SL8 Bus on the superloop route
Credit: CascadaTransport, via Flickr (Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic)

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London could soon be adding five shiny new threads to its intricate public transport tapestry. And unsurprisingly, I’m pretty darn excited about it. Since 2023, Transport for London has been well-and-truly levelling up its bus offering, in the form of its family of Superloop bust services. These express routes are whizzing Londoners around the city, and somehow managing to make bus travel cool again as they do so.

There are currently 11 of these swift Superloop services scattered across the capital, each of which connect key outer London transport hubs with minimal stops along the way. They’re pretty darn handy, to be quite honest with you. And so it comes as rather good news that the wheels of five more of them could soon be going round and round, all through the town city.

A Superloop bus stop at sunsetCredit: Claudia8c, Shutterstock The new Superloop services set to land in London soon

There are five new services in the pipeline, set to transform the city’s transport network. Some of these swift services are ready to hit the road in the next few months, whilst others are still waiting for the official green light. The new services in question are:

SL11

The SL11 will run between Greenwich and Abbey Wood, replacing the current 472 route in early 2026. This new bus route will follow the same journey as the existing bus, but – in true Superloop style – will cut out a fair few of the stops along the way.

SL12

The SL12 will also have its wheels set in motion in 2026, and this route will run between Gants Hill and Rainham via the likes of Ilford and Romford. This route is a particularly handy one because it will provide a new and direct link between King George Hospital and Queen’s Hospital.

SL13

The SL13 is a proposed speedy service that would run between Hendon and Ealing Broadway. Prospective stops would include Hendon Central, Brent Cross Shopping Centre, and Hanger Lane Station.

SL14

The SL14 is another Superloop service that’s still in the pipeline, with the public consultation only recently ending. This route would ferry passengers between Stratford Bus Station and Chingford Hatch via Leyton and Blackhorse Road.

SL15

Last (but by no means least) we have the SL15. This prospective new service would link Clapham Junction and Eltham, with a whopping eight inter-rail change options on route.

a shot of the top of shepherd's bush green bus shelter, with a superloop totem attached to the roofCredit: Sheep”R”Us, via Flickr – CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 DEED London’s current Superloop services

There are currently 11 of these speedy Superloop services whizzing Londoners around the city. The rapid routes already rolling through the streets of London are:

  • SL1 (running between North Finchley and Walthamstow Central)
  • SL2 (running between Walthamstow Central and North Woolwich)
  • SL3 (running between Thamesmead and Bromley North)
  • SL4 (running between Grove Park and Canary Wharf)
  • SL5 (running between Bromley North and Croydon Town Centre)
  • SL6 (running between West Croydon and Russel Square)
  • SL7 (running between West Croydon and Heathrow Airport)
  • SL8 (running between Uxbridge and White City)
  • SL9 (running between Heathrow Airport and Harrow)
  • SL10 (running between Harrow and North Finchley)
  • BL1/Bakerloop (running between Elephant and Castle and Lewisham)