Now, it's not often that you get to say in our lifetime,
that you get to see a bit of
London underground tube infrastructure close,
but that is exactly what is happening this week.
In the last week, this is your last chance to see
the southbound Northern line platform at Bank station
as you know it, in its present form.
There's a new Tube Map out.
There's some works taking place.
We're going to go and have a look
and discuss what's happening.
The telltale blue holdings is all in place
on a very narrow platform as it goes
This is one of the last few times that this has happening.
Let's watch it go
What's that?
What's that!
What's that!!!
That, is where they're going to be next week,
knocking through to the new southbound platform.
We'll get into it, before we do,
the first thing I want to do
is go up to the ticket hall level, that way
and go grab one of the new January, 2022 tube maps.
No maps.
No maps!
Fortunately, I carry my own supply of DT maps with me
Can I borrow yours as well?
I'll put them in the rack and I'll redo the whole shot
Okay
YouTube will never know that I set that up
It'd be fine
Just one thing, you could do it as
And then I'll add these in.
Right
And I'll redo the whole shot
Oh, thank goodness they've got some, excellent
This is the new January, 2022 tube map, which is out
Looks like this inside also available on the TFL website
The main thing you need to see is the
sort of the dotted, black and yellow lin
that you've put in
that shows the closure of the Northern line
That starts this Friday night
after the midnight 32 train
has been southbound from Bank north main platform
That's it, that platform is getting filled in, no more
There is construction that will take in place
but let's have a quick summary
of everything that's new on the map
And then we'll discuss the Northern line closure
So looking at the new map
Sudbury Hill recently became
the Underground's 90th step-free station
and is shown as such.
And if you count up all the step-free stations
on the tube map now
we've actually reached the halfway tipping point
with over 50% of stations on the tube map
now being step-free
I suspect though that Thameslink won't be on the next map
that will come out in may of this year
when Crossrail finally opens
and talking of which is a shame there's no dotted line
under construction for the new purple on this map.
But if you want to get a feel
of what it's going to look like,
then there's always this future London map
from several years ago
which accurately shows where it will be
You'll also notice that the design
for the new Northern line extension
that was on the map just last year has changed
instead of the Battersea droop
that's now gone to be replaced with what people are calling
the Kennington Kink instead.
And getting back to the Bank works, which is why we're here
The yellow and black dotted line is now appearing
on in-carriage line diagrams too
Although this is not the first time that this section
of the Northern line has been closed
Here's my favourite example from 1996
when due to engineering works
trains were running in the Northbound direction only
And it was shown in the map with one direction only arrows
something which I believe, is still unique
in tube map history to this day
By the way, if you do come to Bank Northern line,
many people don't know that this staircase is here
to the Cornhill entrance where there's four lifts
there's also a non spiral staircase.
It's just fun to do.
Just come and walk the staircase.
Which is obviously a 15 story building
Yay, we got to gag in
Look at this, it's like a blank
completely blank white panel
And the blue panel
Oh, this is where they're about to knock through
My friend's with me, but he doesn't wanna be on camera
so I'm just talking to him
So they're about to knock through it
that will be a way through
from the Northbound platform through, into this area
which will become a passenger concourse
So we're on the Northbound platform here
this blue bit here
this is all going
this is already, this is all
you can just see there they've even started to strip it out
So they'll just wipe this all out
And this will just be like a walkthrough bit
Presumably all of this is just going to be then walkthrough
from the Northbound side through to the concourse
which would then lead you to the new southbound side.
They're expanding the whole station over there
On the other side of that wall
they're building a brand new platform
I'll do a diagram in a minute
Although you should have already
previously watched this video, which I've made,
but it's just here to stress
Like it's very, this is very narrow
and you come through a very narrow passageway
and then you're onto the other platform here.
This is the northbound platform.
This stays by the way, this is still going to be here
but this is going to be filled in, right?
So as of Friday night, Saturday morning,
this is going to be closed for 17 weeks until May.
And they're going to fill in all of that track
This would become a passenger concourse area
And the other side of that wall
which is why those doors are there
is where the brand new southbound platform
is currently being built.
Here is the diagram
The new wide platform
here's an artist impression of what it's going to look like
has already been built, but now they need to connect it up.
So during the 17 week closure
they're going to cut into the existing tracks,
either side of Bank station
and reroute the existing southbound line
through the newly built platform
The old tracks will then get filled in
and along with the old platform, the whole area
will be turned into a large passenger concourse
along with access to a new entrance to Bank
that's being built up on the surface on Cannon Street
but more on that later.
Mainly for the archives
here's a 30 to 60 seconds worth of shots
of the southbound platform because
after this Friday, it is gone
(tranquil music)
So the train leads down to southbound
With the escalators here, this leads up to Monument.
The Northern line is of course a very good way to connect
Monument through to Bank station.
It's like a complex, it's one station in effect,
but why do I turn around, you'll see here,
the excellent shot of both the southbound and the northbound
is right-hand running
So the northbound is on the wrong side.
It will remain right hand, wrong running as it were.
But also what I want to point out, you might be thinking,
this is like an Angel situation?
Or what was the other one?
Angel, Euston
where they widened the platform.
No, not the case
Cause those were true island platforms
with no middles of a view partition wall.
Here there's a middle partition wall
If anything, this is a lot like London Bridge
So in a minute after I talk about
the new Cannon Street entrance,
we'll go to London Bridge
Focus, we've come outside
Fresh air
I don't normally film at night
but we've come in the evening to ride
the Northern line in the evening
but that there, this building there
that is the new entrance to Bank station
which they're building on Cannon Street
What I find particularly amusing about this
is that Chemistry station itself
is just maybe 60 seconds walk that way
But Monument station, the entrance to Monument
has got like subways down
but for where that is to where the round of this Monument,
it's gotta be at most 50 metres
and you could walk it from there to there
in about 20 seconds.
I put it to you that this is going to be
the closest distance between
two separate tube station entrances.
Anyway, but you go in here and that will then take you down
to the southern end of the new and existing
Northern platform.
But this will open until the end of 2022.
We've come to London Bridge,
one stop south of Bank of the northern line
for a perfect example of what it's going to look like.
In 1996, they did exactly the same here
at London Bridge station.
Where I'm standing now, you can see the curve.
This is where the old platform was
and the old running tunnel was.
So the platform was there and the tracks were here
and they put the new platform over there
and the old existing one is still there.
This is exactly what Bank is going to be like.
Oh, there's going to be a new bus too,
a temporary bus 733.
If you like riding buses, one to do.
Just for the period of the closure,
come ride the new bus route,
which will run between Moorgate down to Kennington.
So this is the Northbound,
I'm just going to cross over to here
and for the last time get a train from the Southbound
*PA* Please stand back behind the yellow line at all times *PA*
I am.
Part of me just thought like put my arm out
like if there's a request stop.
I request for one the last few trains to stop
at the Southbound platform
This is it, this is the last time I'll ever do this
And you as well, mystery friend
Now I'm holding my camera
Let's do it here
Farewell old platform, farewell.
Quick! get on board
Goodbye, bye old platform.
That's the last time I do that.
If all goes to plan, by May of this year, May 2022
the new platform will be open.
There's a link to the TfL project page,
were there's more information, descriptions, some maps
about everything that's going on.
do check it out
Please please subscribe, thanks for watching
See ya!
(tranquil piano music)