London Buses route N98 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between Stanmore and Holborn, it is operated by Metroline.
History[]
Night bus N98 runs a night service for route 98 between Holborn and Willesden and then continues to Stanmore via Kingsbury and Neasden as a night service for the Northern end of the Jubilee line. The route is structured so that every other bus runs beyond Willesden to Stanmore.
Route N98 commenced operating on 19 August 1995 between Stanmore Station and Trafalgar Square via Marsh Lane - Honeypot Lane - Kingsbury Circle - Kingsbury Green - Church Lane - Blackbird Cross - Neasden - Dudden Hill Lane - Willesden - Kilburn - Maida Vale - Edgware Road - Marble Arch - Oxford Circus- Piccadilly Circus. The route was initially operated by CentreWest from their Alperton (ON) garage using MCW Metrobuses. The route is a renumbering of route N99.
On 29 April 2000, the route was diverted at Oxford Circus to run via daytime Route 98 to Red Lion Square and the MCW Metrobuses were replaced by Northern Counties Palatine I bodied Volvo Olympians.
On 3 February 2001, the route passed to Metroline operating from their Willesden (AC) and Edgware (EW) garages and was converted to low floor operation using Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs.
On 13 December 2003, the route was retained by Metroline.
On 11 December 2010, the route was retained by Metroline.
In June 2013, Alexander Dennis Enviro 400s were introduced.
Due to the partial closure of Oxford Street for Crossrail works, on 16 June 2014, the route temporarily had its eastern terminus relocated from Holborn to Russell Square. It resumed operating to Holborn in August 2014.
Due to road works in New Oxford Street, on 26 October 2014, the route was temporarily diverted to Russell Square via Regent Street, Mortimer Street, Goodge Street, Tottenham Court Road, Chenies Street, Gower Street, Bloomsbury Street, Great Russell Street, Montague Street to Russell Square (north side), returning via Bedford Place, Great Russell Street, and Bloomsbury Street.
In June 2015, the Plaxton President bodied Volvo B7TLs were replaced by brand new Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LHs.
In May 2016, brand new BYD K8SR Electric 10.2m were introduced.
On 25 June 2016, the route was restored to serve Holborn instead of Russell Square.
On 11 November 2017, the Edgware (EW) allocation was transferred to Harrow Weald (HD) garage and was converted to full Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied Volvo B5LH operation.
On 9 December 2017, the route was retained by Metroline.
The route will be retained by Metroline with existing hybrid double deckers from 7 December 2024.
Current Route[]
- Stanmore Station London Road, Forecourt
- Queensbury Station
- Kingsbury Station
- Blackbird Cross
- Neasden
- Willesden Bus Garage
- Kilburn High Road Station
- Maida Vale Station
- Edgware Road Stations
- Marble Arch Station
- Bond Street Station
- Oxford Circus Station
- Tottenham Court Road Station
- Holborn Red Lion Square
Previous route N98s in London[]
The route number N98 had been used prior to its current use.
Route N98 was introduced on 28 September 1960 when the night buses were renumbered with an “N” prefix from the 2×× series, and so the 298 became N98. It ran from Trafalgar Square to Hornchurch Garage via Tottenham Court Road station, Holborn, St. Paul’s, Bank, Aldgate, Stepney Green, Mile End, Bow, Stratford, Forest Gate, Manor Park, Ilford, Seven Kings, Chadwell Heath, Romford, and Roneo Corner. The Hornchurch extension was cut back to Romford station, but some journeys were extended from Trafalgar Square to Victoria via Westminster for crews’ meal reliefs. It was one of the few night routes in the early days to run on Saturday night, but the service only came into central London as far as Holborn. The original service now forms part of route N25.