Angel Tube station to become exit-only at weekends

1 hour ago

Amy ClarkeLondon

News image — Angel's escalators are 35 years old

Getty Images People travel on a long London Underground escalator inside a silver-lined tunnel. Commuters stand on the right-hand side while others walk on the left. Advertising posters line both walls, and a blue sign at the bottom of the escalator reads “Stand on the right” and “No smoking”. — Angel's escalators are 35 years old

Angel Tube station will become exit-only at weekends from 2 January, as Transport for London works to extend the life of the longest escalators on the Underground network.

The station's banks of escalators are 35 years old, with the set linking the mid-concourse and platform level stretching more than 60m and rising 27m vertically.

Richard Jones, director of asset performance delivery for London Underground, said: "Their size means renewal or replacement is a challenging, expensive project and we are currently exploring all options possible to extend their working life."

TfL said "the legacy of historic shortfalls in government funding" had prevented investment in new escalators at the station.

Angel station will continue to operate normally on weekdays, with customers able to enter and exit the station.

Angel sees fewer passengers at weekends than during the week, and more people leave the station than enter it on Saturdays and Sundays, according to TfL.

Jones added: "Making the station exit-only during specific periods will allow us to extend the working life of the escalators and give us more time to plan our next steps, with design work on replacing the escalators to begin this autumn.

"I understand that any disruption to the station will have an impact on customers, businesses and the local community and we will do all we can to work closely with local stakeholders to ensure that we mitigate the disruption as much as possible."

Getty Images Escalators during refurbishment of Angel Underground station. A worker in a hard hat stands on a temporary wooden platform in the foreground, while several wide concrete staircases rise through the centre of the structure. — A refurbishment of the escalators being carried out in 2002

Alternative routes

TfL advised passengers who would normally begin their journeys at Angel on weekends to use alternative stations, including:

King's Cross St Pancras, about 1km away, with bus routes 30, 73, 205, 214 and 476 connecting it to Angel
Old Street, about 1.5km away, accessible via bus routes 43, 205 and 214
Highbury & Islington, which can be reached using bus routes 4, 19, 30 and 43

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