The silvertown tunnel opened in 2025 and brought us two new bus routes. The SL4 from Grove Park to Canary Wharf and the 129 from Lewisham to Gallions Reach via Greenwich.  These routes have provided the East London Docklands are a great new link to South East London. However, these links could be better.

I am calling upon TFL to reroute the 129 and SL4 to stop at Royal Victoria DLR Station and ExCel London via the Western Gateway, with the possibility of a stop outside the Crowne Plaza. This would create 3 new stops in the area. Royal Victoria Station, the Crowne Plaza and ExCel London / The Fox (outside the western side of the London ExCel Exhibition Centre.) Please see the map below to see how this change would look and the 3 new stops.

In addition to serving Royal Victoria DLR Station, the SL4 would also be rerouted to serve Canning Town Station, before continuing to Leamouth Road Bus Stop, and potentially no longer serving Leamouth Road / Orchard place. This would create a new link to the Jubilee Line at Canning Town from the ExCel centre without the need to use the DLR. Please see the map below on how this reroute would look.

This change to the 129 and SL4 bus routes would provide a new alternative means of travel to & from the ExCel centre, local hotels & Buisness, as well as local residents and employees. In addition, this change would help to ease congestion during busy events, give hotel guests & local residents easier links to South London, with fewer changes, as well as more accessible means of travel.

I strongly feel that this change to the 2 local bus routes that currently already pass near to the ExCel Exhibition Centre would make a major difference to journeys in the area for events at ExCel, hotels, bars & Restaurants and even the new City Hall. This would help bring people off the DLR and Elizabeth Line and onto the buses, creating less congestion on the platforms and making it easier to leave busy events, especially on Sundays, when transportation runs fewer services.

The SL4 currently serves Canary Wharf, Blackwall, Blackheath, Lee and Grove Park. The 129 currently serves Gallions Reach, Beckton, North Greenwich, Greenwich and Lewisham. This minor rerouting would allow easier and faster transport links to South East London and avoid rail travel. A big help, especially on days when there's operational incidents and engineering works are in place.

Final thing to note that if TFL does reroute the 129 and SL4 bus routes to Royal Victoria and and ExCel London, this could be the start of more bus routes in the area. There is already an old disused bus stop in place at the ExCel Centre from covid times when this was used as the Nightingale hospital and staff shuttles were in place. TFL can reuse this existing infrastructure, as well as the existing bus stop at Royal Victoria for the silvertown cycle shuttle.

Please back this petition which will see positive changes to buses around the ExCel Exhibition Centre and potentially create a domino effect on further improvements to buses in the area.

**Please note that additional permission may be required from ExCel London in order to have buses run along Western Gateway.**