Abbey Wood station’s broken escalators: Transport for London offer update
Transport for London have offered an update on broken escalators at Abbey Wood station which have been out of use for some time after a change of sign suggested no repairs may be coming.
The escalators were installed when the station was rebuilt around ten years ago though have been out of action for some time, with signs suggesting no imminent fix.
Since then “out of use” signs have recently changed to “escalators no longer in use” which sounds ominous.
However repairs are still expected, though a timeframe isn’t yet available. A Transport for London spokesperson said: “We’re very sorry that both escalators at Abbey Wood station are currently out of service and we understand the inconvenience this is causing our customers.
“The escalators had remained available for use as fixed stairs while we assessed a number of faults. However, following reports of customers tripping while using them, we took the decision to close them on safety grounds.
“Further assessment has shown that both escalators need to be replaced and they will remain out of service until these works can be carried out. We will provide further updates on our long-term plans as soon as possible.
“In the meantime, staff are available to assist customers and alternative step-free routes through the station remain available.”
Short shelf life
Escalators were added as part of a station rebuild in advance of Elizabeth line services commencing. An island platform was created which now serves Southeastern and Thameslink services while another island platform serves Elizabeth line platforms.
In the above picture a Southeastern train heading east can be seen at the original platform, while to the right an island platform is being created.
Access between platforms can now be made at three points; one at the main station end which also has a lift, one halfway down the platforms where escalators were installed and another at the western end which only has stairs.
Since opening its proved incredibly popular and now sees more passengers annually than stations serving entire cities beating Bristol Temple Meads, Sheffield, Newcastle and even Stansted Airport.
Other stations it beats for usage include London Fenchurch Street, Nottingham, Oxford, Cambridge, Liverpool Central and Cardiff.
Housebuilding will see numbers increase including those changing and needing to use bridges, with two trains per hour from the Sidcup line set to begin again all-day from December joining two per hour from the Eltham line.
Stations seeing major housing growth include Crayford with 559 homes now underway (as covered last week). Dartford and north Kent are also seeing large numbers of new homes. Locally another 329 homes in south Thamesmead have just completed.
However Abbey Wood station only has entrances at one end, one lift – and now no escalators.
Maybe they shouldn’t have skimped at the design stage, and instead installed escalators at both ends of the platforms as well as in the middle.
And toilets are made for 3 people at a time, not for 5 million passing through every year
Seems to me the people making decisions on these issues would be more suited to a smaller role
Escalators should last 20 years at least, these appear to haven’t lasted 5 since the Liz line opened.
TFL should be pushing the vendor to repair/replace it or they sue.
Like at Woolwich, further capacity upgrades for the station should be considered.
The stairs down to EL from the main entrance are a particular risk with no central barrier to separate flows, making it a bit of a scrum if you are going against the flow of arriving passengers in the evening. It’s evident how busy the station now is – which is a great thing for Abbey Wood – in that you only need 10-15 minutes of disruption for the 200m+ platform to quickly build up with people.
In addition to the western/northern entrance that you have pushed for previously Murky, I don’t think you would need much to reinstate the ‘temporary’ southern extension to the central footbridge whilst it was being built, onto the existing TfL car park. If not for a time saving benefit, then as a relief for the main entrance.
It does seem astonishing that those escalators have broken so quickly. But I can understand TfL not prioritising repairing them: They are only useful for people changing trains between the Elizabeth line and national rail, and that can still be done step-free via the main entrance lifts. There are plenty of other stations where a broken lift/escalator means no step free access at all – and those places are inevitably going to be first in the queue for any essential repairs.
The saga of new escalators at Cutty Sark DLR continues too; brand-new escalators were installed this year after a long, out-of-action waiting period of around a year, I think, and yet the last 2 times I’ve been through, one way was taped off already. Teething troubles or just more bad engineering/cost saving? They’ll never tell us. Maybe you can investigate Murky?
Maybe the escalator needs replacing just like at Cutty Sark DLR station when the old escalators were replaced by new ones. Or maybe it does work but sometimes it doesn’t and it breaks down with lots of people using Abbey Wood to change trains.
If only there was another escalator that would allow passengers to go up and one escalator for passengers to go down. Making it easier to transfer from one island platform to another.