Service Changes - April 2025
On Saturday 5th April 2025, new timetables were introduced on the Fastrack network. This is in response to the long term impact of the Galley Hill Road closure, as well as customer feedback. It is recognised that the significant diversion on Service B due to the closure of Galley Hill Road has extended journey times for a significant number of service users and is not sustainable to operate in its current form without these additional network changes. As such, Fastrack services within Ingress Park have been altered to operate with a shuttle service to and from Bluewater, with through ticketing and timetabled connections at Bluewater. This will operate until such a time that Galley Hill Road is reopened when Fastrack Service B will be restored to Ingress Park and, additionally, Swanscombe which has not been served by Fastrack since the closure. This timetable change has allowed for a service frequency uplift for all communities currently served by Fastrack Service B and faster journey times between Dartford / Bluewater with Ebbsfleet and Gravesend instead of frequency reductions on Route B.
This timetable builds upon the service reliability improvement delivered by the November 2024 timetable change, and is designed to optimise journey times and vehicle capacity across all routes. As well as delivering improved journey times and more frequent journeys between Gravesend, Ebbsfleet and Bluewater, this timetable change also lays the groundwork for further changes expected in August 2025 on Service A. From August (subject to the completion of the Fastrack busway in the Ebbsfleet Garden City) Fastrack Service A will extend from Bluewater to Gravesend via Castle Hill and Ebbsfleet International. This will initially operate at an every 15 minute frequency, with this implemented on Service A from the April timetable change between Bluewater and Dartford via The Bridge.
This timetable change comes ahead of the introduction of the new Electric fleet on Fastrack which is due to be rolled out later in spring on Fastrack Services B and E, with Fastrack Services A and AZ to follow in early Summer upon the completion of charging infrastructure in Dartford.
A summary of the key changes are as follows:
- Service B now runs non stop between Bluewater and Ebbsfleet International, providing a journey time saving of 12 minutes between Ebbsfleet International and Bluewater.
- New Service F connects Bluewater, Greenhithe and Ingress Park. Through ticketing is available between Services B and F at no extra cost to service users with a change of bus at Bluewater.
- Service B now serves Temple Hill, replacing Route C and serving the eastern half of Temple Hill in both directions.
- Service B is also increased in frequency to up to every 12 minutes (from every 15 minutes currently)
- Service A has been revised to operate up to every 15 minutes to optimise capacity against current demand. This comes ahead of service changes planned for August 2025 when route A will extend to Gravesend.
A detailed breakdown of the changes on each route is listed below, along with a copy of the timetables.
Service A:
Since Saturday 5th April, Fastrack Service A now operates up to every 15 minutes between Dartford Home Gardens and Bluewater via The Bridge Estate. In response to issues with parking around Temple Hill, minor changes have been made around Sharp Way and Joyce Green Lane to operate via Sharp Way towards Bluewater, and Joyce Green Lane towards Dartford.
Subject to the road being completed on schedule, in August 2025 Service A is planned to extend from Bluewater to Gravesend via Castle Hill, Ebbsfleet International and Imperial Retail Park. This will provide new journey opportunities such as Gravesend to Crossways Business Park & The Bridge and Castle Hill to Bluewater. Upon the completion of charging infrastructure at Dartford in early Summer 2025, Service A will become electric and will extend from Dartford Home Gardens to the new Acacia Hall Fastrack Bus Hub. Prior to this date, Service A will continue to finish and start at Dartford Home Gardens Stop FA.
Routes B/C and New Route F (Bluewater to Ingress Park):
Significant changes have been made to Service B to speed up journey times for the majority of service users. This includes the restoration of the 12 minute service frequency and improvements to service reliability. From Saturday 5th April, a revised Service B now operates up to every 12 minutes between:
Temple Hill – Dartford Town Centre– Princes Road – Darent Valley Hospital – Bluewater – Ebbsfleet International – Springhead Park – Thames Way – Gravesend Town Centre.
Major changes are also in place within both Temple Hill and Greenhithe / Ingress Park:
Temple Hill:
Service B has replaced service C between Dartford Home Gardens and Temple Hill, restoring the routing used prior to November 2024 in Temple Hill. Service B now serves Mill Pond Road, Temple Hill, Littlebrook Manor Way and Henderson Drive in both directions, before terminating at Sharp Way. This service change delivers faster journeys on Fastrack to eastern Temple Hill, and improves journey times between Temple Hill and Princes Road / Darent Valley Hospital by reducing the time services wait at Dartford Home Gardens. With extended layovers scheduled at Temple Hill, this should improve on-time performance further on Service B.
Greenhithe / Ingress Park:
With the closure of Galley Hill Road (used by Fastrack Services B and AZ), Fastrack was forced to look at an alternative routing. Swanscombe High Street and Southfleet Road were noted at the time as being unsuitable for high numbers of vehicle movements, with passing difficult for buses which risked journey time unreliability due to congestion as well as damage to vehicles. Since the closure, Fastrack Service B has diverted via A2, St Clements Way and London Road between Manor Way Roundabout and Ebbsfleet International adding 2.8 miles per trip as well as 5-7 minutes per trip for this section. This section of the route has also been prone to significant journey time variability due to the length of the diversion.
With the closure expected to remain in place for a further extended period, a decision has been taken to change the Service B routing to a quicker operation. Fastrack Service B has changed to operate non-stop between Bluewater and Ebbsfleet International which has decreased journey times between Ebbsfleet International and Bluewater by 12 minutes per trip. Due to the journey time saved, we have been able to restore the service frequency on Service B to up to every 12 minutes, as it was prior to the road closure.
Ingress Park continues to be served by Fastrack, with new Service F now introduced between Manor Way Roundabout and Bluewater via Ingress Park and Greenhithe. This also operates at an enhanced frequency of up to every 12 minutes, with through ticketing now in place between Services B and F at no additional cost to service users, with a change of bus at Bluewater. Timetables on Services B & F have been optimised to minimise wait times between vehicles at Bluewater. While it is recognised this will cause inconvenience for some service users, this allows the enhanced service frequencies for all users on the existing B route, as well as faster journey times for the majority. Fastrack remains committed to Ingress Park, and we plan to restore Service B to Ingress Park at an every 12 minute frequency upon the reopening of Galley Hill Road.
Service B is planned to be the first service to electrify, with the introduction of the new electric fleet planned for late spring, upon the completion and commissioning of charging infrastructure at Gravesend Bus Hub.
Route E:
No timetable changes have been made to Route E in this April. Looking to the future, Route E will be incorporated into the extended Route A as part of further timetable changes planned for August 2025. Electrification of Service E will follow Route B and the completion of on-street charging infrastructure at the Gravesend Bus Hub.
Route AZ:
In response to customer feedback, an additional Service AZ journey has been introduced on Mondays to Fridays only from Greenhithe to Amazon LCY3. This service will depart Greenhithe at 05:45, and arrive at Amazon LCY3 at 05:54. Otherwise, the AZ timetable remains the same as the November 2024 timetable change.
Upon the completion of charging infrastructure at Dartford in early Summer 2025, Fastrack Service AZ will become electric and will extend from Dartford Home Gardens to the new Acacia Hall Fastrack Bus Hub. Prior to this date, Fastrack Service AZ will continue to finish and start at Dartford Home Gardens Stop FA. Wider changes to the Service AZ timetable will take place in the August 2025 timetable changes when Service A extends to Gravesend.
New Timetables: