Ticket gates added to help ease crowding at London Victoria station

Network Rail have issued the following press release about improvements to the concourse at London Victoria:

Quicker journeys through station as Network Rail’s £30m congestion scheme set to complete by March 2024.

To enhance the passenger experience, improve safety and speed up people’s journeys at London Victoria station, the number of ticket gates is being increased from 88 to 125, with eight new accessible wide gates also being installed.

Customers using the station during the busiest periods can sometimes experience crowding or queuing at ticket gates. The new gates will make it much easier for passengers to travel through a station that recorded almost 37 million entries and exits between April 2021 and March 2022 - the second highest in the country.

The retail units next to platforms 2-7, and platforms 8-13, have been demolished to make way for the new gates. It required the removal of 250 tonnes of spoil and 150 tonnes of steel.

Retail units along the narrow route to platforms 15-19 have also been demolished to create a spacious thoroughfare between platform 14 and the escalators leading to the Victoria Place shopping centre.

Attention now turns to installing the new gates, the customer information systems which will sit above them, completing electrical works and installing 690 square metres of new flooring either side of the new gateline.

Lucy McAuliffe, Network Rail’s Sussex route director, said: “It’s been an immense challenge undertaking this project while the station is still fully operational, as we couldn’t interfere with passenger announcements or electrical and power supplies.

“All the key enabling works are now complete and we will now turn our focus to the numerous construction elements of this project.

“We’ve worked hard to minimise the disruption to passengers and we’re really grateful to them for their patience while this work is ongoing and we look forward to giving them easier, faster and safer journeys from March next year.”

Jason Clarke, Area Manager for Southeastern, said: “Victoria is extremely busy, and it is great news that this extra space is being added to help passengers move through the station.

“We are always looking at how we can make our customer journeys better, in a more reliable and a more sustainable railway, and easing congestion at the second busiest station in the country is very welcome indeed.”

Jenny Saunders, Customer Services Director for Govia Thameslink, which runs Southern and Gatwick Express, commented: “We’re delighted with Network Rail’s improvements to the layout of the station, and with their overall progress on this major scheme. The extra gates, particularly the new accessible wide gates which are especially welcome, will take advantage of the space opened up for our passengers, enabling them to get to and from their trains more quickly and comfortably.”