London Underground’s Bank branch to re-open in mid-May

Work on the current phase of the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade is progressing on schedule, as the new southbound tunnel has now been connected to the existing railway, and the former southbound platform has been converted into a new concourse.

This means that the Bank branch of the Northern Line will re-open in mid-May as planned.

Passengers will benefit from a new, wider, southbound Northern line platform, three new passageways to make moving through the station quicker and easier, and a spacious new concourse.

The whole project will be completed at the end of the year when there will be a 40% increase in capacity, step-free access to the Northern Line, a new station entrance, and new, easier, and more direct interchanges between the DLR, Northern and Central lines.

Work that has been completed during the closure at the halfway mark includes:

• completing excavation of the remaining 100m of new railway tunnel and lining it with sprayed concrete, in addition to the 2km that had already been tunnelled;
• connecting the new southbound Northern line tunnel to the existing railway;
• converting the former southbound Northern line platform into a new, spacious customer concourse;
• installing the remaining 185m of track in the tunnels, in addition to the 490m that had already been laid;
• continuing with the fit-out of the new station areas, including the flooring, wall coverings, and signage on the new platform;
• preparing to run test trains through the new section of southbound tunnel from mid-April.

Much of the work completed for the project has been intricate and complicated, with 31 listed buildings at street level above the new tunnels, and foundations for other buildings that had to be tunnelled through.

To complete the work, the Northern line will be closed between Charing Cross and Battersea Power Station, Euston, and Stockwell (via Bank) on the following dates:

• Friday, 15th April and Saturday, 16th April;
• Saturday, 23rd April;
• Saturday, 14th May and Sunday, 15th May.

Stuart Harvey, Chief Capital Officer at Transport for London, said: “I'd like to thank our customers for their ongoing patience while a section of the Bank branch of the Northern Line is closed. We have been making great strides in the intricate and complex work that is required below ground at Bank and are on schedule to finish this phase of the work in mid-May, as originally planned.

“Once complete, the improvements we're making at Bank station will be an important boost for the capital as the city continues to recover from the pandemic, giving London's financial district a modern, accessible, easy to navigate station fit for the twenty-first century.”