Tube station annoys passengers with predicted date escalator will reopen after ‘urgent’ repairs

Passengers are forced to walk down the escalators for months to catch a Tube at a London Underground station.

The Blackhorse Road Underground station escalators in Walthamstow have been shut for urgent repairs.

The closure is set to last until the summer, raising concerns for disabled passengers and over ‘chaos’ for commuters travelling on the Victoria line.

TfL said the station escalators will be closed until late June.

With a lift ouf of action at nearby Walthamstow Central, concerns have also been raised for people with heavy luggage and prams.

Stella Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, said that TfL told her that there will be no down escalators for months.

She said that none of the stations in Walthamstow are ‘actually accessible.’

‘If you are a wheelchair user, you can’t get direct access to our platforms at either Blackhorse Road or Walthamstow Central,’ she said.

Mr Creasy said she has asked for more buses to run between Blackhorse Road station and Walthamstow Central and Tottenham Hale, and allowing more than two buggies on buses between the stations.

Ezra Johnson, a campaigns officer with the disabled people’s organisation Transport for All, told Metro: ‘We all need to get around – public transport is the lifeblood of London.

‘That’s why it’s unacceptable that escalators and lifts at two nearby stations are out of action at the same time. It leaves disabled people trapped – people with energy-limiting impairments, mobility impairments, and visual impairments are all likely to feel this blow.’

He said that TfL has a legal duty to support disabled people to find an alternative and accessible route. When this is not possible, they need to book a taxi and pay for it, he explained.

‘If things don’t go to plan, you can complain. If you’d like help to do that, Transport for All can assist. Our adviceline is run by and for disabled people, to make sure we can all get where we need to, when we need to,’ he added.

Footage near the escalators shared online yesterday showed a queue of passengers waiting to walk down.

Ms Creasy said passengers may want to ‘avoid’ the station if they can.

TfL apologised to customers affected by the closure.

A TfL spokesperson told Metro: ‘The closure of the escalator at Blackhorse Road will facilitate essential maintenance, improving efficiency and safety.

‘We apologise for any disruption this important work will cause customers using the station. We encourage customers to travel at less busy times or to use our travel planning tools to take alternative routes.’

It comes after passengers at Cutty Sark DLR station in Greenwich had to climb 121 steps after the escalator broke down last month, the Standard reports.

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