It's quite incredible how long they have been out of action now and the Station is due to be closed for a year while they are fixed. Given this is a major tourist destination it's pretty ludicrous how badly this has been managed.
Bizarre. The escalators have been shut for years. I can't understand what's taking so long, it's a change that regularly happens at other underground stations.
"Station is due to be closed for a year while they are fixed"
Why is it a year rather than a week?! Ridiculous. A year is long enough to build an entirely new station that has escalators, lifts and a 30 floor luxury apartment block on top.
The reasons as stated by tfl, in the middle of an update.from 2/4/25:
"Replacing escalators at this station is complex due to the way the existing escalators were installed. Replacing all four at the same time is the best way to minimise disruption to customers. Limited space at the station meant keeping the station open during the works was not possible."
I'd rather they use the year long closure to completely redo them and make the platform longer too whilst they are at it, all the DLRs are 3 carriages long now and extending the platform so everyone can actually board the train safely will also vastly help the congestion at the station, especially on weekends
the station was built on the cheap as it was done as part of a PFI deal - I wouldn’t be surprised if the closure overruns but they’ll be hoping to get it open again for next year’s marathon.
Yes, the DLR extension was built around the time of the Jubilee Line extension. One was money no object, with massive stations featuring award winning architecture. The other was done with a limited budget...
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Why is it a year rather than a week?! Ridiculous. A year is long enough to build an entirely new station that has escalators, lifts and a 30 floor luxury apartment block on top.
"Replacing escalators at this station is complex due to the way the existing escalators were installed. Replacing all four at the same time is the best way to minimise disruption to customers. Limited space at the station meant keeping the station open during the works was not possible."
(Slightly) more at
https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2025/april/cutty-sark-station-to-get-four-brand-new-escalators-during-temporary-closure
https://greenwichwire.co.uk/2025/04/02/cutty-sark-dlr-station-closure-new-escalators-may-2025/