Major Finsbury Park station improvements begin

The first phase of a major project to improve facilities and access at Finsbury Park station and ultimately provide extra capacity for more trains into central London begins this week.

This will mean some Sunday service disruption at Harringay & Hornsey (See final para).

Over the next three years, multi-million pound investments from Network Rail, First Capital Connect and the Department for Transport will see platform canopies refurbished and extended, waiting shelters erected and a new footbridge and lifts constructed to make travelling easier and more pleasant for station users.

Platforms 3 and 5 are being extended to accommodate 12-carriage trains, improving capacity on the outer suburban routes.

And a vital scheme to boost capacity on the East Coast Main Line between Finsbury Park and Alexandra Palace will also see disused platforms brought back into use at both stations and conversion of a line currently used by freight trains to passenger status. In the short term this will ease congestion and improve service reliability. In the longer term, as more trains are made available through the Thameslink Programme, the upgrade will make space for more services across all routes, including direct trains through to London Bridge and beyond.

Connecting the new platform at Finsbury Park to the rest of the station will be a new, fully-accessible footbridge with lifts, providing step-free access between the ticket office and all platforms for the first time. Network Rail and First Capital Connect are consulting with local stakeholders on the details of the scheme, which is funded by the government’s Access for All programme. It is anticipated that both the new platform and footbridge will be in use in 2013.

To enable the work to be carried out safely, an amended timetable will operate each Sunday until October. In many cases, northbound trains will not call at Hornsey or Harringay and passengers for these stations are advised to travel to Alexandra Palace to take a southbound service back. Passengers wishing to travel on Sundays should check the information posters at Finsbury Park station or go to the website.