£695m Victoria station revamp approved

A £695m upgrade of Victoria Station on the London Underground was given the go-ahead today.

The project has been approved by the Secretary of State for Transport following a three-month public inquiry, which ended in January.

More than 80 million passengers use the station each year and severe congestion during the morning rush hour often makes it necessary to stop passengers coming into the station for several minutes, to avoid overcrowding on the Tube platforms.

The scheme will increase the size of the station by about 50% with a new ticket hall, lifts and additional escalators to ease congestion, and step-free access from street level to all platforms andvinterchanges.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "For many people, Victoria Station is the gateway to central London, and for a long time it has been creaking under pressure from the sheer number who use it every day.

"This key upgrade will transform the experience for those using the station - making life easier and more convenient.

"It exemplifies our commitment to invest in our future to ensure our infrastructure can meet the needs of the 21st century.'

LU Managing Director, Richard Parry said: "Victoria Underground stations is one of the busiest stations in the country with around 80 million people passing through its gates every year.

"This number is set to grow especially when we increase capacity on the Victoria, District and Circle lines, and these works will ensure the station can handle the additional volume of customers."

Subject to the TfL Board approving funding for the project in the Autumn, construction can start in 2010, taking about seven years to complete.
 
LU appointed Mott MacDonald to be lead consultant for the detailed design through to construction of the Victoria Station upgrade two years ago, as part of Transport for London's multi billion pound Investment Programme