Engineers worked round the clock to complete work as soon as possible - over two months earlier than originally scheduled.

The essential escalator work carried out at Highbury & Islington Tube station has now been completed.

The 45-year-old escalators which have seen heavy usage with up to 6,000 people using them an hour, have been fully refurbished and to ensure their continued reliability all the moving parts and electrical equipment have been replaced.

Phil Hufton, London Underground's Chief Operating Officer, said: 'We have now completed the full refurbishment of the escalators at Highbury & Islington Tube station - more than two months ahead of the original schedule. To ensure their continued reliability all the moving parts and electrical equipment have been replaced.

'We would like to thank customers for their patience and co-operation. Our engineers did work round the clock to keep the disruption to a minimum. It was essential to carry out this work because the 45-year-old escalators have been operating up to 20 hours a day, 364 days a year carrying increasing numbers of passengers.'

Escalators on the Underground are longer and heavier than those found elsewhere.

Refurbishing escalators on the Tube is a lengthy process because they have been manufactured bespoke to fit their particular location and each component part has had to be removed individually and replaced. 

Large components, weighing up to eight tonnes, were removed from the cramped space beneath the escalator overnight when the station was closed.

Ancillary services, including fire safety systems, ventilation and lighting all had to be overhauled as part of the work.

The work was carried out during the summer to reduce impact on the football season and other events at the nearby Emirates Stadium.