Major improvement work at Paddington Tube station start 2 Apr

30 March 2016
Temporary closure of Bakerloo line platforms will enable major escalator renewal to be carried out

London Underground (LU) customers are reminded that major improvement work at Paddington Tube station is set to begin this Saturday (2 April).

The improvements at Paddington will mean that Bakerloo line trains will not stop at the station from this Saturday until mid-August. During this time, Transport for London (TfL) engineers will carry out a major renewal of both of the heavily-used escalators serving the Bakerloo line. By replacing virtually every component, the escalators can be used for a further 20 years and will be more reliable in the coming years as the Tube carries ever more customers.

Engineers will also continue to carefully dig a new 165m tunnel underneath the station so customers can interchange between the Bakerloo line and the new Elizabeth line platforms, which will become operational from December 2018. The new pedestrian link will incorporate escalators, lifts, stairs and new passageways in order to make interchanging between the Tube and the Elizabeth line as easy as possible for customers.

Currently around 165,000 customers use Paddington Tube station daily - with 82,000 people using the Bakerloo line. When the Elizabeth line starts running from December 2018, the number of customers using TfL services at Paddington is expected to increase to 248,000.

TfL will re-open the platforms in time for the Notting Hill Carnival on Sunday 28 and Monday 29 August.

David Waboso CBE, London Underground's Capital Programmes Director, said: `Paddington Tube station serves as a major interchange and when the Elizabeth line services begin in 2018, around 248,000 customers a day will be using our services.

`We try to carry out as much of our improvement work as possible when the Tube is closed, but in this case we need a closure period due to the nature and scale of the work. In order to keep disruption for customers to a minimum, we are combining Bakerloo line escalator and Crossrail construction work so that services are non-stopping for the shortest time possible. We thank customers for their patience while we carry out the vital modernisation of this station.'

While Bakerloo line trains are not stopping at Paddington Tube station, customers can still access the Circle and District lines via the ticket halls from the Network Rail concourse and on Praed Street. Access to the separate Circle and Hammersmith & City line ticket hall is unaffected.

For central London, customers are advised to take:

  • The Circle or Hammersmith & City lines to Baker Street for alternative Tube routes
  • The District or Circle line to Notting Hill Gate and change for the Central line
  • The District line to Earl's Court and change for alternative Tube routes
  • The Circle line via Bayswater
  • A short signposted walk or use local buses from stop H on Praed Street to nearby Edgware Road for the Bakerloo line

For Bakerloo line stations north of Paddington customers are advised to take a short signposted walk, or use local bus route 332, to Warwick Avenue station. Travelcards are valid for travel on all TfL buses.

Customers can change between the Bakerloo and Circle and Hammersmith & City lines at Baker Street, and between the Bakerloo and Circle and District lines at Edgware Road.

Both Heathrow Express and Heathrow Connect trains terminate at Paddington station. Customers are advised to take the Circle, Hammersmith & City or District lines to or from Paddington.

The next major phase of LU modernisation work will bring faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys to millions of customers who use the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines.

A vital modernisation of the signalling and train control systems for those lines is expected to begin later this year and the main benefits will be delivered by 2022. This will mean the frequency of trains running during peak periods will increase to 32 trains per hour in central London - a train every two minutes - with frequency increases at other times as well. Line upgrades are at the core of LU's investment programme, which will deliver more than 30 per cent increase in capacity.

Redevelopment work to increase capacity at key stations and make them step-free is also underway at a number of other stations including Victoria, Tottenham Court Road and Bond Street. More than half of LU's 270 stations have now been modernised or refurbished to make them brighter and easier to use, with improvements such as tactile strips, better CCTV and help points, electronic information displays in ticket halls and on platforms, and improved seating and lighting.

For more travel information please visit tfl.gov.uk/paddington-improvements