Vital escalator work starts at Marylebone Tube station this month

05 August 2020
The station will remain open throughout, with two escalators always in operation
"Once the work is complete, the station will have improved capacity and reliability, which is particularly important at this busy interchange"
Esther Sharples
Director of Asset Operations at London Underground

TfL is advising customers who use Marylebone Tube station that essential escalator work starts in August.

The vital three-year programme will first deliver a new escalator to replace the existing central staircase.

Work will then begin on replacing the two existing escalators, which date back to 1943, one at a time, to reduce the impact on customers.

Preliminary, behind-the-scenes site work is already underway and will be followed by the relocation of the station's ticket barriers from mid-August to create additional space to work.

Main construction is due to start in mid-September. All work will be carried out following the latest social distancing guidelines for staff and customers.

Vital work

The station will remain open for the duration of the work and there will always be two escalators in operation - one going up, one going down. The work is scheduled to be completed by autumn 2023.

The vital work will mean that the station, which supports 13.7m customer journeys each year and provides an important interchange with national rail services, will have three new escalators.

Esther Sharples, Director of Asset Operations at London Underground, said: 'We'd like to thank our customers for their patience while this vital escalator work is being carried out.

'The escalators we're replacing are some of the oldest on the Tube network and this is essential work that will improve journeys through Marylebone station for years to come.

'Once the work is complete, the station will have improved capacity and reliability, which is particularly important at this busy interchange.'

Heavy-duty machines

London Underground's escalators are heavy-duty machines and tend to be in operation in both directions for up to 20 hours a day. They weigh around 40 tonnes and carry millions of people each year. A typical 15-metre rise escalator has approximately 15,000 moving parts.

As part of additional improvement works at Marylebone station, TfL will also expand the ticket barriers at the station by demolishing the former disused ticket office. This will reduce congestion in the peak periods once all the works are complete.

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