Transport for London (TfL) will launch the new SL12 Superloop bus route in east London on Saturday September 5, offering free travel for the first seven days of service, according to an announcement from the transport authority.
The route will run between Gants Hill in Ilford and Ferry Lane in Rainham via Romford, providing improved connections to the Underground, Overground and Elizabeth line, TfL said. The SL12 will trace the same path as the existing 66 bus between Gants Hill and Romford for part of its journey, before joining routes 165 and 372 to connect Elm Park and Rainham.
Route details and connections
The SL12 will offer quicker access to the Elizabeth line at Romford, as well as links to the District line at Elm Park and the Central line at Newbury Park, TfL confirmed. It will also connect with Superloop route SL2 at Gants Hill.
The service will operate from 5.30am until 12.30am every day of the week. From Mondays to Saturdays, buses will run every 12 minutes, with a reduced frequency of every 15 minutes on Sundays, according to TfL.
Free travel period and stops
Passengers can ride the new route free of charge from 5.30am on September 5 until 11.59pm on September 11, TfL said. Riders will still need to touch in with a valid Oyster card or contactless payment method, but no fare will be charged for journeys during this period.
The full list of SL12 stops includes Gants Hill Station, Horns Road Eastbound, Ley Street Westbound, Newbury Park Station, Barley Lane, Eastern Avenue, Padnall Road Eastbound, East Road Westbound, Eastern Avenue West, Mawney Road, Western Road, Romford Station, Queen's Hospital Romford, Elm Park Station, Mungo Park Road, Freebourne Gardens, South End Road, Ford Lane, Cherry Tree Lane, Dunedin Road, Rainham Tesco, Rainham Station South Side, and Ferry Lane Industrial Estate.
Expansion of the Superloop network
The SL12 is the latest addition to London's Superloop network, which TfL has been expanding with express limited-stop routes since the SL8 first launched in 2023. The SL11 between North Greenwich and Abbey Wood began running earlier this year, and the SL12 will be the twelfth route in the network.
Existing Superloop routes include the SL1 from North Finchley to Walthamstow Central, the SL2 from Walthamstow Central to North Woolwich, the SL3 from Thamesmead to Bromley, the SL4 from Canary Wharf to Grove Park, the SL5 from Bromley to Croydon, the SL6 from Russell Square to Croydon, the SL7 from Croydon to Heathrow Airport, the SL8 from Uxbridge to White City, the SL9 from Heathrow Airport to Harrow, the SL10 from Harrow to North Finchley, and the BL1 Bakerloop from Waterloo to Lewisham.
The launch of the SL12 will provide residents in Ilford, Romford and Rainham with faster cross-town connections, with free fares available for the first week to encourage uptake of the new service, according to TfL.
