London Underground’s Bank branch is back in business
The Bank branch of London Underground’s Northern Line was officially reopened by London Mayor Sadiq Khan on May 16.
It followed a 17-week closure of the route between Moorgate and Kennington, as part of the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade project to increase capacity at the station by 40%.
During his visit, Khan alighted at a new five-metre-wide southbound Northern Line platform that has been constructed at Bank and connected to the Tube network via 1.5km (0.9 miles) of new railway tunnel. He also used the spacious passenger concourse that now occupies the former running tunnel.
Wayfinding has also been improved, by the installation of new signage and contrasting colours for the cladding between interchange corridors and platforms.
The next phase of work at Bank will focus on providing step-free access to the Northern Line, a new station entrance on Cannon Street, and new and more direct interchanges between the Docklands Light Railway, Northern and Central Lines.
These connections will include two new moving walkways and 12 new escalators and lifts.
“Today marks the first in a series of transport milestones for our city,” said Khan.
“The Northern Line has fully reopened to customers, on schedule and to budget, after the successful completion of the latest phase of vital work at Bank.
“Bank station is at the heart of the city and these improvements are the first step towards a modern, accessible, easy to navigate station fit for the 21st century.”
During the closure of the Bank branch, essential work was also carried out at London Bridge, Borough and Elephant & Castle. This included work on escalators and lifts at Borough and enabling works for the future Elephant & Castle station upgrade.