Proposals to relocate London’s main coach station have been dropped
Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that London’s main coach station, Victoria, is to continue operating – and benefit from fresh investment.
TfL says it plans to ‘work with coach operators’ to improve the 87-year-old Grade-II listed station, as small sections of its lease expire in the early 2020s.
According to the announcement, changes could be made to the layout of the building to improve the customer experience, and its facilities may be renovated.
Helen Lee, Head of Coach Operations at TfL, said: “Coaches play a critical role driving the economy of the capital and beyond, boosting tourism to London and providing affordable travel options with cities across the UK.
“Without Victoria Coach Station, coaches would still travel to the centre of the city but drop off and pick up on-street. This would increase noise, congestion and pollution for people living, working and visiting central London. It would also deprive the 14 million passengers who use this affordable long-distance travel every year of vital welfare facilities and ease of access to onward connections.”
National Express welcomed the announcement.
Chris Hardy, Managing Director of National Express UK Coach, commented: “The demand for coach travel is growing. Last year we hit a record 20 million passenger journeys.
“London is a key location on our network with nearly nine million National Express passenger journeys made through Victoria Coach Station in 2018, so this is great news.
“We are really pleased TfL has recognised the importance of coach to transport in the Capital and we look forward to working together to enhance the customer experience at Victoria Coach Station for the benefit of our passengers.”
London Victoria Coach Station is currently used by 14 million passengers a year and serves 1,200 UK destinations and 400 foreign cities. The Art Deco terminal building was Grade-II listed in 2014.
Read more news at cbwmagazine.com/category/news
