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Camden New Journal - By DAN CARRIER and CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 3 May 2007

Commuters face station closure

TUBE bosses will face commuter fury next week when Camden Town Tube station is closed for two days to replace tiles in the ticket hall.
Northern line manager David Millard claimed the work, taking place on Wednesday, May 8, and Thursday, May 9, could not be done overnight because the four-hour slot is too short.
He said: “Due to the nature and location of the works, it is difficult to replace floor tiles in the ticket hall during the four-hour engineering window overnight when the Tube is closed.”
The decision to shut the station during the week was made because 55,000 passengers use it at weekends – 15,000 more than on weekdays.
Mr Millard said: “By restricting the opening of the station on a weekday, when passenger numbers are lower than on weekends, the work can be completed quicker.”
Commuters can still change between Northern line branches during the closure, but won’t be able to enter or leave the station.
But Josie Kelly, of campaign group Camden Town Speaks, accused Transport for London (TfL) and Tubelines – the private company behind the refurbishment work – of cost-cutting.
She said: “Maybe they’re looking at the cost, and maybe it’s more expensive at weekends and at night. That Tube is jam-packed on weekdays.
“It’s going to be very inconvenient for people going to work.”
She felt the majority of passengers using the Tube at the weekend were tourists, and could be more easily inconvenienced because they were not in a rush like weekday commuters.
But Tubelines and TfL have denied the weekday closure is about cost.
A TfL spokeswoman said: “It’s to do with how much work you can get done in a short space of time.”
She said it could take weeks to complete the job if workmen had to work overnight, while a two-day slot would allow the work to be finished in one operation.

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