Major London Tube station to be exit-only at weekends from January

The move comes as engineers grapple with repairs to the station's 35-year-old escalators, which include the longest on the London Underground network.

Angel has two sets of escalators connecting the ticket hall, intermediate concourse and platforms.

But their sheer size and age have made maintenance increasingly difficult for TfL, prompting the decision to restrict access to the station.

The longest escalator stretches more than 60 metres and climb over 27 metres.

Years of Government funding shortfalls means TfL has been unable to replace the station's ageing escalators.

TfL says it is exploring ways to repair or replace the ageing escalators but says ongoing funding pressures are limiting its options.

Instead, engineers are focusing their efforts on keeping the escalators running for as long as possible.

One of the escalators in the station from ticket hall to mid-concourse level has been out of service since April 2026 due to its deteriorated condition.

This means that only two escalators are currently in working order.

If both of these other escalators were to be out of service at the same time, the station would have to close completely as there would not be another safe way to clear the station.

The escalators are too long to safely operate as a fixed staircase.

Richard Jones, Director of Asset Performance Delivery for London Underground, said: “The escalators at Angel have been in service for almost 35 years and are becoming less reliable and increasingly difficult to maintain.

“Their size means renewal or replacement is a challenging, expensive project and we are currently exploring all options possible to extend their working life.

“Making the station exit-only during specific periods will allow us to extend the working life of the escalators and give us more time to plan our next steps, with design work on replacing the escalators to begin this autumn.

“I understand that any disruption to the station will have an impact on customers, businesses and the local community and we will do all we can to work closely with local stakeholders to ensure that we mitigate the disruption as much as possible.”