TfL Press Release - Escalator maintenance work at Brixton Tube station in February

Transport for London (TfL) is confirming that essential maintenance on one of Brixton Tube station’s escalators will begin on Friday 14 February. The work will mean that the escalator will be closed until early March and customers who use the station are advised to consider travelling at a different time or using alternative public transport to reduce any disruption.

One part of the escalator was found to be wearing more quickly than expected during a recent routine maintenance check, so it will be closed to allow repairs. Teams of engineers will work shifts around the clock to bring the escalator back into service as quickly as possible. Escalators on the London Underground network are in use for around 20 hours each day and need to be regularly maintained to operate safely. The work required at Brixton is the first such project since the other two escalators were refurbished in 2015.

One of the two remaining escalators will be running up from platform level to ticket hall level throughout the work to make sure that customer numbers on the platforms remain safe. This will mean that there will only be one escalator down to the platforms in the morning peak hours, and entry to the station will be managed with a queue between 07:00 and 10:00. The closure will also mean that the both escalators will be running up from the platforms during the evening peak, so the station will be no entry from 16:30 to 19:15 on weekdays.

Esther Sharples, London Underground’s Director of Asset Operations, said: “I’m sorry for the disruption that the work to one of the escalators at Brixton Tube station will cause for our customers. The repairs are essential to ensure that the station can continue to operate safely in the future. Our contractors will work around the clock to bring the escalators back into service as quickly as possible.”

Brixton Tube station is one of the busiest on the network, and the fourth busiest outside central London, with nearly 30 million customers using it yearly. The capacity on the Victoria line was boosted in 2017 when a 36 trains per hour service began operating, helping to fuel a nine per cent increase in demand at Brixton compared to 2015 figures.

During this vital work customers are encouraged to use alternative options or retime their journeys where possible. Nearby Tube stations Stockwell and Oval will operate as normal, while several bus routes will operate ticket acceptance to provide customers with alternative routes. Customers who usually arrive at Brixton by bus are encouraged to stay on their bus until it reaches an alternative location to access the Tube network.