Cutty Sark station to close for new escalators

The third-busiest station on the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) is to close to allow its four escalators to be replaced at an estimated cost of £4m.

Located in Greenwich, south-east London, it opened in 1999 but all of its escalators are out of action, meaning passengers have to use the 121 steps to get to and from the platform.

Transport for London (TfL) has since 2021 had responsibility for repairs at the station, which was originally built and maintained under a Private Finance Initiative.

BBC London asked when the station would close, and for how long, and TfL said it would confirm a timeline once its plans had been finalised.

Tom Page, general manager for the DLR, said: "We are sorry about the continuing issues with the escalators at Cutty Sark, which we appreciate are having significant impact on customers who use the station.

"We have secured funding to replace the escalators and are working through plans that will restore a full escalator service at the station."

In 2023, Cutty Sark was used by 7.6m passengers, making it the third busiest on the DLR behind Canary Wharf and Limehouse.

Last year, Kentish Town Tube station reopened six months later than planned after the "most unreliable" escalators on the network were replaced.

And in June, TfL revealed that the rollout of new DLR trains had been delayed due to "complex challenges".

Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected]