Kentish Town Tube station on the Northern Line is to partly reopen to passengers from Monday 23 December 2024 following the installation of new escalators and refurbishment of the station and booking hall.

Since the station’s closure in June 2023, the main part of the work has been replacing the two escalators that were installed in 1997.

This time, the two new escalators are the same design as those that are installed on the Elizabeth Line, they run off power-saving and efficient motors, which allows them to run at a slower speed during quiet periods and off-peak times when demand isn’t so high.

Other work to the station has involved installing modern LED lighting throughout the station, which not only brightens the place up, but the lights themselves are also cheaper to run and greener for the environment.

A deep clean of the ticket hall, platforms and passageways has also been undertaken, since then a repaint has taken place and the replacement of worn floor and wall tiles has also been taken care of, along with erecting updated and new signage.

Extensive repairs have also been carried out on the booking office, this has taken longer than expected with both the ceiling and floors seeing major renovation work to preserve much of the station’s historic features, which include the station clocks and the original tiling.

The ticket office, built in 1907, was temporarily removed during the works, to allow realignment of the ticket gates which now offer more space for customers.

Travel Advice

TfL are advising passengers that are planning to use the station in the days before and after Christmas into January, that some temporary arrangements will be in place before the station opens fully.

With no ticket machines in operation at the station, customers who wish to top up their Oyster card or purchase a paper ticket must do so before arriving at the station. The hoardings around these machines will still be in place when the station opens on Monday. The ticket machines are expected to be operational by the end of January. 

The new ticket barriers will be in full operation for Contactless and Oyster card payments.

The walking route between the tube station and Thameslink Station will remain closed for the time being but will reopen early next year. For the time being passengers interchanging here will have to follow the diversion pedestrian route, via the Thameslink out-of-hours entrance, along Kentish Town Road from the main Tube station entrance.

“I’d like to thank our customers for their patience while we replaced the escalators at Kentish Town Tube station, particularly as the work took longer than originally planned due to additional challenges that were uncovered once the complex work had begun. The new escalators will greatly improve journeys through the station and are expected to be in service for the next 40 years. In addition, the station is now more spacious, more welcoming and easier to navigate for our customers as a result of the additional works we’ve done.”

Richard Jones, TfL’s Director of Asset Performance Delivery

Kentish Town Tube station will be the second Northern Line tube station to reopen in four days, as Colindale station also reopens to passenger’s once more on Friday 20th December.