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Fastrack (bus)

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This article is about the bus rapid transit scheme in Kent. For the electronic toll-collection system in California, see FasTrak. For the light rail and commuter rail project in Denver, Colorado, see FasTracks. For other uses, see Fast Track (disambiguation).

Fastrack
A Fastrack bus at Bluewater Shopping Centre
A Fastrack bus at Bluewater Shopping Centre
Overview
LocaleKent Thameside
Dover (future)
Transit typeBus rapid transit
Websitewww.go-fastrack.co.uk
Operation
Began operation26 March 2006; 18 years ago (2006-03-26)
Operator(s)Arriva Southern Counties
Number of vehiclesWright StreetLite DF
Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC

Fastrack is the name given to two bus rapid transit schemes in Kent. One of these is operational in Kent Thameside and the second is currently under construction in Dover. The current network in Kent Thameside consists of three routes operated on behalf of Kent County Council with Prologis and Amazon respectively. Bus priority measures including traffic signal priority, reserved bus lanes and segregated busways are used throughout the network to allow buses priority over and avoid traffic.

The network in Kent Thameside is currently operated by Arriva Southern Counties but is due to be taken over by Go-Ahead London from November 2024.[1]

The service in Dover is due to launch in November 2024 and will be operated by Stagecoach South East.[2]

History

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Fastrack Stop in Dartford

Kent Thameside

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Construction work on the Fastrack network in Kent Thameside began on 23 September 2004.[3] The network commenced operations on 26 March 2006 with the introduction of Fastrack B between Temple Hill and Gravesend.[4][5]

On 3 June 2007, Fastrack A commenced operations in order to serve the new development at The Bridge in Dartford.[6] The route is part-funded by Prologis, the developers of The Bridge.

From 19 November 2007 following the opening of Ebbsfleet International railway station, Fastrack B was diverted to serve the station in order to connect with Eurostar and Southeastern High Speed services.[7]

Following the completion of the Everards Link Phase 2 in December 2012, Fastrack B was rerouted via a new section of busway linking Ingress Park with Greenhithe railway station.[8] Fastrack B began serving the whole of the Ingress Park development from September 2018.[9]

From 2 August 2020 following the opening of the Springhead Bridge, Fastrack B was rerouted between Ebbsfleet International railway station and Gravesend to serve the new Springhead Park development.[10][11]

On 23 August 2021, Fastrack AZ commenced operations in order to serve the Amazon LCY3 distribution centre in Dartford.[12] The route was initially operated by Go-Coach but transferred to Arriva Southern Counties in April 2022 with Fastrack A being modified to serve the LCY3 distribution centre at the same time.[13]

Dover

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Construction work on the Fastrack system in Dover began in February 2023 and infrastructure works were completed in Summer 2024.[14]

The system is due to commence operations on 17 November 2024. The service will run between Dover and Whitfield and will be operated by Stagecoach South East.[2]

Current routes

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Wright StreetLites at Home Gardens, Dartford in August 2015
Wright Eclipse Urban bodied Volvo B7RLEs at Greenhithe station in April 2008 in the previous livery

The current Fastrack network is formed of three routes, all operated by Arriva Southern Counties.[15]

Route A

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Fastrack A operates between Dartford and Bluewater Shopping Centre via Temple Hill, The Bridge and Greenhithe station. It runs every 12 minutes on weekdays and Saturdays, every 20 minutes on Sundays and hourly overnight between Dartford and Greenhithe station only.[16]

Route AZ

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Fastrack AZ operates from the Amazon to either Dartford via Temple Hill, or to Gravesend via Greenhithe station and Ebbsfleet International station. It operates during shift changeover times at the LCY3 distribution centre only.[17]

Route B

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Fastrack B operates between Temple Hill and Gravesend via Dartford, Darent Valley Hospital, Bluewater Shopping Centre, Greenhithe station, Ingress Park and Ebbsfleet International station. It runs every 12 minutes on weekdays, every 15 minutes on Saturdays and every 20 minutes on Sundays.[18]

Fares and ticketing

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The network is split into three fare zones. Tickets are sold by the driver and from roadside machines, at certain bus stops, to allow for faster boarding.

M-tickets, bus tickets on mobile phones, were successfully trialled on 11 February 2008 and are now available across the Arriva bus network.[19][20]

Vehicles

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The original fleet consisted of 26 Wright Eclipse Urban bodied Volvo B7RLEs. These had audio-visual next stop announcements, air conditioning and CCTV.[5] On 9 August 2015, these were replaced by 21 Wright StreetLites.[21][22]

From 21 March to 9 May 2018, Fastrack took part in a trial scheme which saw an additional hourly journey made by an electric Volvo 7900e, with a main charging point installed in the form of a generator at the front of Greenhithe station allowing the bus to fully charge inside six minutes.[23]

On 4 August 2019, Arriva Kent Thameside retained the contract to operate the Fastrack B service. As part of this, the 14 Wright StreetLites on the route were replaced with newer Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC vehicles transferred from the Medway area which were refurbished to Fastrack specification. 7 of the Wright StreetLites continue to operate on Fastrack A.[24]

Between 23 August 2021 and 3 April 2022, whilst the Fastrack AZ service was operated by Go-Coach, a total of eight Alexander Dennis Enviro400 vehicles worked on the service.[12] When this route was transferred to Arriva Kent Thameside, the Alexander Dennis Enviro400 vehicles were withdrawn and three additional Alexander Dennis Enviro200 MMC now work on the AZ service.

When the Fastrack is taken over by Go-Ahead London in November 2024, a new fleet of 28 Irizar ie tram electric buses will be introduced across the network.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Go-Ahead London to take over Arriva Fastrack bus services". KentOnline. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  2. ^ a b "Dover Fastrack to launch in November". Kent County Council. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Work starts on new Buslink scheme". BBC News. 23 September 2004. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  4. ^ "Fastrack bus service open for use". BBC. 26 March 2006. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  5. ^ a b Booth, Gavin (25 April 2006). "Fastrack flight test". Bus & Coach Professional. Archived from the original on 4 May 2006. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  6. ^ Community Website Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Thames Gateway Facts: Ebbsfleet Station". BBC. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  8. ^ "New Dartford to Gravesend Fastrack bus is 'life line' for residents". Newshopper. 12 December 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  9. ^ Changes to Arriva bus services The Reporter August 2018
  10. ^ "Fastrack Network Map, August 2020". Arriva Southern Counties.
  11. ^ "Arriva Fastrack service re-routed to include Springhead Park at Ebbsfleet Garden City after £16m bridge opening". Kent Online, September 2020. 7 September 2020.
  12. ^ a b "New 24 hour bus route launched to serve Amazon's vast Dartford distribution depot". 23 August 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  13. ^ "Northfleet April 2022 Network Changes". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Dover Fastrack". Kent County Council. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Fastrack Network Map". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 18 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Fastrack A: Dartford to Bluewater Shopping Centre". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  17. ^ "Fastrack AZ: Dartford and Gravesend to Amazon LCY3". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Fastrack B: Temple Hill to Gravesend". Arriva Southern Counties. Retrieved 21 October 2024.
  19. ^ "Mobile phones are just the ticket for Arriva's new Fastrack bus trial". Arriva. 20 February 2008. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  20. ^ Mobile ticketing on Kent Fastrack[permanent dead link] Bus & Coach Professional 27 February 2008
  21. ^ "Arriva launches 21 new Fastrack vehicles in Kent" Coach & Bus Week issue 1201 11 August 2015 page 10
  22. ^ New vehicles for Arriva Fastrack[permanent dead link] Bus & Coach Professional 14 August 2015
  23. ^ Electric bus trial, kent.gov.uk
  24. ^ Arriva wins contract for Fastrack B service for 13th year CommunityAd August 2019
  25. ^ Trams on wheels for Kent: Go-Ahead to operate all-electric Fastrack network Go-Ahead Group 14 June 2023
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Media related to Fastrack at Wikimedia Commons

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