19.02.16
Bakerloo platforms to close at Paddington Tube station for Crossrail improvements
Major improvement works will lead to Bakerloo Line platform closures at Paddington Tube Station from April to August in preparation for Crossrail.
Bakerloo Line trains will not stop at the station from 2 April as engineers dig a 165m tunnel under the station to enable passengers to interchange between the Bakerloo Line and Crossrail platforms, which will open in 2018 and is expected to increase the number of passengers using Paddington Tube station daily from 165,000 to 248,000.
Engineers will also replace almost every component in the escalators serving the Bakerloo Line in order to extend their life by 20 years.
David Waboso CBE, London Underground (LU)’s capital programmes director, and a member of RTM’s editorial board, said: “We try to carry out as much of our improvement work as possible when the Tube is closed, but in this case need a closure period due to the nature and scale of the work.”
During the closure, passengers have been advised to use the Circle, District or Hammersmith & City lines instead. Transport for London says it will re-open the platforms in time for Notting Hill carnival on 28 and 29 August.
Other planned changes to the underground include a modernisation of the signalling and train control systems, whose main benefits will be delivered by 2022 and include an increase to a train every two minutes at peak times.
Line upgrades are also planned, which will deliver a more than 30% increase in capacity.
Redevelopment work to increase capacity at key stations and making them step-free is also underway at a number of stations including Victoria, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street.
More than half of LU’s 270 stations have now been modernised or refurbished to make them brighter and easier to use, with improvements such as tactile strips, better CCTV and help points, electronic information displays in ticket halls and on platforms, and improved seating and lighting.
Last month, LU launched the delayed invitation to tender for 250 new Tube for London trains, worth £1bn to £2.5bn, that will serve the Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Waterloo & City and Central lines by the early 2020s.
It has also unveiled a new design idiom of principles for the design, refurbishment and repair of its stations.
Transport for London has planned a £2.57bn extension to the Bakerloo Line, which will open in 2030, and developments to accommodate Crossrail at Whitechapel and Farringdon stations.
(Image c. Crossrail)