Riding The 34 Bus Between Arnos Grove Station And Walthamstow Bus Station
To continue on the route of the Superloop, I needed to get to North Walthamstow bus station, so I took a 34 bus from Arnos Grove station to Walthamstow bus station. I took these pictures.
Note.
- The route was along the North Circular Road and then into Walthamstow from the Crooked Billet roundabout.
- The North Circular Road was grade separated but quite congested.
- The North Circular Road has a 40 mph speed limit.
- There was only one station on the route; Silver Street, by the North Middlesex Hospital.
- Walthamstow bus interchange is by Walthamstow Central station and has reasonable amounts of space.
The journey took about 67 minutes.
I have two thoughts.
The Route Of The Bus 34 Could Be Part Of The Superloop
I feel my journey today, proved that this would be part of a feasible Superloop leg between North Finchley and Walthamstow Central bus stations.
This Google Map shows the route between North Finchley bus station and Arnos Grove Underground station.
Note.
- North Finchley bus station is shown by the red arrow!
- Arnos Grove Underground station is shown by an Underground roundel in the North-East corner of the map.
- The light yellow road at the East side of the map is the North Circular Road.
There would appear to be a road connecting North Finchley bus station and Arnos Grove Underground station, that runs across the top of the map.
The road passes to the North of New Southgate station, which could be one of the Northern termini of Crossrail 2.
Edmonton
This Google Map shows the North Middlesex University Hospital.
Note.
- The North Circular Road running across the map.
- The North Middlesex University Hospital in the South-West corner of the map.
- The London Overground and Silver Street station in the East of the map.
- There are several bus stops in the area.
This area could be turned into a comprehensive and very useful transport interchange.
Conclusion
The Superloop leg between North Finchley and Walthamstow Central bus stations has possibilities.
Riding The 112 Bus Between Brent Cross And North Finchley Bus Station
To continue on the route of the Superloop, I needed to get to North Finchley bus station, so I took a 112 bus from Brent Cross to North Finchley. I took these pictures.
Note.
- The bus was only a single-decker.
- The route was along the North Circular Road and then North on the A1000.
- The North Circular Road was grade separated but quite congested.
- The North Circular Road has a 40 mph speed limit.
- Strangely, we didn’t pass a train, Underground or Overground station.
- Both Brent Cross and North Finchley bus interchanges have reasonable amounts of space.
The journey took about 20 minutes.
I have one thought.
Creating A Route Between Harrow And North Finchley Bus Stations
This would not appear to be difficult.
- Between Harrow bus station and Brent Cross, the route would be a simplified version of the 182 route, that I wrote about in Riding The 182 Bus Between Harrow Bus Station And Brent Cross. A more direct route would be taken between Wembley stadium and Brent Cross.
- The bus would just pop in to the large bus interchange at Brent Cross and then go straight back onto the North Circular Road.
- The North Circular Road is two lanes both way.
- The A1000 from the North Circular Road to North Finchley didn’t seem too crowded.
I suspect little work will need to be done to allow Superloop to run successfully between Harrow And North Finchley bus stations.
Superloop – Will It Be The North Circular Road Most Of The Way Between Harrow And Royal Docks?
This draft map from TfL illustrates the concept of Superloop.
In this post I am considering the section of the the North Circular Road (A406) between the Hangar Lane Gyratory System, where it crosses the A40 in the West and the roundabout , where it crosses the A13 at Beckton in the East.
- This section is a grade-separated dual-carriageway all of the way between Hangar Lane and Beckton.
- Hendon, North Finchley, Arnos Grove, Edmonton, Walthamstow, Ilford and Royal Docks are not far from the A406.
- Several bus routes already run on the A406.
The large Brent Cross Shopping Centre is also just outside the A406 and a new Brent Cross West station will be opening soon.
I’ll now look at the three Northern and North-Eastern sections.
Harrow And North Finchley
This section is shown in orange.
- It calls at Northwick Park hospital and Hendon. both have rail connections.
- Brent Cross Shopping Centre could be on the route, if the A406 is used.
- London Bus 182 runs between Harrow bus station and Brent Cross Shopping Centre via Northwick Park hospital.
Could the 182 bus be extended to North Finchley, where there is a new bus station?
This Google Map shows the stations around the Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
Note.
- The railway running between the North-West corner of the map and the bottom of the map is the Midland Main Line.
- The road running between the North-East corner of the map and the left of the map is the North Circular Road.
- The road running down the right hand side of the railway is the M1, which joins the A406 in the large junction.
- The other major road to the right of the map, is the Hendon Way.
- The station in the North-West corner of the map is Hendon.
- The station being built in the bottom of the map on the Midland Main Line, is the new Brent Cross West station.
- The station in the North-East corner of the map is Brent Cross on the Northern Line.
I am certain that a Superloop bus could run from Harrow bus station and Northwick Park hospital, and visit the required number of the stations around the Shopping Centre, before trundling on to the new North Finchley bus station for some refreshment before returning to Harrow.
I feel that the Superloop bus could use the North Circular Road from the shopping centre and then turn North on to Finchley High Road (A 1000).
North Finchley And Walthamstow
This section is shown in red.
- It calls at Arnos Grove and Edmonton.
- London Bus 34 runs between Walthamstow bus station and Barnet. It runs for some of the way along the North Circular Road and passes Arnos Grove, Silver Street and the North Middlesex Hospital.
I am certain, that a Superloop bus could run between Walthamstow bus station and North Finchley, using a similar route to the 34.
Walthamstow And Royal Docks
This section is shown in lime.
- It calls at Ilford for the Elizabeth Line.
I am certain, that a Superloop bus could run between Walthamstow bus station and Royal Docks, using a the A406 and the A13.
Conclusion
After this simple analysis, it looks possible to use the use the North Circular Road between Harrow and Royal Docks.
The Anonymous Widower 