London Buses route 397 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Debden and Crooked Billet, it is operated by Stagecoach London.
History[]
Route 397 commenced operation on 26 February 2000 between South Chingford Sainsbury's and Debden Broadway via Chingford Road - Chingford Mount - Old Church Road - Chingford Avenue - Heathcote Grove - Endlebury Road - Simmons Lane - Chingford Hatch - Friday Hill - Kings Road - Station Road - Chingford Station - Forest Road - Whitehall Road - Woodford Wells - High Road - Loughton - Traps Hill - Border Lane as a Monday to Saturday service. The route was initially operated by Arriva East Herts & Essex from their Debden (DD) garage using Alexander ALX200 bodied Dennis Dart SLFs.
On 5 March 2005, the route passed to Arriva London operating from their Edmonton (EC) garage.
On 5 November 2006, a Sunday service was introduced.
On 24 February 2007, the route was retained by Arriva London.
On 25 February 2012, the route was retained by Arriva London and the allocation was transferred from Edmonton (EC) garage to Lee Valley (LV) garage.
In March 2012, the Alexander ALX200 bodied Dennis Dart SLFs were replaced by brand new Alexander Dennis Enviro 200 Darts.
On 1 March 2014, Lee Valley (LV) garage was announced closed and the allocation was transferred back to Edmonton (EC) garage.
On 25 February 2017, the route passed to CT Plus operating from their Walthamstow Avenue (AW) garage with brand new Enviro 200 MMC bodied Alexander Dennis E20Ds introduced.
On 26 February 2022, the route was retained by HCT Group using existing Enviro 200 MMC bodied Alexander Dennis E20Ds.
On 27 August 2022, the route was included in the sale of HCT Group to Stagecoach London.
On 15 October 2022, the vehicles were renumbered to Stagecoach London fleet numbers.
Current Route[]
- Debden Broadway Torrington Drive (for Debden Station)
- Loughton Station
- Buckhurst Hill
- Woodford Wells
- Chingford Bus Station
- Chingford Mount
- Crooked Billet Sainsbury's