The Bank Station Capacity Upgrade project will involve the construction of a new tunnel, platforms and new station entrance, escalators, new ticket halls and passenger lifts. Credit: TfL.
The £600m ($782.2m) project started construction in 2016 with completion scheduled for 2022. Credit: TfL.
The capacity upgrade has been planned to enable the station to accommodate more passengers. Credit: TfL.

The UK’s Transport for London (TfL) subsidiary London Underground is reconstructing the Bank Tube station to substantially upgrade the station capacity and enable it to handle 40% more passengers. The station currently serves approximately 98 million passengers a year.

The £600m ($782.2m) project will involve the construction of a new tunnel, platforms, station entrance, escalators, ticket halls and passenger lifts. Construction began in 2016 and is scheduled to be completed by 2022.

The tunnelling work for the project was completed in October 2020 with more than 200,000t of material excavated in the City of London.

Details of the Bank Station

Built in 1900 in King William street, the Bank Station is the fourth busiest underground interchange station. It is served by the Central, Northern, Waterloo and City lines.

The station is a key gateway into London and one of the world’s most complicated subterranean railway stations. It features three ticket halls, six lifts, ten platforms and two 300ft moving walkways.

Bank Station capacity upgrade project details

London Underground and design and build contractor Dragados developed a plan that provides improved access for passengers and reduces congestion. The main objectives of the project are to meet the demand of the public by increasing the station capacity, decrease crowding, improve the quality of access, interchange, ambience and support the city’s economic growth.

The project includes above ground works of constructing a new station entrance on the Cannon Street at the Nicholas Lane junction, which will provide direct access to northern line platforms.

It further includes the underground construction of a new 570m southbound tunnel to increase the circulation space at the station and to access the northern line.

The Northern and Central line platforms will be linked, incorporating two 94m moving walkways. Three new banks of escalators will be included to connect the Northern line with the Central line, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) and the street level.

The new sections of the station will enter service in 2022. The escalators will make it simpler for passengers to navigate across the station and decrease congestion when the new, higher-capacity DLR trains begin operation in 2023.

The station also includes two new passenger lifts, which will improve accessibility to the Northern line and DLR platforms. The existing lift will also be upgraded as part of the project.

Benefits of the Bank Station capacity upgrade project

The proposed plan of upgrading the existing station will provide the public with benefits such as improved evacuation, direct and step-free access from the street to northern line and DLR, reduced congestion, increased circulation and waiting space.

When completed, the additional portions of the Bank Tube station will considerably expand the available space at the station and significantly reduce travel times.

Contractors involved

Wilkinson Eyre secured the architecture and design contract for the station upgrade while Dragados was awarded the construction contract. Robert Bird Group works with Dragados as the civil and structural engineers for the upgrade project. Planning, environment, and engineering services are provided by URS and tunnelling was carried out by the Dr Sauer Group.

As the lead design consultant, AECOM will deliver project management, design management, civil, structural, geotechnical, mechanical, and electrical engineering, tunnelling, pedestrian flow modelling and environmental services for the project.

CPC was contracted to provide project management, planning, programme management, and post-contract commercial management services. It will also manage and resolve claims, serve as a project sponsor, and provide strategic guidance.

Quod offered strategic planning guidance and expert evidence for the Bank underground station upgrades.