6,000 lights at King’s Cross St Pancras converted to LEDs, providing brighter and greener journeys for passengers

Transport for London’s (TfL) work to decarbonise its operations continues at pace with the installation of 6,000 Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs at King’s Cross St Pancras Tube station. This is the latest of the 120 stations across the Tube network to be upgraded, which means more than 40 per cent of the Tube network is now brighter and more efficiently lit, making journeys more comfortable and safer for customers. 

Customers who use the busy interchange station are benefiting from a more brightly lit journey after the LED conversion, with the new bulbs consuming less power, halving carbon output and the cost of electricity compared to traditional lighting. It is expected to generate energy savings of 1400 MWh per year, equivalent to powering 500 number of homes a year [1] or almost 300 tonnes of Carbon Dioxide equivalent (CO2e) and up to £455,000 in operational savings in the first year. LED lighting also lasts longer than traditional fluorescent lighting, reducing maintenance and replacement costs.

Currently, more than 40 per cent of Tube stations across London - such as Westminster, Golders Green and Old Street – have been converted to LED lighting, with further stations, such as Bank and Monument planned for a lighting upgrade in the coming years. Due to the nature of the work, it is carried out when stations are closed and power is switched off, which means limited windows to carry out the work. The majority of LEDs used in stations across the network have come from UK-based suppliers and installers, ensuring the security of supply and supporting the UK's growth and innovation in the lighting sector. At the start of the next decade, TfL aims to have all stations converted to LED lighting, which will deliver a significant saving in associated CO2e and support the Mayor and TfL's wider work for London to be a net-zero city by 2030. 

Lilli Matson, Chief Safety, Health and Environment Officer at TfL, said: "Decarbonising our operation is key to reducing the impact of public transport on climate change. By upgrading key stations like King’s Cross St Pancras to LED lighting, it not only provides a brighter, more pleasing environment for our customers, but it also helps us reduce costs and carbon emissions. Work to decarbonise our operational buildings helps us run a more energy efficient network, underpinning our commitment to do what we can to ensure our services are the most sustainable way to move around the city.

“London is helping to lead the way towards achieving net zero and we are committed to doing what we can to ensure our services are the most sustainable way to move around the city."

Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy said: “LED lights are a great way for TfL to decarbonise the network, and help achieve net zero carbon by 2030. The new lighting will cut costs and carbon emissions while providing customers with a brighter and more comfortable journey through the station.  

“This will help our mission to make London more climate resilient, creating a fairer, greener city for all.”

David Bide, Managing Director of Armadillo, an Essex-based LED supplier to the Tube network, said: "Armadillo were very pleased to be engaged in TfL's introduction of LED lighting. Armadillo worked alongside TfL's engineers to fully understand the requirements of the network and build a product to exceed the material safety requirements. As a result, we built an LED product for the Tube network, including at King's Cross St Pancras Tube station, which significantly reduced heat and carbon emissions as well as maintenance requirements like replacements and cleaning. The new standards of increased lumen outputs also assisted with enhanced CCTV recognition and platform safety. With the ongoing product improvements and evolving technology, even greater energy savings can be generated for the Tube network through increased lumen performance and energy reductions."

In addition to stations, TfL is also working to convert depots to lower-energy-consuming LED lighting and using smart technology so that it can continue to operate the network but in a more energy efficient way. Work has recently been carried out at Neasden and Ruislip Depots and in the Wheel Lathe Shed at Upminster depot, which have not only reduced associated energy consumption for lighting, but also provided a better lit working environment for train maintenance teams who work to keep trains in active service across the network. On completion of the LED lighting conversion, the depots are expected to reduce electricity consumption and carbon emissions by almost half. 

TfL is using the £2.3m of grant funding awarded to decarbonise buildings at Neasden Depot and Finchley Central Signals Depot for London Underground. These projects will target the replacement of ageing fossil fuelled heating systems with low carbon alternatives as well as improving building performance through implementation of fabric measures. When completed, these buildings will be better insulated, more comfortable places to work, with modern, low carbon systems such as heat pumps, LED lighting and solar panels. It is anticipated this project will reduce emissions by 300 tonnes of CO2e a year.

Elsewhere on the network, the lighting at 27 tram-stops along the London Tram network in south London have also been converted to LED lighting in recent years, helping to improve safety of customers late at night as well as reduce the amount of light pollution to nearby areas. The Bakerloo and Central line trains are also currently both being upgraded to have LED lighting within them to help reduce the power consumption and allow for further wider improvements for customer information systems to be delivered.

TfL will finish converting its bus shelter lighting to LEDs – currently at 95 per cent of shelters – by this summer to create safer, brighter and more welcoming spaces across the network for customers. TfL’s zero-emission fleet is also playing a key role in decarbonising transport operation and tackling the climate emergency. With more than 1,800 zero-emission buses in operation, it is the largest fleet in Western Europe. Carrying up to 80 times the number of passengers as a car, while taking up just three times as much space, they help to cut congestion. Route 358, powered by the pantograph technology which allows fast, high-power charging, was the latest milestone in the Mayor's commitment to deliver a zero-emission bus fleet by 2030.

Reducing carbon is essential to limiting the impact of climate change and saving the planet. TfL and the Mayor of London are committed to achieving net zero by 2030. The effects of climate change are being felt worldwide and London is already dealing with hotter, drier summers and warmer, wetter winters. By reducing emissions TfL is helping to limit the effects of climate change. In the meantime, TfL is also considering how to futureproof the city for the already present and future changes in the climate, building on the measures it set out in its Climate Adaption and Corporate Environment plans.