London Underground’s Northern line bank branch to reopen next Monday

The closed bank branch of the Northern line will reopen to passengers from Monday 16th May, TfL has confirmed.

The line has been closed since earlier this year to allow a new tunnel and platform at Bank tube station to be connected to the existing Northern line tunnels, work that could only be done by closing the tunnel to trains. When the line reopens, the new and much wider southbound Northern line platform and spacious new customer concourse at Bank station will open at the same time.

New southbound platform at Bank station (c) TfL

TfL’s project team have worked throughout the 17-week closure to finalise work on the brand-new Northern line tunnel and passenger concourse. They have also completed three new passageways, which will make moving around the station quicker and easier for Northern line customers, who should follow the new signage and directions from London Underground staff as they familiarise themselves with the new layout.

During the closure, TfL has connected the new southbound Northern line tunnel to the existing railway and converted the former southbound Northern line platform, which was built more than 100 years ago, into a new customer concourse. There has also been work on fitting out the new station areas, which included installing flooring, wall coverings and signage on the new southbound Northern line platform.

Stuart Harvey, Chief Capital Officer at Transport for London, said: “I’m delighted to confirm that we’re on schedule to fully re-open the Northern line on Monday 16 May after successfully completing the challenging next phase of vital upgrade works at Bank station. I’d like to thank our customers for their patience during this closure. The improvements we’re making at Bank station will be finished by the end of this year and will totally transform customer journeys through the station. Anyone who’s familiar with Bank station will know how its labyrinthian layout can be confusing and time-consuming to navigate.”

Test train heading north through the new southbound platform (c) TfL

Later this year, a brand new moving walkway will open linking the Northern and Central lines, and towards the end of the year, new escalators to the DLR and up to a brand new entrance on Cannon Street will also open.

During the closure of the Bank branch of the Northern line, work was also carried out at other stations including London Bridge, Borough and Elephant & Castle so that future disruption to customers would be minimised. This included work on lifts and escalators, as well as refurbishment work at Borough, and enabling works for the future Elephant & Castle station upgrade.

The last day of service for the Route 733 bus, which was introduced specifically for the Bank branch closure period, is Friday 13 May. There will also be a wider closure on the Northern line from Charing Cross to Battersea Power Station, and Euston to Stockwell (via Bank), on Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th May to enable final works to be carried out before the Bank branch of the Northern line re-opens the following day.

The refurbished Bank station’s Northern line then opens first thing on Monday morning.