Transport for London has confirmed that Cutty Sark station will close next month so all four of its escalators can be replaced.
Passengers have endured disrupted journeys for at least four years, with all four escalators at the station breaking down.
The station will close on May 31 so the work can take place, with services not stopping there again until next spring – a longer closure than the six months recently mooted by TfL. No exact date for reopening has been provided by TfL.
Transport for London said it would be uneconomical to repair the four existing escalators, which were installed when the station opened in 1999. They have all now been taken out of service and passengers have to walk up and down 121 steps.
During the closure, passengers will be directed to Greenwich station, an 11-minute walk away. There will be free travel between Greenwich and Island Gardens while Cutty Sark is closed as part of the concessions for the Silvertown Tunnel opening.
The closure date has been chosen to avoid the London Marathon, part of which starts in Greenwich Park on April 27. Special entry and exit arrangements will be put in place that day.
However, the closure will still affect other major events in Greenwich, including the annual Big Half half-marathon on September 7, which ends at Cutty Sark Gardens.
TfL acted after mounting pressure from a local campaign group, Escalate Now!, which launched in December and gathered over 3,500 signatures on a petition to both get the escalators replaced and to nail down a closure date. The campaign was led by Maureen O’Mara, a former Greenwich councillor, and Karin Tearle, a former Green Party candidate.
O’Mara said: “We regard this as a success for people power! We now ask for details of the contractor and will be keeping a close eye on the works’ progress.”
The Greenwich Wire revealed in January that TfL had agreed to replace the escalators, but campaigners continued to press for a date for works to take place.
Ben Grellier, TfL’s head of operations for the DLR, said: “We know Cutty Sark’s escalators have been causing disruption and frustration for our customers and we would like to thank them for their patience during this period.
“We apologise for any further disruption the station closure may cause, but it is not possible to replace these escalators with the station in operation. Once installed, the new state-of-the-art escalators will provide customers with reliable and easier access to DLR services at the station.”
Len Duvall, the London Assembly member for Greenwich & Lewisham, said: “Whilst the temporary station closure is unfortunate, I welcome news that TfL have secured funding for a lasting resolution to the problems of the Cutty Sark station escalators and look forward to seeing the station reopened and fully functioning.”
TfL said the new escalators would have more efficient motors and drivers, and would run in energy-saving mode when not in use, using less energy than their predecessors.
The station was built under the private finance initiative by CGL Rail, a consortium of engineering and investment companies, under a deal with the Westminster government.
The management of the facilities by CGL Rail – whose contract ended four years ago and the company has since been liquidated – was criticised by local Labour councillor Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, who said that the original escalators were never fit for purpose in the first place.
Updated at 12.05pm with Escalate Now! response.
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