TfL escalators past lifespan force repairs and station closures

More than a quarter of London Underground escalators are operating beyond their expected working life, Transport for London data has revealed. The figures, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show 153 of the network’s 566 escalators have exceeded their lifespan. This includes one at Southgate Station that broke down in January and remained out of service for two months, forcing the station to close.

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Transport for London spent £56.1 million on escalators in the financial year 2025/26. Of this, £38.6 million was operating expenditure, while £17.5 million was capital spending on upgrades and modernisation. Despite this, TfL was forced to spend an additional £1.3 million on reactive maintenance call-outs for escalators during the same period.

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Elly Baker, transport spokesperson for the City Hall Labour group, said the ageing escalators risk undermining the mayor’s target for 80% of London journeys to be made by public transport, walking or cycling by 2041. She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that unreliable escalators could deter people from using the Tube.

Every time somebody goes to a station and finds an escalator’s out of order, sometimes that means the station’s actually closed, they may feel the network is less reliable, and maybe they’re just slightly less likely to use the Tube in the future, and that’s not acceptable.

Elly Baker, City Hall Labour transport spokesperson

Baker said TfL has shifted from a fixed schedule of refurbishing escalators after 20 years and replacing them after 40 to a “risk-based approach” that monitors them more closely. She said this has led to more unexpected breakdowns. In June, she wrote to TfL commissioner Andy Lord criticising the approach, which she said results in unplanned station closures.

TfL defends maintenance record

A TfL spokesperson said escalator availability on the London Underground is around 95%, despite six million escalator journeys made each day. The spokesperson said the network is over 160 years old in some areas, and that a small number of escalators are temporarily withdrawn for maintenance or inspections to ensure reliability.

TfL commissioner Andy Lord defended the shift away from age-based interventions earlier this month. He said the network must balance escalator maintenance against other priorities, such as track infrastructure and ageing structures, due to “significant financial constraints”. Funding for escalator replacements is decided through a prioritisation process that considers customer usage and safety assessments.

What happens next

TfL has not announced any changes to its escalator maintenance strategy. The network’s escalators are maintained by either Otis or London Underground’s in-house team. Residents affected by escalator failures can report issues through TfL’s website or customer service channels.