Transport for London (TfL) will be bringing a brand new Superloop service into operation from Saturday 5 September. The new express bus service, the SL12, will create quick, new direct journey links between key destinations in north-east and east London, operating with brand new electric, zero emission buses featuring improved real time customer information, air conditioning and device charging points at seats. The new service will also provide:
- Quicker access to Romford for shops, jobs, leisure and the Elizabeth line
- Convenient links to the District line at Elm Park and Central line at Newbury Park
- Access to the Central line and connections with Superloop route SL2 at Gants Hill
- New direct bus connections to both King George Hospital and Queen’s Hospital
- A bus route for the first time into the Ferry Lane Industrial Estate supporting employers and employees in this area
The SL12 builds on the success of the game-changing Superloop network, which has had more than 81 million trips made on Superloop routes since its introduction. With the inclusion of SL12, the Superloop bus network has added 9.6 million bus kilometres per year to the capital’s network. Figures from December 2025 show that since the first Superloop was launched in July 2023, the average increase in passengers on all Superloop corridors (including parallel routes) is 12 per cent higher than the network average.
The SL12 will operate between about 05:30 and 00:30 on all days of the week. Buses will operate every 12 minutes during the day on Mondays to Saturdays and every 15 minutes every evening and all day on Sundays.
To accommodate the new route and to enable easier interchanges, there will be a small number of changes to where routes 86, 498 and Night Bus N86 stop in Romford town centre. TfL’s journey planning tools have been updated to help customers plan their journeys in advance, including with the exact stops that will be served and any stops that will change for other routes.
TfL will also be increasing the frequency of Superloop route SL9 (Heathrow to Harrow) at all times. New electric buses have been introduced on route SL2 (Walthamstow to North Woolwich), are being rolled out on route SL7 (Heathrow to West Croydon) and are planned for later this year on route SL11 (Abbey Wood to North Greenwich). Further new Superloop routes are planned with routes SL14 (Stratford to Chingford Hatch) and route SL15 (Clapham Junction to Eltham) planned to start operating during 2027. Consultation feedback for route SL13 (Ealing Broadway to Hendon) is currently being considered, with the outcome being published in due course.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “Our Superloop network has been a gamechanger for bus travel in outer London, offering quicker, more convenient journeys around the capital. I’m delighted that our latest Superloop express route, SL12, will now be connecting communities in Gants Hill and Rainham and providing faster links between town centres, railway stations and hospitals.
“TfL will be offering a week of free travel on the new Superloop service from 5 September, giving Londoners the chance to try the SL12 for themselves and transform their everyday journeys.
“The success of the Superloop is one of my proudest achievements as Mayor, and I’ll continue to explore how we can keep improving London’s bus network and build a better, fairer London for everyone.”
Lorna Murphy, TfL’s Director of Buses, said: “We’re thrilled to be able to deliver yet another Superloop express bus service for Londoners, with services on the game-changing network now expanding into Havering for the first time. The SL12 will boost travel and journey times in northeast and east London, taking people across the area to local shops and amenities and onwards to fast and convenient Elizabeth line and Tube connections at Romford, Newbury Park, Elm Park and Gants Hill. We’re also excited to be able to offer customers free journeys on the SL12 for the first week and I’d encourage everyone in the area to try out this new, sustainable, accessible transport link.”
Ilker Dervish, Chairman, London Riverside BID, said: “The London Riverside BID has been lobbying for many years for improved transport into Rainham’s employment zone, which accommodates over 600 businesses and thousands of jobs. On behalf of the businesses in Ferry Lane, we welcome the introduction of the new route. It will greatly help to connect local residence to jobs, and we look forward to continuing to work with TfL to bring yet more transport solutions to all of the BID.”
Margaret Mullane, MP for Dagenham and Rainham, said: “This is good news for constituents across the Havering part of my constituency. Finally providing a much-needed link for people to get to work at Ferry Lane, improving access to both King George’s Hospital and Queen’s for residents across the piece, and filling the transport gap whilst we wait for Beam Park station to be delivered. It’s also great to see that the new route will be free for the first week. Delivering infrastructure alongside new homes is key to ensuring new and existing communities can thrive. I look forward to trying the SL12 myself in the coming weeks!”
