Those who use Elephant And Castle station on the daily will be keen to learn that the station is going to receive a huge set of upgrades over the next few years. With a new set of tunnels, improved accessibility and a station box (the part of the station that is underground), the station will soon be able to be used by far more people – which according to TfL is very much required, since the station is estimated to see a 25-40% increase in passengers by 2041.
A new entrance to the station will be put up, with the tunnels providing step-free access to the Northern line from the street for the first time. Work on the tunnels will be part of the first stage of the developments to the station, and is funded by the Greater London Authority, the London Borough of Southwark, and local developers. It will see 135m of passenger tunnels created, and is slated to begin next year with 2027 earmarked for its completion with the contract for carrying out the work awarded to Drasgados UK.
A new station box will be linked to new passenger tunnels and existing platforms and overbridge in the first stage of the works, with construction on the station box already beginning in January 2022. This will house a new Northern line entrance and ticket hall, and is being built by Delancy, who are also the developers of the Elephant And Castle shopping centre site.
Speaking on the news, Stuart Harvey, Chief Capital Officer at TfL, said: “Work is progressing well on the major upgrade of Elephant & Castle Tube station, with the appointment of a tunnelling contractor a significant step forward in delivering an expanded station fit to serve this growing community for many decades to come.
When completed, the new entrance and ticket hall will provide step-free access from street to platform level on the Northern line and increase station capacity by over 30 per cent. Further in the future, and subject to TfL securing the necessary funding, the plan is for this new entrance to also serve Bakerloo line customers as part of the planned Bakerloo Line Extension.”
Excavation of the new tunnels at Elephant and Castle station is set to begin in 2025.