A major upgrade of Bank Underground station has taken a leap forward this week, with the opening of a new interchange route between the Northern Line concourse and the DLR concourse and platforms.
Three new escalators can now whisk passengers between the spacious concourses, making moving around the station up to nine minutes quicker and far less stressful at peak times. Transport for London (TfL) estimate that around 40% of passengers using Bank as an interchange station, so this should have a real impact on passenger experience.
The opening of the new interchange between the Northern line and DLR platforms comes as London continues to recover from the pandemic. Weekday Tube ridership has grown to around 70% of pre-pandemic levels with around three million journeys now being made on the Tube each day. Tube ridership at stations defined as ‘City’ stations – including Bank – is now at around 65% of pre-pandemic levels, up from around 33% in January. Weekend Tube ridership is now regularly above 85% of pre-pandemic levels.
When the upgrades are fully complete, the station’s capacity will be increased by a whopping 40% – improvements still to come include a new interchange route between the Northern and Central lines consisting of two new 95-metre moving walkways and three new escalators. There will also be a new station entrance on Cannon Street, step-free access to the Northern line for the first time via two new lifts, and improved step-free access to the DLR.
Between them, Bank and Monument stations are served by five Underground lines and the DLR. The two stations consist of four ticket halls (five with the opening of the new entrance on Cannon Street), seven lifts (nine once the new lifts giving step-free access to the Northern line and improved step-free access to the DLR are opened) and 10 platforms. Bank station already has 19 escalators and will have 27 once the works are complete, the largest number on the Tube network.
These improvements to Bank station will support the recovery, growth and success of the City of London, addressing long-standing capacity issues and making journeys through Bank quicker, easier, and more comfortable when fully complete.
Seb Dance, deputy Mayor for Transport said: “From today, commuters changing between the Northern line and DLR at Bank station will have an incredible nine minutes shaved off their journey times as the next phase of vital upgrades to the station are completed.
“There are still more upgrades to come and once complete the transformed station will have 40 per cent more capacity supporting the recovery, growth and success of the City of London, addressing long-standing capacity issues and making journeys through Bank quicker, easier, and more comfortable.
“The Mayor and I are continuing to build a better, safer and more prosperous London for everyone and these improvements mark another step towards a modern, accessible station in the heart of the city.”
Stuart Harvey, chief capital officer at Transport for London, said: “Anyone familiar with the previous layout at Bank station will know that it was confusing and constrained, leading to frequent congestion and long interchange times. From today, the journeys of customers interchanging between the Northern line and DLR will be hugely improved, with three new escalators whisking them between these lines and shaving up to nine minutes off their journeys. The countdown continues for the completion of this complex upgrade which is on track to transform Bank station into a modern, flagship gateway to London’s financial centre.”
Highlights of the completed work at Bank station since the major upgrade started in 2016 includes:
- Construction of more than 1,000 metres of new tunnels, including the three new escalator barrels providing the new direct interchange between the Northern line and DLR platforms
- More than 200,000 tonnes of material excavated from under the City of London during the tunnelling work, taken with great care to avoid disrupting any of the 31 surrounding listed buildings
- The new, wider southbound Northern line platform and customer concourse opened in May – with the new southbound tunnel connected to the existing railway during the closure of the Bank branch of the Northern line earlier this year
- Construction of the new station entrance on Cannon Street is complete with fit-out work continuing at pace
- Construction of two new lift shafts providing direct, step-free access from street level to the Northern line platforms is complete with the fit-out of the two new lifts nearing completion
- A new station entrance on Walbrook (at the Bloomberg building) opened in November 2018. With two lifts, four escalators and its own ticket hall, the entrance offers easier access to the Waterloo & City line
Image credit: Transport for London
