Major works to improve Victoria line services this summer

17 February 2015

Improvement work planned this summer by London Underground (LU) will lead to the operation of 36 trains per hour. From April 2016, this will provide a train every 100 seconds during peak hours, making the Victoria line the UK's highest frequency railway and comparable with the very best in the world. All peak-time trains will run the full length of the line from Walthamstow Central to Brixton, giving a 40% capacity boost for customers northeast of Seven Sisters.

The Victoria line now carries more than 200 million passengers each year and as on the rest of the Tube network demand keeps rising.

At present only 24 trains per hour can be run beyond Seven Sisters due to the layout of the points at Walthamstow Central crossover, which transfers northbound trains to the southbound line for their return journey. Renewal of the crossover is essential to achieve 36 trains per hour.

From Saturday 8 August to Sunday 30 August London Underground will rebuild the crossover, replacing the concrete track-bed and the rails and point work. During this period all northbound Victoria line trains will only go as far as Seven Sisters. The nature and scale of the work means it is not possible to do it during the very limited engineering hours available at nights and weekends.

David Waboso, Capital Programmes Director at LU, said: `To meet increasing customer demand for the Victoria line we are making the service the most frequent in the UK, with 36 trains per hour by 2016. We will also run all peak time trains to Walthamstow Central from Brixton, a capacity increase of more than 40% for customers north of Seven Sisters.

`During the work we won't be able to run Victoria line trains between Seven Sisters and Walthamstow Central. Our engineers will be working around the clock to keep the closure period as short as possible.'

During the closure services between Seven Sisters and Brixton will run as normal - although with a slightly lower frequency. As a result, other stations on the Victoria line may be busier, as will parts of the Central line and London Overground. LU will publicise information about the work and how to avoid delays, with customer emails, online information including via the @victorialine Twitter account, posters and announcements in stations.

Rail replacement buses will run from Walthamstow Central to Seven Sisters Tube stations as well as from Walthamstow Central to Stratford and Stratford International stations and between Chingford Mount and Seven Sisters, calling at Blackhorse Road and Tottenham Hale. Other options include the London Overground service from Walthamstow Central to Liverpool Street, which takes over from the previous operator in May of this year.

Ends

  • Improvements are underway across the Victoria line, including the redevelopment of Victoria and Vauxhall stations to increase capacity and make them step-free. A redevelopment and step-free access scheme is also planned at Finsbury Park station. This year, staff will move from behind ticket windows to ticket halls, gate lines and platforms to offer assistance to customers where it is needed most. As part of these station improvements, on the Victoria line Visitor Information Centres will open at King's Cross St Pancras and Victoria. The 24-hour Night Tube service will run on the full length of the line on Friday and Saturday nights from September.