Abbey Wood station escalators out of use for the long-term say Transport for London

Another station and another problem with escalators has arisen and this time it’s the not very old rebuild of Abbey Wood station that bears the brunt.

For those unware the station saw a big rebuild job around a decade ago in advance of the Elizabeth line – or Crossrail as it was then known.

There was to be stairs and lifts at one end plus stairs and escalators in the middle to facilitate platform changes.

Initially Crossrail trains would arrive on the middle two tracks with Southeastern on each side. That was then dropped for the existing layout.

Late on in the project another staircase was also added at the western end of the station but sadly no entrance and exit was added at that end of the station which would have been a big help to many. Space existed then and still does for an entrance at the other end of the station  – but there’s no drive to do it. Greenwich Council never pushed for it.

Longer walks to station

Yes, I’m a tad annoyed given this impacts me as people in a large part of Abbey Wood have to walk a longer circulatory route to reach trains, when they can see the station and the last-minute bridge added to platforms on their walk to the station but no entrance.

All it’d take is one more small bridge span, some stairs and a lift. Only open and staff it at peak times if you have to, it’d still be a big win for Abbey Wood.

In terms of bang for your bucks it’s a modest expense for a worthwhile improvement in station access. Greenwich Council own the land beside, it’s not doing anything nor built on so some heads knocking together could improve access.

Granted, it’s not as bad as Woolwich station’s sole entrance but not great given how wildly popular both stations have proved to be. After all Abbey Wood is a station that is now more popular than stations serving entire cities such as Sheffield station, Bristol Temple Meads station and Newcastle station.

It’s busier than London Fenchurch Street as well as Nottingham, Oxford and Cambridge stations. Little old Abbey Wood.

Even Stansted Airport station sees fewer annual passengers. But a second entrance at the other end of platforms on available public land directly beside the platform? No can do.

Escalators

Well, back to the escalators and they’ve never been too reliable and are are now out of order for some time.

Now TfL have admitted they’re to remains out of action for some time.

They state “Due to significant repairs, these escalators are out of use until further notice”.

No timeframe is given.

What is it with escalators and unreliability? There’s no lift in the middle of the platform so it’s a walk to the eastern end of the station.

Don’t miss your Thameslink trains for onward travel though. They have just been cut back to one per hour for much of the day when heading towards north Kent.