London Buses Route 205

**London Buses route 205** is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Paddington and Bow Church, it is operated by Stagecoach London.

## History

Route 205 commenced operation on 31 August 2002 between Paddington and Whitechapel, replacing the former SL1 (*StationLink 1*) service, which had begun as an accessible route called Carelink for those with disabilities operated by National Bus Company owned Beeline. This route was withdrawn in 1988, and it became a London Transport contracted route. It was initially operated by London General, but in 1992 the contract was won by Thorpes. For a short period the route continued to be branded as Stationlink.

Route 205 was introduced as part improvements in preparation for the introduction of London congestion charge in February 2003. It connects Paddington, Marylebone, Euston, King's Cross and Liverpool Street termini stations, as well as many London Underground stations following the northern part of the Circle line. A route 705, linking stations on the southern section of the Circle Line, was also created but later withdrawn.

The route was initially operated by Metroline from their Cricklewood (W) garage using Plaxton President bodied Dennis Tridents.

On 9 November 2002, the allocation was transferred from Cricklewood (W) to Perivale East (PV) garages and at the same time was diverted westbound at King's Cross to operate direct via Euston Road instead of via York Way.

On 16 June 2007, the route was extended from Whitechapel to Mile End Station, and was converted into 24-hour service at the same time.

In Summer 2007, brand new East Lancs Olympus bodied Scania N230UDs were introduced to increase the frequency of the route.

On 29 August 2009, the route passed to East London operating from their Bow (BW) garage using brand new Scania OmniCitys. At the same time, the route was extended further east, from Mile End to Bow Church.

On 14 October 2010, the route was included in the sale of East London to Stagecoach and re-branded the company as Stagecoach London

On 31 August 2013, the night service on this 24-hour route was withdrawn and replaced by night bus route N205 the existing night-time services on the route was simply re-numbered as N205 and extended to Leyton *Drapers Field* via Stratford.

In July 2014, the Scania OmniCitys were replaced by brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 400Hs.

On 30 August 2014, the route was retained by Stagecoach London. At the same time, the route was given a new timetable.

On 2 September 2017, the Monday - Friday frequency was reduced.

Due to Crossrail works in Paddington, on 12 February 2018, the route temporarily had its western terminus relocated from Paddington to Lancaster Gate. It resumed operating to Paddington in March 2018.

On 15 June 2019, the route was re-rerouted via Euston Road no longer serving Marylebone Station forecourt.

On 31 August 2019, the route was retained by Stagecoach London.

## Current Route

* Paddington *Cleveland Terrace*
* Paddington Station
* Edgware Road Stations
* Baker Street Station
* Regent's Park Station
* Great Portland Street Station
* Warren Street Station
* Euston Square Station
* Euston Station *Bus Station*
* St Pancras Station
* King's Cross Station
* Angel Station
* Old Street Station
* Shoreditch High Street Station
* Liverpool Street Station
* Aldgate Station
* Aldgate East Station
* Whitechapel Station
* Stepney Green Station
* Queen Mary University of London
* Mile End Station
* Bow Road Station
* Bow Church Station *Fairfield Road*

## External links

* Full Timetable (PDF)
* London Bus Routes Gallery