Nearly four years have passed since work began on redesigning Bank and Monument stations, so City workers could be forgiven for forgetting what’s coming down the tracks.
Delayed by one year, the mammoth £642million upgrade is due for completion in 2022, and it will increase the stations’ capacity by 40%.
Transport for London admits the Bank-Monument link is “one of the world’s most complex subterranean railway stations”.
And a TfL report from 2015 called ‘Bank Station Capacity Upgrade’ explained that as well as cramming more commuters underground, the upgrade should make it easier and quicker to get between platforms and exits. It also hopes to improve the stations’ “ambiance”.
The report also predicted that by 2026 the two stations will be used by 107,000 passengers each morning, between 7am and 10am. That compares with the 2015 average of 98,000 per morning.
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Among the major changes coming to Bank and Monument are; a new southbound Northern Line platform; existing southbound Northern Line platform to become a concours; four new passages to link the new Northern Line platform to the new concourse; a new station entrance which will open on to King William Street and Cannon Street at the junction with Nicholas Lane, with escalators running down to the Northern Line; a station entrance inside the Bloomberg office development located in Walbrook, with connections to the Waterloo and City Line; Cannon Street entrance hall to have two lifts that link to the Northern Line and Docklands Light Railway (DLR); and new walkways and escalators between the Northern Line, DLR and Central Line.
The original estimated cost of the development was £568.3m, but costs increased due to the delay.
The current price tag includes a £16m investment to improve the stations’ operation systems, including “a new Station Operation Room, staff accommodation at Monument Station, a CCTV system and a Passenger Help Point system”.
More than 200 engineers and staff are working on site 24-hours-a-day.
