18.02.15
Major Victoria Line improvement works set for the summer
London Underground is to close a large stretch of the Victoria Line this summer to deliver “vital” improvements, to increase the capacity on the route for customers north east of Seven Sisters.
At the moment only 24 trains per hour can be run beyond Seven Sisters due to the layout of the points at Walthamstow Central crossover, which transfers northbound trains to the southbound line for their return journey.
But renewal of the crossover will allow LU to increase the frequency to 36 trains per hour from April 2016. To deliver this, LU will close a large stretch of the line for three weeks during the summer.
The work, from Saturday 8 August to Sunday 30 August, will see the renewal of the Walthamstow Central crossover, replacing the concrete track-bed and the rails and point work. During this period all northbound Victoria line trains will only go as far as Seven Sisters.
During the closure, services between Seven Sisters and Brixton will run as normal – although with a slightly lower frequency. As a result, other stations on the Victoria Line may be busier, as will parts of the Central Line and London Overground.
Also, a rail replacement bus service will run from Walthamstow Central to Seven Sisters Tube stations as well as from Walthamstow Central to Stratford and Stratford International stations and between Chingford Mount and Seven Sisters, calling at Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale.
David Waboso, capital programmes director at LU, said: “To meet increasing customer demand for the Victoria Line we are making the service the most frequent in the UK, with 36 trains per hour by 2016. We will also run all peak time trains to Walthamstow Central from Brixton, a capacity increase of more than 40% for customers north of Seven Sisters.”
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]