Transport for London (TfL) is advising customers using the Piccadilly and District lines that the western branches will be closing from 8:30pm this Friday, and will be closed for most of the weekend for engineering works.
This weekend, there are three closures affecting the two lines:
District line between Earl’s Court to Ealing Broadway and Richmond – from 8:30pm on Friday until Monday morning.
Piccadilly line between Hyde Park Corner to Northfields and Uxbridge from 8:30pm on Friday until the morning of Sunday 17th September.
Piccadilly line between Hyde Park Corner to Acton Town from 8:30pm on Friday to Monday morning (the Uxbridge and Northfields branches will reopen to Acton Town)
The lines will be closed because track renewals at Hammersmith and West Kensington Tube stations, with sleepers, rails and ballast all changed. In addition, a new drainage system will be installed at West Kensington station during the October closure, which will reduce the risk of ongoing delays on the District line. The track work completed during both closures will make journeys for customers smoother, more comfortable and more reliable.
Rail replacement buses will operate for all local stations on the affected parts of both lines during the closure. Customers wishing to travel to Heathrow Airport are advised to use the Elizabeth line or express coach services to and from Hammersmith.
The Central and Metropolitan lines also connect to some areas affected by the closure and are scheduled to operate normally.
Closed Piccadilly line stations will be served by rail replacement buses during Night Tube operating hours. The rest of both the Piccadilly and District lines are scheduled to operate as normal through the weekend, and a full service will resume across both lines on Monday 18th September.
A further closure between Thursday 26th October and Sunday 29th October will allow the work to be completed. Only the District line will be closed for this work, with no service between Earl’s Court and Ealing Broadway, Richmond or Kensington (Olympia).
Richard Jones, TfL’s Director of Asset Performance Delivery, said: “We understand that closures like this may cause disruption to our customers, but the track work being completed is vital to ensure that the Tube can continue to operate as reliably as possible in these areas. Rail replacement buses will operate throughout the work and the Elizabeth, Central and Metropolitan lines will run as scheduled to allow customers to complete their journeys. I would encourage customers to check before they travel using our travel tools and I thank them in advance for their understanding.”
One of the reasons for this is the westbound Piccadilly track is being relaid and raised up at Hammersmith station to make it step free, currently there’s quite a large step down to get on the train. The eastbound was done a month or so back.