Source : Perth Now news
Angel station will soon become exit-only at weekends – because Transport for London wishes to extend the life of its escalators.
The station’s escalators are 35 years old and are the longest on the Underground network, but Transport for London claims that “the legacy of historic shortfalls in government funding” has prevented investment in the escalators at Angel.
Richard Jones, the 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.”
Angel – which sees fewer passengers at weekends than during the week – will continue to operate normally on weekdays.
Jones said: “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.”
Transport for London hopes that the weekend changes won’t prove to be too disruptive for local residents and businesses.
The transport body said: “TfL has engaged with local businesses and stakeholders while putting this plan in place, and has held meetings with local elected representatives to explain the process behind the change to the operation of the station. These meetings have helped to shape TfL’s approach and TfL has done all it can to minimise the impact on businesses during the upcoming Christmas period.
“A full customer information campaign will also inform customers about the changes and the reasons behind them, with further information to ensure customers are aware of the changes in the new year.”
