Central line stop to be out of action for eight months
Shepherd's Bush Central line station is to close for eight months from February 2 so the station can be improved before the Westfield White City shopping centre opens in late 2008.
During the closure the ticket hall and escalators will be improved, closing the station to the 12million passengers who currently use the station.
However, the number of passengers using the station once it reopens in time for the launch of the Westfield shopping centre is expected to increase.
Westfield shopping centre will be the third largest in the UK behind MetroCentre and Bluewater.
The completed centre will feature around 270 stores, including Debenhams, Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Next and a Cinema de Lux multiplex cinema. Other retailers speculated to be in negotiations include House of Fraser and Barneys New York.
Following the announcement of the closure, Hammersmith and Fulham Council has called on Transport for London (TfL) to attend an urgent transport summit.
As well as the Central Line station closing, Shepherds Bush Overground station is also delayed � because of a platform that was built 18 inches too narrow �creating a potential transport nightmare.
Councillor Nicholas Botterill, Hammersmith and Fulham Council Deputy Leader, said: "The congestion charge chaos has caused increased commuter parking, our Overground stations are closed or lying dormant and we now hear that Shepherds Bush Underground station is going to close. We need answers to these issues from TfL and we need them now."
Other major transport issues to be discussed with TfL include issues over the westward extension of the congestion charge, the delays over Imperial Wharf Overground station and a potential Crossrail link at Willesden Junction station
However, London Underground said that the stationclosure was necessary to deal with the increased numbers of passengers expected at the station.
Richard Parry, LU's director of strategy and service development, said: "We always try wherever possible to avoid closing Tube stations because of the inconvenience to passengers.
"But we have reluctantly agreed to close this station for eight months because it means the works can be accelerated and the escalator works undertaken at the same time, which in turn will result in benefits to passengers being delivered faster with less overall disruption. "
Westfield is funding £170m of transport improvements including the rebuilding of Shepherd's Bush (Central line) station, and the new Wood Lane station on the Hammersmith & City line, which will open when the Westfield development opens in late 2008. The existing Shepherd's Bush (Hammersmith & City line) station will be renamed Shepherd's Bush Market at the same time to eliminate confusion with the nearby Shepherd's Bush (Central line) station.
Emma Midgley
December 20, 2007