City Thameslink Station to Close for Seven Months for Full Escalator Overhaul

City Thameslink station in central London will close for approximately seven months — from 17 May to late December 2027 — so that all ten escalators can be replaced in a single continuous operation, Network Rail announced. The escalators, installed 35 years ago, have become "increasingly unreliable," with recent flooding accelerating their deterioration. Network Rail concluded that a full closure is "the quickest and most efficient way to complete the work." Thameslink trains will continue running normally but will not stop at City Thameslink during the closure, though Network Rail also warned that some weekends may see no trains at all through the central London section due to separate planned engineering works. Lucy McAuliffe, Sussex route director for Network Rail, said the authority looked at every possible option before settling on a single closure as the least disruptive approach. On reopening, travellers will benefit from entirely renewed escalators designed to provide safer, more dependable and accessible journeys. Passengers are advised to use Blackfriars station as an alternative — a six-minute walk from the south entrance and an eleven-minute walk from the north. Farringdon is not recommended despite its proximity, as it is already very busy.