Transport for London is about to commence work to improve access to Marylebone Tube station by installing one new escalator and replacing two more.
The vital three-year programme will first deliver a new escalator to replace the existing central staircase. Work will then begin on replacing the two existing escalators, which date back to 1943, one at a time, to reduce the impact on customers The result will be that the station, which supports 13.7 million customer journeys each year and provides an important interchange with national rail services, will have three new escalators.
Preliminary, behind-the-scenes site work is already underway and will be followed by the relocation of the station’s ticket barriers from mid-August to create additional space to work. Main construction is due to start in mid-September.
The station will remain open for the duration of the work and there will always be two escalators in operation – one going up, one going down. The work is scheduled to be completed by autumn 2023.
Esther Sharples, director of asset operations at London Underground, said: “We’d like to thank our customers for their patience while this vital escalator work is being carried out. The escalators we’re replacing are some of the oldest on the Tube network and this is essential work that will improve journeys through Marylebone station for years to come. Once the work is complete, the station will have improved capacity and reliability, which is particularly important at this busy interchange.”
London Underground’s escalators are heavy-duty machines and tend to be in operation in both directions for up to 20 hours a day. They weigh around 40 tonnes and carry millions of people each year. A typical 15-metre rise escalator has approximately 15,000 moving parts.
As part of additional improvement works at Marylebone station, TfL will also expand the ticket barriers at the station by demolishing the former disused ticket office. This will reduce congestion in the peak periods once all the works are complete.
