Transport for London (TfL) will aim to keep disruption to a minimum but passengers advised to use alternative stations where possible and buy tickets or Oyster pay as you go before coming to the station. London Underground (LU) will start refurbishing the 42-year-old escalators in the main ticket hall at Victoria Tube station from Monday 31 January.
The station is undergoing a £700m investment to redevelop it to cope with an increasing number of passengers. The works are essential as passenger numbers at the station – one of London’s busiest – are expected to rise from the current 80 million a year to nearly 100 million a year by 2016.
The refurbishment is timed to be complete before the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games, which will also increase demand. While the works are currently scheduled until early 2012, LU is actively working to reduce the time required for the works to minimise the disruption.
Plan your journey
All measures will be taken to limit disruption to passengers using the station while this essential work takes place but passengers are being asked to plan their journeys and take alternative routes where possible; especially those entering the station during the evening rush hour.
The three escalators which run down from the main ticket hall to the Victoria line platforms will be out of service one at a time while they are being worked on. More passengers leave the station in the evening rush hour so the two working escalators will have to be in the ‘up’ position in the evening peaks in order to clear the platforms as quickly and safely as possible.
Therefore TfL is asking customers not to enter the station at this time if at all possible.
Customers already in London are advised to:
- Walk or take a bus to nearby Pimlico or Green Park. Customers travelling to Brixton can use National Rail services from Victoria
- District and Circle line customers can use St James’s Park, Westminster or Sloane Square stations
Customers travelling to London are advised to:
- Use an alternative London interchange with National Rail such as London Bridge, Elephant & Castle, Cannon Street, Canada Water, Whitechapel or Vauxhall. Thameslink services across London provide additional central London connections at Farringdon and St. Pancras
It will be easier and quicker for passengers to use a nearby station rather than enter Victoria Tube station in the evening between 16:00 and 20:00 because it may take up to 15 minutes to reach the platforms and passengers may also have to wait outside the station to prevent overcrowding.
Essential works
Howard Collins, LU’s Chief Operating Officer said: ‘Victoria Tube station is one of the busiest stations on London Underground, with 80 million passengers a year, expected to reach nearly 100 million a year by 2016.
‘It is crucial we do this escalator work as part of modernising and enlarging the station.
‘To make their journeys quicker and easier customers should use another route and avoid entering Victoria Tube station in the evening peak times.
‘If passengers do use this station they should top up their Oyster cards or buy their tickets beforehand.
‘We need to close the ticket office windows and the machines during the evening peak so that we can operate a safe one-way system and keep the station open.
‘We apologise for the disruption to journeys this will cause, but this is the only way we can do this work without completely shutting down the station or non-stopping trains, which would be much more inconvenient for commuters and visitors to the Capital.’
Before starting their journeys to London, National Rail passengers are advised to buy tickets that will also be valid on the Underground.
