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Kentish Town Tube station reopening delayed again

BBC Kentish Town platformBBC
The station has been closed since last June

The reopening date for Kentish Town Tube station has been delayed again and it will remain closed until the end of the year, Transport for London (TfL) has said.

In April 2023, TfL announced the Northern line station in north-west London was due to close for up to a year, until June 2024. It later pushed this back to September 2024 before the most recent setback.

Nick Mavrides, chair of the Kentish Town Business Association, said: "It's like a ghost town now, all we need is for the tumbleweed to come down the middle of the road."

A Tfl spokesperson said: "Our engineers are doing everything possible to reopen the station while ensuring that the high standards of safety our colleagues and customers expect on the Tube are met.”

Kentish Town railway station remains open as usual, with Thameslink trains serving the station.

Mr Mavrides, who runs Ace Sports, added: "My poor members are just pulling their hair out.

"It's heading for a very brisk trading year - not."

'No down escalator' sign inside Kentish Town station
The escalators at the Tube station, installed in 1997, were frequently faulty

TfL is encouraging customers to use Tufnell Park, also on the Northern line, which is 11 minutes' walk away.

The Tube station was closed to replace what TfL had labelled "the most unreliable" escalators on the network, which were installed in 1997.

However, while renovating the old ticket hall, it is understood that engineers discovered the concrete in the ceiling and the floor had degraded.

In addition, they found the steel beams that support the station and the adjacent pavements had corroded, delaying renovation work.

A TfL spokesperson said: “We are on track to complete the installation of the new escalators at Kentish Town this summer.

"However, the essential repair work on unrelated assets is ongoing and must be completed to allow the station to operate safely."

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