Transport for London recently admitted it does not have enough money to finish the job under current plans
Arcadis and architect Hawkins Brown have been appointed by Transport for London (TfL) to 鈥渞e-evaluate鈥� the 拢150m plan to upgrade Elephant and Castle tube station in South London.
The pair will carry out a design study for the fit out for the station鈥檚 capacity upgrade, which is part of developer Delancey鈥檚 huge 拢4bn regeneration of the centre of Elephant & Castle.
The project is set to see a new Northern Line entrance and ticket hall in an underground box which started construction last year with funding from the Greater London Authority, Southwark Council and local developers and is expected to finish in 2028.
But former TfL commissioner Andy Byford admitted last year that the transport body does not have enough funds to fit out the upgrade and connect it to the line鈥檚 platforms.
At a meeting of London鈥檚 transport committee last month, Byford said TfL could not afford to finish the job without capital funding, and said all other proposed capacity upgrades that had not already started would be mothballed.
Today Arcadis said that to assist in securing funding for the Elephant & Castle upgrade fit out, it had been appointed to 鈥渞e-evaluate the delivery of the requirements for the upgrade in light of TfL鈥檚 current financial position鈥�.
The firm said it had been asked to revise the scheme due to the 鈥渙ngoing impacts of covid-19 on short and medium term travel demands, to ensure that the upgrade can be delivered in innovative and incremental ways that can realise the project benefits.鈥�
>>See also: Controversial Elephant & Castle office block set for green light
TfL was handed a 拢3.6bn bailout by the government in August last year, but said this still left the transport body with a 拢740m shortfall. The deal, which is the sixth bailout for TfL since its revenues plunged after the start of the pandemic, will last until the end of March 2024.
Plans for a 拢4bn extension of the Bakerloo line to Lewisham via a cluster of new residential developments along the Old Kent Road in Southwark were shelved in 2021 because of dwindling resources.
But the route has been safeguarded by the government and the upgrade of Elephant and Castle tube station will accommodate space for a new entrance to the Bakerloo line if the extension, which is now not expected to open before the mid 2030s, goes ahead.
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