As you frolic over to your London train platform, bashing commuters out of the way and getting ready for a sunny spring day out in Brighton, you may soon be doing so in a super swanky (well, swankier) setting.
Yes, London Victoria is receiving a £30 million upgrade, which is due to be ready in spring 2024, just in time for that first heatwave of the year (we hope).
A recent study earmarked the station as the second busiest in the whole of the UK, just behind its neighbours in Waterloo, so it’s bound to be in need of a little TLC.
Initial plans were simply to upgrade the ticket barriers and platform access in the station, but now these have been expanded. Network Rail has also said that the Gatwick Express ticket office is being moved over to within the Southern ticket office, meaning more retail units can be added.
37 more ticket barriers will bring the total up to 125, as well as eight new accessible gates which are designed to cut down the queues that build up on the routes off and onto the platform during rush hour.
A set of retail units by platforms below the main boards are also making way for gate space, and even widen a route between platform 14 and the stairway to the shopping centre in Victoria Place.
These improvements are being carried out to improve safety, ensure that more trains arrive and leave on time due to reduced congestion, and simply enhance the overall passenger experience while using the station during hectic periods.
Work actually began all the way back in November 2022, when the Kent concourse gate lines (platforms 1-7) started receiving work. The Sussex concourse (platforms 8-15) is due for completion in late 2023, with the entire new look station expected to be wrapped up around March 2024.
You can read more about the new improvements to Victoria Station on the Network Rail website.