New lifts to increase Covent Garden station capacity
Transport for London (TfL) is advising customers who use London Underground's Covent Garden station, that work to replace four lifts at the station will continue at the end of February.
The replacement of two of the four lifts at Covent Garden Tube station was completed in November last year, with customers benefitting from a 25% increase in capacity through larger lift cars and an increased running speed. They are also compliant with current lift and disability legislation.
The replacement of the remaining two lifts will start from Monday 23 February and will last for approximately ten months. The replacement work will require engineers to completely remove the existing lift cars as well as replace all of the structural, mechanical and electrical parts.
Work to modify the steel structure within the lift shaft is also required, which adds to the complexity of the work.
During the lift replacement works, Covent Garden station will be exit only and at weekends westbound Piccadilly line trains will not stop at the station. Customers will be able to use Leicester Square or Charing Cross stations, both of which are a short signposted walk away from Covent Garden.
Nick Brown, Chief Operating Officer for London Underground, said: `Two of the four lifts are new and are providing customers with a quicker, more efficient and more reliable service. We paused our programme of work over the festive period but now we must crack on to replace the remaining two lifts, which are over 25 years old.
`We have explored various options to carry out these works while keeping disruption at a minimum for our customers. I am sorry for the disruption this upgrade work will cause but customers will experience the benefit of a quicker lift service with lift capacity increasing substantially.'
The current lifts at Covent Garden station were installed around 25 years ago. The programme for replacing the lifts has been developed to reduce the impact on customers using the station. This means the total time to complete the work on all four lifts will be around 17 months rather than the standard 28 months.
- London Underground (LU) is undertaking a major programme of renewal which will inevitably result in some disruption for customers, but TfL is working hard to provide information and alternative travel options. The work is essential to provide for London's growing transport needs now, and into the future.
- TfL is urging all Londoners and Tube, London Overground, London Tramlink and DLR customers to "check before you travel" at weekends, allowing extra journey time where necessary. Weekend travel news is available at www.tfl.gov.uk