*New Allocation* ML WDE2794 on Bus Route 297

In this video, I take a ride on the 297 for a full length journey down to Ealing. Being fairly local to this route, I have many memories of it, from riding the Optare Olympuses and plenty of VWs and VWHs. So seeing it go electric now almost feels pretty monumental. Anyhow, the route is finally starting to use its intended electric allocation of Wright Electroliners which look good on the route, it's only the display text that needs tweaking as many have noted. The 297 part looks too chunky, but this isn't anything major as a similar thing was the case with the 204 but then the display text got re-calibrated later on. Would you believe this is my first time doing an end-to-end on this route, despite taking it countless times? I've just never had a need to and tend to prioritise non-local routes when I go on bus trips. The route is decent, though most would say it's boring. In off-peak conditions, you can get decent speeds up to Wembley Park. The Electroliner I was on never felt like it was bound by those 20mph speed limits, that's for sure. I also like the section between Teignmouth Gardens to Ealing Broadway. Lots of greenery in Scotch Common, which is nice for an otherwise residential, urbanised route. I wouldn't normally do this but in order to showcase the "new" allocation, I had to skip a VW, which felt like a crime as that VW I skipped was one of two on the route today! Strangely, that same VW (VW1275) seems like its been rigidly allocated to this particular route for a while but meh. Hope you enjoy! Route 297 runs a 24hr service between Willesden, Bus Garage and Ealing, Haven Green. The route is operated by Metroline out of Perivale (PV) Bus Garage. The route uses a mixture of diesel Wright Eclipse Gemini 2 bodied B9TLs, hybrid Wright Eclipse Gemini 3 bodied B5LHs, EvoSeti hybrids and Streetdeck Electroliners, though very soon it will convert fully to the latter. © 2026 Jayden Emmanuel.