diamond geezer

 Sunday, February 19, 2017

 Route EL3: Little Heath - Barking Reach
 outer London east; 7 miles, 40 minutes


Welcome aboard London's newest bus. The EL3 is one day old, replacing the 387 which until yesterday ran along (almost) exactly the same route. The change brings together all the buses serving Barking Riverside under the East London Transit brand, joining the longer established EL1 and EL2. And all three routes are to get brand new vehicles, previously unfamiliar in these parts, kicking off with overnight replacement on the EL3.



Regular passengers were surprised to see gleaming New Routemasters waiting outside Little Heath Food and Wine in place of the bog-standard double deckers they remember. "Are we sure this is the right one?" asks one, who hasn't read the freshly-posted notice at the bus stop. "Wow Mum, that door opens as well!" cries another, rather younger. "Nice bus, do you like it?" asks the beaming driver as I board. I hedge my response somewhat, but am relieved to see route EL3's been gifted the updated model with the opening windows, part of the last batch bought by Boris. Upstairs smells a bit of newness, and the windows are already a bit grimy because that never takes long, and off we whirr.

Don't worry, I'll not regurgitate the full details of the southbound journey because we covered that yesterday. Take it as read that the EL3 went round the hospital, down Barley Lane past all the houses, through Goodmayes, down to Longbridge Road past lots more houses, past the bus garage, along the bus lane past yet more houses, and onwards to the centre of Barking.

The EL3's groupies are waiting outside the station with their cameras. They often come out on the first morning, the Men Who Like Buses, to grab their own mugshots of London's very latest vehicles. Today not only do they have a new route to celebrate but this is the first time New Routemasters have been seen as far east as Barking and Dagenham, plus there are all these new numberplates to record in their notebook. The largest group of MWLB is hanging around by the bus shelter, while one man has crossed the street to get a more oblique profile. Although a couple of their lenses are quite big, they're nothing compared to the monster I saw being wielded by two gentlemen earlier in the journey with a massive furry microphone attached, which seemed somewhat over the top.

Now that the 387's route has the EL3 label, it's allowed through the centre of Barking Town centre and no longer has to negotiate its way round slower peripheral streets. I don't think most regular users had noticed this yet so they all got out at the station rather than the next stop which is more convenient for the shops. Here the next batch of passengers awaits, the EL3 being essentially two half-routes bolted together, as are its partners EL1 and EL2. I'm struck by how much quicker the journey from the station to Lidl is than previously, although on the downside residents of Barking Riverside no longer have a direct route to the leisure centre, the theatre or Asda, only three buses to the shops.



And then there's a whole chunk more route that we covered yesterday, down Ripple Road and Movers Lane, across the A13, and straight ahead into the industrial backwaters of Creekmouth.

I didn't spot it on my 387 journey, because I was too excited to have spotted 'The Men Who Change The Bus Tiles Over', but a new-ish bus depot has been stashed away amid the metalworks and cash and carries. This is the River Road garage, opened in May last year, and is home to all of the EL-branded double deckers. So far only the EL3 has New Routemasters, while the EL1 and EL2 retain their original vehicles, but eventually they'll all be swapped over, using up another 46 of Boris's belated bequest. As yet all of the new buses are red, but it's expected they'll eventually get the East London Transit's trademark dusky autumn shades.

The grimmest part of the EL3's existing route is along Long Reach Road, which is currently a dead end so the bus turns off before the end. But this used to be the boundary of Barking Power Station, and is now the edge of a burgeoning housing estate, so contractors have been busy laying a cut-through. Already complete and labelled Bus Only, it passes along the side of some fairly lacklustre new flats, but is currently barriered off. Come autumn this gateway should be open for the exclusive use of the EL3, as the route is permanently diverted to serve the west and south of the new estate. They've even painted two bus stops on the other side, at the foot of Crossness Road, just before the road ends at another temporary fence and disappears into a pile of earth.



A bridge of sorts is being built across drains that cross the mud that used to be a power station. This'll eventually border a landscaped pool and several more new homes, but for now is the one missing link between here and a broad somewhat austere boulevard already rising on the other side. Bellway have a well-hidden showhome open, and hundreds of flats to flog, while workmen yell at one another and lower slabs into place outside. The development's publicity rather oversells the site's accessibility, and hints that owning a car might be a better option than taking the bus, but there aren't many other places in London where a newbuild 2 bedroom apartment is available for under £290,000.



The EL3 is due to pass along the southern edge of the community's centre, now complete with church, school, clocktower and three whole shops. One's a pharmacy, one occasionally sells coffee, and the third is a small supermarket with a big notice on the door warning 'No Hoodies!' It may not be much of a parade, but it's infinitely better than the zero shops Barking Riverside had until last year, and I suspect that residents remain over-reliant on online grocery services. Again the EL3's exclusive bus lane is already ready but out of bounds, leading to a bus-only junction and a short link out of the estate.

And out of the estate means River Road, where the 387 used to venture twice a day, which is Creekmouth's bleakest corner. The place livens up once a week when the Dagenham Sunday Market is held, still annoyingly inaccessible from existing bus routes, then for the rest of the week returns to a less agreeable existence as a dusty half-demolished backwater. It's amazing to think that a location once served by two buses a day might very soon be getting sixteen an hour, but perhaps less amazing when you consider that the Sunday Market site is pencilled in for hundreds of highrise riverside apartments, with thousands more on neighbouring sites.



Welcome to the proposed site of Barking Riverside Overground station, currently a pile of soil behind a fence near a mega-pylon, down a mucky road where HGV drivers park up overnight. Beyond this is the biggest redevelopment challenge of all, a long-abandoned expanse of polluted earth between Choats Road and the Thames, worth nothing as is but hundreds of millions as flats. Thus far the only building on site looks like a giant stack of portakabins but is actually going to be a secondary school for 1800 pupils, already with its motto out front, but as yet disturbingly unwelcoming. An unlikely public footpath still skirts the side of the river, a bit quicksandy at present, but easily the best place to see the scale of the challenge that lies ahead.

Look carefully and two new roads are being carved out, or maybe it's two ends of just one road, the very beginnings of a brand new community hereabouts. But there's no sign of this utterly desolate land being ready for housing any time soon, despite the dozens of heavy lorries making their way into the site. If all goes to plan the EL3 (and EL1) are due to terminate outside the school this September, down roads not yet complete, the first tendrils of connectivity which'll help bring this estuarine pipedream to fruition. In the meantime the existing terminus at the Riverside Centre is where the buses turn, for pioneering residents only, as this long-awaited transformation slowly ignites.



» route EL3 - route
» route EL3 - timetable
» route EL3 - consultation
» My previous in-depth report on Barking Riverside and the amazing Footpath 47


<< click for Newer posts

click for Older Posts >>


click to return to the main page


...or read more in my monthly archives
Jan24  Feb24  Mar24  Apr24  May24  Jun24  Jul24  Aug24  Sep24  Oct24  Nov24  Dec24
Jan23  Feb23  Mar23  Apr23  May23  Jun23  Jul23  Aug23  Sep23  Oct23  Nov23  Dec23
Jan22  Feb22  Mar22  Apr22  May22  Jun22  Jul22  Aug22  Sep22  Oct22  Nov22  Dec22
Jan21  Feb21  Mar21  Apr21  May21  Jun21  Jul21  Aug21  Sep21  Oct21  Nov21  Dec21
Jan20  Feb20  Mar20  Apr20  May20  Jun20  Jul20  Aug20  Sep20  Oct20  Nov20  Dec20
Jan19  Feb19  Mar19  Apr19  May19  Jun19  Jul19  Aug19  Sep19  Oct19  Nov19  Dec19
Jan18  Feb18  Mar18  Apr18  May18  Jun18  Jul18  Aug18  Sep18  Oct18  Nov18  Dec18
Jan17  Feb17  Mar17  Apr17  May17  Jun17  Jul17  Aug17  Sep17  Oct17  Nov17  Dec17
Jan16  Feb16  Mar16  Apr16  May16  Jun16  Jul16  Aug16  Sep16  Oct16  Nov16  Dec16
Jan15  Feb15  Mar15  Apr15  May15  Jun15  Jul15  Aug15  Sep15  Oct15  Nov15  Dec15
Jan14  Feb14  Mar14  Apr14  May14  Jun14  Jul14  Aug14  Sep14  Oct14  Nov14  Dec14
Jan13  Feb13  Mar13  Apr13  May13  Jun13  Jul13  Aug13  Sep13  Oct13  Nov13  Dec13
Jan12  Feb12  Mar12  Apr12  May12  Jun12  Jul12  Aug12  Sep12  Oct12  Nov12  Dec12
Jan11  Feb11  Mar11  Apr11  May11  Jun11  Jul11  Aug11  Sep11  Oct11  Nov11  Dec11
Jan10  Feb10  Mar10  Apr10  May10  Jun10  Jul10  Aug10  Sep10  Oct10  Nov10  Dec10 
Jan09  Feb09  Mar09  Apr09  May09  Jun09  Jul09  Aug09  Sep09  Oct09  Nov09  Dec09
Jan08  Feb08  Mar08  Apr08  May08  Jun08  Jul08  Aug08  Sep08  Oct08  Nov08  Dec08
Jan07  Feb07  Mar07  Apr07  May07  Jun07  Jul07  Aug07  Sep07  Oct07  Nov07  Dec07
Jan06  Feb06  Mar06  Apr06  May06  Jun06  Jul06  Aug06  Sep06  Oct06  Nov06  Dec06
Jan05  Feb05  Mar05  Apr05  May05  Jun05  Jul05  Aug05  Sep05  Oct05  Nov05  Dec05
Jan04  Feb04  Mar04  Apr04  May04  Jun04  Jul04  Aug04  Sep04  Oct04  Nov04  Dec04
Jan03  Feb03  Mar03  Apr03  May03  Jun03  Jul03  Aug03  Sep03  Oct03  Nov03  Dec03
 Jan02  Feb02  Mar02  Apr02  May02  Jun02  Jul02 Aug02  Sep02  Oct02  Nov02  Dec02 

jack of diamonds
Life viewed from London E3

» email me
» follow me on twitter
» follow the blog on Twitter
» follow the blog on RSS

» my flickr photostream

twenty blogs
our bow
arseblog
ian visits
londonist
broken tv
blue witch
on london
the great wen
edith's streets
spitalfields life
linkmachinego
round the island
wanstead meteo
christopher fowler
the greenwich wire
bus and train user
ruth's coastal walk
round the rails we go
london reconnections
from the murky depths

quick reference features
Things to do in Outer London
Things to do outside London
London's waymarked walks
Inner London toilet map
20 years of blog series
The DG Tour of Britain
London's most...

read the archive
Dec24  Nov24  Oct24  Sep24
Aug24  Jul24  Jun24  May24
Apr24  Mar24  Feb24  Jan24
Dec23  Nov23  Oct23  Sep23
Aug23  Jul23  Jun23  May23
Apr23  Mar23  Feb23  Jan23
Dec22  Nov22  Oct22  Sep22
Aug22  Jul22  Jun22  May22
Apr22  Mar22  Feb22  Jan22
Dec21  Nov21  Oct21  Sep21
Aug21  Jul21  Jun21  May21
Apr21  Mar21  Feb21  Jan21
Dec20  Nov20  Oct20  Sep20
Aug20  Jul20  Jun20  May20
Apr20  Mar20  Feb20  Jan20
Dec19  Nov19  Oct19  Sep19
Aug19  Jul19  Jun19  May19
Apr19  Mar19  Feb19  Jan19
Dec18  Nov18  Oct18  Sep18
Aug18  Jul18  Jun18  May18
Apr18  Mar18  Feb18  Jan18
Dec17  Nov17  Oct17  Sep17
Aug17  Jul17  Jun17  May17
Apr17  Mar17  Feb17  Jan17
Dec16  Nov16  Oct16  Sep16
Aug16  Jul16  Jun16  May16
Apr16  Mar16  Feb16  Jan16
Dec15  Nov15  Oct15  Sep15
Aug15  Jul15  Jun15  May15
Apr15  Mar15  Feb15  Jan15
Dec14  Nov14  Oct14  Sep14
Aug14  Jul14  Jun14  May14
Apr14  Mar14  Feb14  Jan14
Dec13  Nov13  Oct13  Sep13
Aug13  Jul13  Jun13  May13
Apr13  Mar13  Feb13  Jan13
Dec12  Nov12  Oct12  Sep12
Aug12  Jul12  Jun12  May12
Apr12  Mar12  Feb12  Jan12
Dec11  Nov11  Oct11  Sep11
Aug11  Jul11  Jun11  May11
Apr11  Mar11  Feb11  Jan11
Dec10  Nov10  Oct10  Sep10
Aug10  Jul10  Jun10  May10
Apr10  Mar10  Feb10  Jan10
Dec09  Nov09  Oct09  Sep09
Aug09  Jul09  Jun09  May09
Apr09  Mar09  Feb09  Jan09
Dec08  Nov08  Oct08  Sep08
Aug08  Jul08  Jun08  May08
Apr08  Mar08  Feb08  Jan08
Dec07  Nov07  Oct07  Sep07
Aug07  Jul07  Jun07  May07
Apr07  Mar07  Feb07  Jan07
Dec06  Nov06  Oct06  Sep06
Aug06  Jul06  Jun06  May06
Apr06  Mar06  Feb06  Jan06
Dec05  Nov05  Oct05  Sep05
Aug05  Jul05  Jun05  May05
Apr05  Mar05  Feb05  Jan05
Dec04  Nov04  Oct04  Sep04
Aug04  Jul04  Jun04  May04
Apr04  Mar04  Feb04  Jan04
Dec03  Nov03  Oct03  Sep03
Aug03  Jul03  Jun03  May03
Apr03  Mar03  Feb03  Jan03
Dec02  Nov02  Oct02  Sep02
back to main page

the diamond geezer index
2023 2022
2021 2020 2019 2018 2017
2016 2015 2014 2013 2012
2011 2010 2009 2008 2007
2006 2005 2004 2003 2002

my special London features
a-z of london museums
E3 - local history month
greenwich meridian (N)
greenwich meridian (S)
the real eastenders
london's lost rivers
olympic park 2007
great british roads
oranges & lemons
random boroughs
bow road station
high street 2012
river westbourne
trafalgar square
capital numbers
east london line
lea valley walk
olympics 2005
regent's canal
square routes
silver jubilee
unlost rivers
cube routes
Herbert Dip
metro-land
capital ring
river fleet
piccadilly
bakerloo

ten of my favourite posts
the seven ages of blog
my new Z470xi mobile
five equations of blog
the dome of doom
chemical attraction
quality & risk
london 2102
single life
boredom
april fool

ten sets of lovely photos
my "most interesting" photos
london 2012 olympic zone
harris and the hebrides
betjeman's metro-land
marking the meridian
tracing the river fleet
london's lost rivers
inside the gherkin
seven sisters
iceland

just surfed in?
here's where to find...
diamond geezers
flash mob #1  #2  #3  #4
ben schott's miscellany
london underground
watch with mother
cigarette warnings
digital time delay
wheelie suitcases
war of the worlds
transit of venus
top of the pops
old buckenham
ladybird books
acorn antiques
digital watches
outer hebrides
olympics 2012
school dinners
pet shop boys
west wycombe
bletchley park
george orwell
big breakfast
clapton pond
san francisco
thunderbirds
routemaster
children's tv
east enders
trunk roads
amsterdam
little britain
credit cards
jury service
big brother
jubilee line
number 1s
titan arum
typewriters
doctor who
coronation
comments
blue peter
matchgirls
hurricanes
buzzwords
brookside
monopoly
peter pan
starbucks
feng shui
leap year
manbags
bbc three
vision on
piccadilly
meridian
concorde
wembley
islington
ID cards
bedtime
freeview
beckton
blogads
eclipses
letraset
arsenal
sitcoms
gherkin
calories
everest
muffins
sudoku
camilla
london
ceefax
robbie
becks
dome
BBC2
paris
lotto
118
itv