Paddington Tube station improvement works to boost capacity in readiness for Crossrail

Architects impression of Paddington Crossrail

Planned improvement works at Paddington Tube station will begin in April 2016, boosting capacity at the station in preparation for the arrival of Crossrail.

Architects impression of Paddington Crossrail (Image: Crossrail)

The development project is part of a wider London Underground modernisation programme that will see major stations, trains, track and signalling being updated or replaced to provide more capacity and reliability.

The improvement at Paddington will mean that Bakerloo line trains will not stop at the station from Saturday 2 April until mid-August. During this time, Transport for London (TfL) engineers will carry out a major renewal of both of the heavily-used escalators serving the Bakerloo line. By replacing virtually every component, their life will be extended by a further 20 years ensuring a more reliable service in the coming years.

Engineers will also carefully dig a new 165m tunnel underneath the station to enable passengers to interchange between the Bakerloo line and new Crossrail platforms, which will become operational from 2018. The new pedestrian link will incorporate escalators, lifts, stairs and new passageways in order to make interchanging between the Tube and Crossrail as easy as possible for passengers.

248,000 customers per day to use TfL services at Paddington when Crossrail arrives in 2018

At present approximately 165,000 customers use Paddington Tube station on a daily basis with 82,000 people using the Bakerloo line. When TfL-run Crossrail arrives from 2018, the number of customers using TfL services at Paddington is expected to be 248,000.

TfL plans to re-open station platforms in August 2016. 

David Waboso CBE, London Underground’s Capital Programmes Director, said: “Paddington Tube station serves as a major interchange and when TfL-run Crossrail arrives in 2018, around 248,000 customers a day will be using our services.

“We try to carry out as much of our improvement work as possible when the Tube is closed, but in this case need a closure period due to the nature and scale of the work. In order to keep disruption for passengers to a minimum, we are combining Bakerloo line escalator and Crossrail works so that services are non-stopping for the shortest time possible. We thank customers for their patience while we carry out the vital modernisation of this station.”

The next major phase of the London Underground modernisation work will bring faster, more frequent and more reliable journeys to millions of passengers who use the Circle, District, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. Modernisation of the signalling and train control systems for those lines is expected to begin later this year with the main benefits delivered by 2022.