Utility headaches see Tube station work delayed

Vital work to make London Underground stations more accessible is running up to three months behind schedule.

Transport for London had been saying it would make 12 stations step-free in 2019/20.

But the organisation has now quietly updated this with a new completion programme for each station (see below), revealing work at just one of the stations, Mill Hill East on the Northern line, had actually been finished.

Morgan Sindall completed work at the north London station (pictured) last month.

Papers published ahead of this week’s meeting of TfL’s finance committee said the upgrade of London Underground stations becoming step-free is running at least 90 days behind schedule.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We have faced challenges at some stations that have impacted the programme, for example where we have uncovered buried power cables or drainage channels that were not shown on station plans or identified during surveys.

“We have also had to navigate planning application restrictions at some sites, which have led to increased delivery times.”

Another eight Tube stations will be made step-free by spring 2024: Knightsbridge, Boston Manor, Colindale, North Ealing, Park Royal, Rickmansworth, Ruislip and Snaresbrook.

In 2016, London mayor Sadiq Khan announced a programme that would take the total number of step-free Tube stations on the 270-station network to over 100. By spring 2024, 38% of the Tube network will be step-free – compared to 28% in 2018.

There are currently 79 step-free stations.