The other half of the route took over the former West Croydon to Wimbledon shuttle. Parts of the alignment between Waddon Marsh and Mitcham follow the Surrey Iron Railway which opened in 1803 between Wandsworth and Croydon. In more recent times this was a public service between West Croydon and Wimbledon, diverting off the original route at the ends, and latterly the service had run with a single train, giving an interval of approximately 45 minute between services. The line was closed by Railtrack on 31 May 1997, and, since there were no parallel bus services, temporary route TL1 was introduced, running half-hourly and serving all the former stations. Initially operated by Cowie South London and later transferred to Metrobus, the route was never a success, carrying an average load of about 3.