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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/davehillblog/2015/dec/21/bank-station-upgrades-point-to-londons-bigger-busier-future
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| Bank station upgrades point to London's bigger, busier future | Bank station upgrades point to London's bigger, busier future |
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| Much can be learned about the future of London from the various plans to enhance and upgrade Bank station and its surroundings. The largest of these, which received the go-ahead last week, is a £563m scheme to increase the station’s capacity by 40% by 2021. Bank recently moved up from being London’s fourth busiest station to its third. Transport for London (TfL) says it is now used by 50% more passengers than ten years ago. London is getting bigger. The Square Mile is getting busier. Beneath its ancient streets, the rail network is racing to keep up. There’s not much sign of sclerosis in the City’s pumping heart. | Much can be learned about the future of London from the various plans to enhance and upgrade Bank station and its surroundings. The largest of these, which received the go-ahead last week, is a £563m scheme to increase the station’s capacity by 40% by 2021. Bank recently moved up from being London’s fourth busiest station to its third. Transport for London (TfL) says it is now used by 50% more passengers than ten years ago. London is getting bigger. The Square Mile is getting busier. Beneath its ancient streets, the rail network is racing to keep up. There’s not much sign of sclerosis in the City’s pumping heart. |
| A new Northern Line tunnel and platform, a new entrance in Cannon Street, two moving walkways, 12 new escalators and three new lifts will smooth the movement of the 52 million people entering and leaving the station annually, or switching between the Northern, Central and Waterloo and City lines and Docklands Light Railway. Many make their subterranean ways along the length of King William Street between Bank and the Circle and District lines at Monument. The combined human traffic accommodated by the joined pair of stations is put by TfL at nearly 100 million. | A new Northern Line tunnel and platform, a new entrance in Cannon Street, two moving walkways, 12 new escalators and three new lifts will smooth the movement of the 52 million people entering and leaving the station annually, or switching between the Northern, Central and Waterloo and City lines and Docklands Light Railway. Many make their subterranean ways along the length of King William Street between Bank and the Circle and District lines at Monument. The combined human traffic accommodated by the joined pair of stations is put by TfL at nearly 100 million. |
| The overhaul of Underground warrens will add to work begun last month on a new, £57m entrance to Bank to serve the Waterloo and City from the border of Walbrook Square in Queen Victoria Street from 2017, complete with a new ticket hall. This will be positioned beneath the Norman Foster-designed new European headquarters of Bloomberg, whose planning application incorporated it and whose contractors are constructing part of it. Some local residents have complained about the bulk of the two, ten-storey Bloomberg buildings, which were topped out in September, though £692,000 were secured as part of the planning deal, including £102,900 for public transport improvements, plus over £2m towards the cost of Crossrail. | |
| Meanwhile, above ground, the City Corporation recently announced its intention to close the polluted and congested Bank junction to all motorised vehicles except buses as part of the process of making it more hospitable for cyclists and pedestrians in the years to come. Once again, the interests of London’s businesses, its clean air campaigners and “living streets” activists and the case for public transport investment are seen to be aligned and likely to remain so for the long term. The story of Bank transport is also the story of London’s growth. | Meanwhile, above ground, the City Corporation recently announced its intention to close the polluted and congested Bank junction to all motorised vehicles except buses as part of the process of making it more hospitable for cyclists and pedestrians in the years to come. Once again, the interests of London’s businesses, its clean air campaigners and “living streets” activists and the case for public transport investment are seen to be aligned and likely to remain so for the long term. The story of Bank transport is also the story of London’s growth. |
| Update: This article originally (very) wrongly said £692m were secured as part of the planning deal. The figure has now been corrected. |