. Unfortunately, this part of South West London becomes very congested on a Friday afternoon and despite it not quite being the peak period, we endured a slow crawl almost all the way to Wandsworth Town Centre.

Once past the junction where the A3 diverged, it was easier going through to Putney, although we called at virtually every stop on this section. Past Dover House Road, we joined another queue over Barnes Common and beyond into Sheen. All this delay prompted an almost inevitable message from the Controller to turn short and we lurched off the main road to terminate at East Sheen, Black Horse, the first time I believe I have ridden a bus onto the stand there. The 337 wasn’t the only one experiencing delays, as a 493 was also on the stand and the 33s seemed to be operating in tandem as I awaited an onward connection.

Frustratingly, this short turn is not much more than 5 mins away from the ultimate destination at Richmond Bus Station and I had a 10 min wait for the next 337, which was sister Enviro E154. This was practically empty on the short trip, my fellow passengers from the previous 337 having continued on the parallel 33. Including the enforced change at East Sheen, it had taken 1h15m to travel the route from one end to the other, compared with the scheduled 1 hour at that time of day and 50 mins off peak journey time. However, at least I had completed what I had set out to do!

It is hard to believe now that the 337 was once part of a much longer route 37, which once ran all the way from Peckham to Hounslow. In 1991, the 37 was split into three, the original number being retained for the Peckham - Putney section, whist the outer end between Richmond - Hounslow became the H37. The middle part between Clapham Junction and Richmond became the 337. Initially operated by London General with Ms, with the odd VC thrown in, the route passed to London United in 1999 also with Ms to begin with although soon converted to low floor double deckers with VA/VP types. Arriva became the third operator in 2004 using DWs at first but then replaced with VLAs. Go Ahead assumed the route in 2011 with the current Es, taking it back to its original garage of Stockwell, although it did operate out of Putney for a short time. Now the route is on the move again, with its transfer to Transport UK imminent.

It was then a short walk through Richmond Town Centre to the station, where I joined the Mildmay Line of the Overground for the trip home.

Watton

And finally…

It may be forgotten that the 131 once operated with green buses! London Country South West had the contract for 3 years from 1987-90 and used a variety of double deckers including ex Greater Manchester Atlanteans like AN378, seen amid demolition work in Wimbledon before leaving for West Molesey.

The 3 front blind box apertures were inherited from its Manchester days. Whilst the route number is legible, the small boxes make the via points and ultimate destination difficult to read!