Angel Station in Islington will become exit-only on weekends and bank holidays from January 2, 2027, until further notice, so engineers can work on extending the working life of its escalators, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.
The Northern Line station, which sees almost 12,000,000 visitors each year, has the longest escalators on the London Underground network. In April, one of its three 200ft escalators failed, and TfL now predicts the second could soon suffer a similar fate – a failure that could force the entire closure of the station. The third of the 35-year-old escalators is also in need of an upgrade, according to the transport body.
Why the station is going exit-only
Analysis by TfL confirms that more people leave the station than enter it on weekends and bank holidays. According to The Standard, TfL is exploring ways to repair or replace the escalators, but due to ongoing funding pressures limiting its options, engineers are focused on keeping the escalators running for as long as possible.
Richard Jones, Director of Asset Performance Delivery for London Underground, said in a statement: 'The escalators at Angel have been in service for almost 35 years and are becoming less reliable and increasingly difficult to maintain.'
'Their size means renewal or replacement is a challenging, expensive project and we are currently exploring all options possible to extend their working life.'
Funding challenges and next steps
'Many years of constrained Government funding for essential asset renewals has meant that we have not been able to invest in new escalators at the station,' Jones added.
'Making the station exit-only during specific periods will allow us to extend the working life of the escalators and give us more time to plan our next steps, with design work on replacing the escalators to begin this autumn.'
'I understand that any disruption to the station will have an impact on customers, businesses and the local community and we will do all we can to work closely with local stakeholders to ensure that we mitigate the disruption as much as possible.'
Alternative travel options at weekends
For those who regularly travel around Angel Station and want to start a journey from the nearby area, TfL has advised taking any of the five bus routes – 30, 73, 205, 214 or 476 – to King's Cross St Pancras.
Alternatively, passengers can take bus routes 43, 205 or 214 to Old Street Tube Station, or head to Highbury & Islington Station by using bus routes 4, 19, 30 or 43, or by a 20-minute walk.
