The X140: London's Newest Express Route

The X140 on its way to Heathrow Airport with its limited stop element also shown on the display

The X140 runs from Heathrow to Harrow, is one of TfL’s 3 buses with the X prefix, and one of only 4 which have a limited stop element. The X140 only started at the end of 2019 and runs, roughly, on the same route as the 140 and N140. The X in X140 means express, and while it skips some stops the X140 stops much more frequently than the comparable X26, which runs from Heathrow to Croydon.

Other Express Buses

The ibus displaying X140 to Harrow, Bus Station

TfL operates over 600 bus routes, including the 81 which runs to Slough, and only 4 have "limited stop" or express elements. These are the 607, X26, X68, and X140 with each of them operating in a unique way. The 607 is an express and extended version of the 207 and stops a limited amount between White City and Uxbridge, the 607 unlike the other 6xx buses operated by TfL is not a school bus and operates frequently everyday. The next express bus is the X26 which is London’s longest bus route spanning over 23 miles from Heathrow to Croydon with a very limited number of stops which increase route reliability. The X68 runs between central London and Croydon but it only operates during the morning and evening weekday peaks, specifically only into London in the morning and only out of London in the evening. The X68 is also special as it runs non stop between West Norwood and Waterloo a distance of almost 5 miles as the crow flies.

The 140 Suite Of Buses

A bus stop with all the 140 suite of buses stopping with 140, X140, and N140 tiles

The 140, X140, and N140 collectively run between Hayes & Harlington and Harrow Bus Station with the 140 and N140 extending northwards to Harrow Weald Bus Garage and X140 and N140 extending south to Heathrow Central. But each of these buses serves a purpose with the N140 running to all stops between Heathrow and Harrow Weald at night, the 140 running to all stops between Hayes & Harlington and Harrow Weald during the day, and X140 providing a faster daytime alternative to the 140 with it also serving Heathrow. You might notice that the daytime stopping services between Heathrow and Hayes & Harlington are not covered by any of the 3 aforementioned buses but this is covered by the 278 which runs from Heathrow to Ruislip.

Heathrow

A Welcome to Heathrow sign taken from within the X140

The X140 terminates at Heathrow Central Bus Station with immediate access to terminals 2&3 and easy access terminals 4 and 5 using the Heathrow Free Travel Zone. Heathrow is also the terminus of the X26, another of London’s express routes; In fact it is possible to travel the full routes of all 3 TfL buses with an X prefix back to back. It is, most likely, easiest to start on the X68 then use the X26 and finally the X140. Start on the first X68 out of London of the day at 15:50 which is scheduled to arrive at West Croydon Bus Station at 17:09. Then, at 17:31 your X26 to Heathrow should appear with it arriving at Heathrow at 19:30, just in time for the X140 at 19:36 to Harrow Bus Station which arrives at 20:21. This journey takes 4 and a half hours (a long time) which shows that despite these buses being express, they are still affected by traffic and speed limits which means it is usually much faster to take the train or Underground.

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