Kentish Town Tube station scheduled to re-open on Monday 23 December

• Extensive work also now completed to replace the ticket hall's floor and ceiling
• Other improvements include a more spacious ticket hall with seven ticket gates, new floor and wall tiles, improved signage and historic features preserved
• Customers wanting to top up their Oyster card or purchase a paper ticket are advised to do this before arriving at the station, as the ticket machines will not be ready to use until early next year

Kentish Town Tube station is scheduled to re-open to customers on Monday 23 December 2024 after the essential replacement of the station's 26-year-old escalators. The station's ticket hall, platforms and passageways have also been deep-cleaned and repainted, with new floor and wall tiles and improved signage installed.

The station has been closed since June 2023 to carry out the complex work required to replace the two escalators. Once this work was underway, issues were identified with materials used in the construction of the ceiling and ticket hall floor of the historic station, which first opened in 1907. Extensive work was carried out on these areas before the station could safely re-open to customers.

The old ticket office was also removed during the works and the ticket gates realigned to provide more space for customers, with seven new gates installed. Historic features of the station, such as the original clocks on the platforms and outside the station, have been preserved and care was taken to retain as many of the original tiles inside the building as possible.

When the station re-opens, some hoardings will still be in place while Transport for London (TfL) finishes installing the ticket machines ready for use from early next year.  Customers using Oyster or Contactless payment cards will be able to tap in and out at the ticket barriers as usual. However, customers wanting to top up their Oyster card or purchase a paper ticket will need to do this before arriving at the station. The pedestrian route within the Tube station for access to Kentish Town Thameslink station will also not be available for customers to use until early next year. Access to and from the Thameslink station platforms will remain via the out-of-hours entrance, approximately 20 metres along Kentish Town Road from the main Tube station entrance, as has been the case during the station closure.

Richard Jones, TfL's Director of Asset Performance Delivery, said: "I'd like to thank our customers for their patience while we replaced the escalators at Kentish Town Tube station, particularly as the work took longer than originally planned due to additional challenges that were uncovered once the complex work had begun. The new escalators will greatly improve journeys through the station and are expected to be in service for the next 40 years. In addition, the station is now more spacious, more welcoming and easier to navigate for our customers as a result of the additional works we've done."

The previous escalators were installed in 1997 and were among the most unreliable on the Underground network. They were also bespoke to the station, making it difficult to source parts for maintenance and repairs. They frequently caused last-minute station closures and disruption for customers. The new escalators are the same model as those used on the Elizabeth line and throughout the London Underground network making sourcing parts much easier and leading to a reduction in unplanned station closures, improving reliability for customers.

The two new escalators at Kentish Town Tube station have more efficient motors and drivers, meaning less electricity is needed to operate them. When not in use, the escalators will run slower to save energy. This complements the installation of LED lighting throughout Kentish Town Tube station, contributing to the overall sustainability of the Tube network.

Notes to Editors

• Customers wanting to top up their Oyster card or purchase a paper ticket will need to do this before arriving at the station as the ticket machines will not be ready to use until early next year. Oyster cards can be topped up at nearby Oyster ticket stops at local shops. There are five within 0.5km of the station. Paper tickets can be purchased at Camden Town, Tufnell Park and Chalk Farm Tube stations
• 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 each and carry millions of people each year. A typical 15-metre rise escalator has approximately 15,000 moving parts