Northern Line commuters hit by massive delays amid 17-week closure of line from Oval to Moorgate

Commuters will see their journey times rocket amid the 17-week closure of the Bank branch of the Northern line, in both directions from 15 January until mid-May 2022.

The closure is for complex work on the brand-new Northern line tunnel and passenger concourse at Bank Tube station as part of the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade.

It will also mean a reduced service between Camden Town and Moorgate. But an enhanced service will run on the Charing Cross branch of the Northern line during peak periods with a train at least every two minutes.

A new bus route, the 733 from Oval into the City (Finsbury Square), will also be introduced on weekdays. It will run every 7-8 minutes to help affected customers reach their destinations.

Waterloo, Embankment, Tottenham Court Road and London Bridge are expected to be among the busiest stations during the closure, so customers using them will have to find other routes.

TfL is asking customers to travel at quieter times or use alternative routes during the closure, as many lines and stations across central London will be busier.

Quieter times on Tube and Rail services are currently between 8:45am and 4:30pm, and after  6.45pm during the week. Customers are encouraged to check how busy their station is before they travel, using the TfL website’s Journey Planner or via the TfL Go app.

TfL is running a pan-London communications campaign to give customers the tools they need to retime, reroute or use alternative public transport for their journeys.

More than 900,000 customer emails have been sent, with 1,800 yellow banners displayed across the network alongside posters at all Northern line stations.

Full travel advice ahead of the closure is available at tfl.gov.uk/northern-line-closure. To assist customers, TfL has installed signs at stations that will operate differently throughout the closure and will have extra staff across the network to advise customers.

This vital upgrade to Bank station will see its capacity increase by 40 per cent when finished, with improvements including a new railway tunnel and platform for the Northern line, step-free access to the Northern line and improved access to the DLR platforms.

There will also be more direct routes within the station and a new station entrance on Cannon Street.
A TfL statement said: “Improving the station, at the heart of London’s financial district, is critical to supporting the growth and success of the City, addressing long-standing capacity issues and making journeys through Bank safer, easier, quicker, and more comfortable when fully complete later in 2022.”

Seb Dance, Deputy Mayor for Transport, said: “The much-needed renovation of Bank station will significantly increase the capacity of this key interchange station and improve the passenger experience.

Once the upgrade is complete, passengers will benefit from step-free access to the Northern line, a new entrance and quicker, easier journeys.

“We are now in the final stages of this major project, and therefore some disruption is unfortunately inevitable. However, we are doing what we can to mitigate this.

There will be a number of alternative options to help passengers complete their journeys during the closure of the Bank branch, including a new bus route and extra Tube services.

Passengers should check before they travel, to keep their journeys as convenient and simple as possible.”

“The Bank Station Capacity Upgrade is a crucial project that will support the City’s growth and success after these challenging years of navigating the pandemic.

“I’m sorry for the disruption this vital work will cause, and I can assure Londoners that if there was any other way to connect the new tunnels with the existing railway then we would.

“The 17-week closure of the Bank branch of the Northern line is now just over one week away.

Customers are encouraged to check their journeys before they travel by using Journey Planner or the TfL Go app and try to retime their journeys or take a different route by Tube, rail, bus, walking or cycling where possible.

I’d like to reassure everyone that we are doing everything possible to reduce the impact of this closure, with an increased service on the Charing Cross branch and a new bus route into the City.

We will also use this closure to carry out maintenance and improvement work at other stations in order to minimise future disruption.”

Main Pic: TfL Image – Bank Station Upgrade Tunnelling Works