Bank Station TWAO granted

[plcd1]

TfL have issued a press release confirming that capacity expansion works at Bank Station will now go ahead. The SoS has signed off the required Transport and Works Act Order.

https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/december/major-upgrade-of-bank-tube-station-gets-the-green-light-for-work-to-begin

The Mayor and Transport for London (TfL) have announced that work to dramatically transform and improve Bank Tube station will begin in the new year after the plans were given the go-ahead by Government.

The £563m upgrade will increase the busy station's capacity by 40 per cent, improving accessibility and reducing interchange times when it is completed in 2021. Now approved, the station becomes the latest in a series of major upgrades taking place across the Capital.

 

[TheNewNo2]

That's a big hooray from an occasional user of the station.

 

[StateOfPlay]

Good news, for 6 years from now.

 

[Blindtraveler]

So what in practicle terms will this involve?

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Personally, as the aider to a wheelchair user, I hope it means Bank becomes wheelchair accessable for the Drain and the DLR

 

[StateOfPlay]

So what in practicle terms will this involve?

From the link;

This vital interchange - at the heart of the City of London - will be modernised to include:

A new railway tunnel and platform for the Northern line that will reduce interchange times and create more space for passengers

Step-free access to the Northern line and DLR platforms

More direct routes, with two new moving walkways

Three new lifts and 12 new escalators

A new station entrance in Cannon Street

The redevelopment will complement current work to create a new entrance to the Waterloo & City line. Just metres away from Walbrook Square, the new entrance will offer two new lifts, four new escalators and a new ticket hall when it opens in late 2017

 

[spinba11]

Personally, as the aider to a wheelchair user, I hope it means Bank becomes wheelchair accessable for the Drain and the DLR

Bank is already wheelchair accessable to the DLR.

 

[HMS Ark Royal]

Bank is already wheelchair accessable to the DLR.

Not in rush hour... You ever try wheeling somebody through that lot at rush hour?

 

[Mikey C]

The platforms on the Northern Line are horribly narrow and congested, London Bridge was transformed when they rebuilt it (and the dreadful Angel platforms previously)

I hope they also improve the interchanges between the Northern and Central lines, as they are horribly cramped to fit in between the Northern Line platforms

 

[rebmcr]

There is an excellent four-part overview of what this will involve over at London Reconnections:

http://www.londonreconnections.com/2012/bank-station-part-1-the-forgotten-upgrade/
http://www.londonreconnections.com/2012/bank-station-upgrade-part-2-of-2-the-proposals/
http://www.londonreconnections.com/2013/bank-station-part-3-revised-upgrade-proposals/
http://www.londonreconnections.com/2013/bank-station-part-4-radical-changes/

Parts 3 and 4 especially focus on the work to come.

 

[Camden]

I think this is going to be... interesting. I assume it will be Tower Hill for DLR services while this is going on?

 

[edwin_m]

The platforms on the Northern Line are horribly narrow and congested, London Bridge was transformed when they rebuilt it (and the dreadful Angel platforms previously)

I hope they also improve the interchanges between the Northern and Central lines, as they are horribly cramped to fit in between the Northern Line platforms

The Northern Line platforms are being modified in the same way as at London Bridge, with one running line being diverted into a new platform tunnel and the existing platform tunnel converted to provide much better access to both platforms. This is slightly different to Angel where there was an island platform in a single bore (as remains at the two Clapham stations) and this was also bypassed, but resulting in only two parallel tunnels rather than three. I don't believe Bank ever had island platforms.

 

[swt_passenger]

The platforms on the Northern Line are horribly narrow and congested, London Bridge was transformed when they rebuilt it (and the dreadful Angel platforms previously)

I hope they also improve the interchanges between the Northern and Central lines, as they are horribly cramped to fit in between the Northern Line platforms

Massively improved, involving a pair of long travelators (a late addition by the winning joint venture) and a number of additional escalators and a new circulating concourse level at the Central Line end.

 

[Blindtraveler]

Are the 2 travelaters installed way back when to the surface still in situ and are they staying? I assume the new ones will be for Central, Northern and DLR Interchange?

 

[plcd1]

Are the 2 travelaters installed way back when to the surface still in situ and are they staying? I assume the new ones will be for Central, Northern and DLR Interchange?

Yes the W&C travelators are still there and no plans to remove them.

The two major schemes at Bank are all about adding new ways in and out of the station plus much better low level interchange and space (the Northern Line scheme). There is an awful lot going to be happening over the next 6 years with the W&C Walbrook entrance due in 2017 and the new Cannon St entrance, low level interchange and Northern line platform works due in 2021.

 

[Mikey C]

Massively improved, involving a pair of long travelators (a late addition by the winning joint venture) and a number of additional escalators and a new circulating concourse level at the Central Line end.

Excellent, I wasn't expecting travelators, I'm surprised there's the space!

 

[swt_passenger]

Excellent, I wasn't expecting travelators, I'm surprised there's the space!

Neither were TfL, they weren't asked for in the tender. If you read the sequence of linked articles on the London Reconnections site, mentioned earlier in rebmcr's post you'll find that the winning bidder basically came up with a better solution to the one in the original specification.

 

[TheNewNo2]

Just a point, but as they're LU, they'll be Passenger Conveyors, not Travelators!

No, I don't know why either. I guess maybe Travelator has unfortunate Gladiators associations.

 

[edwin_m]

Just a point, but as they're LU, they'll be Passenger Conveyors, not Travelators!

No, I don't know why either. I guess maybe Travelator has unfortunate Gladiators associations.

Travelator is, or was, a trademark of one of the makers. I thought the favourite "supplier neutral" term was "moving walkway".

 

[swt_passenger]

Travelator is, or was, a trademark of one of the makers. I thought the favourite "supplier neutral" term was "moving walkway".

That's right - 'moving walkway' is the phrase used in the originally linked TfL statement.

 

[TheNewNo2]

Travelator is, or was, a trademark of one of the makers. I thought the favourite "supplier neutral" term was "moving walkway".

All I know is that on our reports they're passenger conveyors, and have codes such as N115-C1.

(Note, I can't remember if N115 is Waterloo, but I mean it to be).

 

[plcd1]

For those pondering the details of the new layout then there are pdf drawings on a closed consultation about the Bank Station works.

https://consultations.tfl.gov.uk/tube/bankstation

Good public transport is vital to help London thrive and remain the engine of the UK economy. More and more people have been using Bank Station each year.

We believe our customers would benefit from:

more space to move through the station and on/off Northern line trains

reduced interchange times between different lines

improved accessibility

Therefore we are proposing to make substantial improvements at Bank.

You will need to page down and select "more images and information" to select the pdfs showing the new tunnels, escalators, ticket hall and general arrangement. You'll see this is a big and complex scheme. Looking at the timeline I had not appreciated before that the low level links and new platform open for use about 1 year before the new entrance on Cannon St is opened for public use.

 

[cjohnson]

Travelator is, or was, a trademark of one of the makers. I thought the favourite "supplier neutral" term was "moving walkway".

Bank still has signs for "Travolator" though...

 

[Busaholic]

Will Monument st ill be the 'official' interchange station for Bank, or will it be superseded by Cannon Street in the case of the District/Circle?

 

[swt_passenger]

Will Monument st ill be the 'official' interchange station for Bank, or will it be superseded by Cannon Street in the case of the District/Circle?

The new Cannon St entrance to Bank will probably be an OSI with the existing Cannon St underground, but there won't be an internal paid side link AFAICS, a walk along the outside pavement will still be required. As far as the diagrams show it suggests the new Cannon St entrance will still be a bit nearer to Monument than to 'Cannon St mainline', it seems to be at about the 66%/33% point of the distance at street level.

 

[theageofthetra]

I am pretty sure the new entrance at Cannon St will be just up the road where the Mcdonalds is, I thought the whole block it is in was being knocked down. If so it will upset quite a few SE drivers!

 

[swt_passenger]

I am pretty sure the new entrance at Cannon St will be just up the road where the Mcdonalds is, I thought the whole block it is in was being knocked down. If so it will upset quite a few SE drivers!

Definitely is exactly where the McDonalds is. The barrier line seems to be roughly a few feet behind their front windows, and the escalators probably come up behind their counter...

Having checked on Google Earth I can revise the earlier distance comparison, it is about 200m from Cannon St LU entrance to the new Bank entrance on Cannon St, and just less than 100m further on to Monument.

 

[theageofthetra]

As I feared. When would be the earliest the Mcdonalds would go? Can't have drivers going without brekkie & coffee now can we.

 

[tyteen4a03]

Thank god they're doing this. The Northern Line platforms really are no fun.

 

[Busaholic]

Definitely is exactly where the McDonalds is. The barrier line seems to be roughly a few feet behind their front windows, and the escalators probably come up behind their counter...

Having checked on Google Earth I can revise the earlier distance comparison, it is about 200m from Cannon St LU entrance to the new Bank entrance on Cannon St, and just less than 100m further on to Monument.

Thank you for all that information.
Could make an interesting variation on a drive-in McDonalds.