Commuters and late-night travellers on the London Underground are facing a significant disruption, as a major part of the Northern line will shut early for four nights a week over the next four months.
Essential Work Causes Prolonged Disruption
Transport for London (TfL) has confirmed that the Bank branch of the Northern line will close at 10pm from Monday to Thursday, starting from January 12, 2026. This revised timetable, which begins from 9:30pm each affected night, will remain in place until late May 2026.
The extended early closures are necessary to allow engineers to carry out essential track replacement work. TfL states this critical maintenance will significantly improve the long-term reliability of the line, but the scale of the task makes it impossible to complete within standard engineering hours.
Which Stations and Services Are Affected?
The early shutdown affects the entire section of the Bank branch between Camden Town and Kennington. Passengers hoping to use the Northern line after 10pm on weeknights to access the following stations will need to seek an alternative route:
- King’s Cross St Pancras
- Angel
- Old Street
- Moorgate
- Bank
- London Bridge
- Borough
- Elephant & Castle
During the closure period, from Friday to Sunday, the Bank branch will operate a normal service. The Charing Cross branch will run as usual throughout the entire four months and will even see a boost, with an additional four trains per hour to help manage passenger numbers.
Revised Timetables and Travel Advice
The closure has a knock-on effect on other parts of the Northern line network. Key service changes on weeknights after 10pm include:
- Kennington to Morden: 18 trains per hour (a reduction of two).
- Kennington to Battersea Power Station: 6 trains per hour (a reduction of four).
- Camden Town to Edgware: 12 trains per hour (a reduction of eight).
- Camden Town to High Barnet: 12 trains per hour (a reduction of four).
- Finchley Central to Mill Hill East: A 15-minute shuttle service, with no through service from central London.
Richard Jones, TfL’s Director of Asset Performance Delivery, apologised for the disruption. “We apologise to Northern line customers and local businesses for the disruption that the early closure of the Bank branch will cause,” he said. “Customers are advised to check before they travel, using TfL’s real-time travel information tools to find the quickest alternative for their specific journey.”
Passengers are strongly urged to plan ahead and use TfL's live travel updates to navigate around the closures, which are set to impact thousands of evening journeys until the end of spring.
