It's quite monolithic - a long slab above a broad sheltered ticket hall surrounded by a protective ring of bollards. A nice touch is that the words BANK STATION have been chiselled into the blocks of Portland stone at the centre of the span. Plans obviously exist to build an eight-storey office block on top, but for now St Mary Abchurch shines out unobstructed.
A few things to note
» There are only three ticket machines because that's all a ticket hall at one of London's busiest stations needs these days.
» The fares poster alongside will need to be replaced on Sunday.
» The tube map on the wall says that step-free Northern line access is "coming soon" because nobody's yet produced a map saying it just has.
» Trains disappear from the Next Train display when they're two minutes away, which seems fair enough given the hike down to the platforms.
» There are thirteen ticket gates, the idea being to funnel passengers in and out as swiftly as possible.
Behind the gateline is a bank of three escalators and also a long mezzanine passageway leading to the lifts. There are two lifts, one of which just goes down to the Northern line and the other to the Northern line and DLR. Above the escalators is a ribbed bronze artwork which probably represents something meaningful but there are no immediate clues. The escalator/mezzanine/lifts/artwork set-up will look familiar to users of central Crossrail stations.
A few things to note
» This brings step-free access to the Northern line for the first time, which is excellent.
» It also brings simple step-free access to the DLR, rather than having to use the shonky 'please ring this number' lift on King William Street.
» The Northern line is Level -8, the DLR is level -9.
The first set of escalators whisks you down past a sequence of digital adverts to a mid-level concourse. The overarching theme here is 'grey' (with a sub-theme, if you look up, of 'long thin triangles'). Here the route changes direction because threading passenger access under the heart of the financial district is technically complex. There are no adverts on the second set of escalators so you can stare at your phone without distraction.
A few things to note
» The lower escalators are numbered 26, 27 and 28, and the upper escalators 29, 30 and 31.
» No other tube station has more than 30 escalators.
» The sign on the mid-level concourse points down to the Central, Northern and Waterloo & City lines and DLR only, on the basis that if you really wanted the District or Circle lines you should have entered the station via Monument instead.
The escalators land between the Northern line platforms in a bright blue corridor. Southbound on the left, northbound (and everywhere else) on the right. Way out signs on the platform already point towards the new exit, without any hint that it might bring you to the surface in Cannon Street and nowhere near the Bank of England. Passengers are already using the exit either out of curiosity or as if it's been here forever and is the most normal thing in the world.
A few things to note
» If you remember the old southbound platform before it got turned into a passageway last year, all of this escalator/exit kerfuffle has been excavated behind what used to be the far wall.
» The lifts to the surface are in a separate crosspassage immediately behind the escalators, closer to Monument station.
» From here you can be out of the station in a couple of minutes with none of the tedious labyrinthine weaving this used to entail.
It's an excellent addition to what had been a ridiculously congested station, concluding all the hard work and expense that's gone into making the Northern line at Bank fit forthe 21stcentury. Queues, delays and alternative routes should all now be a thing of the past, although arguably TfL could have done nothing and post-pandemic commuting patterns would mostly have taken care of that.
A few more things to note
This increases the number of entrances into Bank/Monument station to 16.
» It used to be 15, of which one alongside Cornhill is permanently closed.
» In 2018 they opened a new entrance on Walbrook providing direct access to the Waterloo & City line.
» And today they've opened a 16th, which is more entrances than any other tube station.
Bank station is increasingly badly named.
I've timed walking distances from the new exit and...
• ...it's 1 minute to Monument station
• ...it's 1½ minutes to Cannon Street station
• ...it's 2 minutes to The Monument
• ...it's 2½ minutes to the 'Bank' road junction
• ...it's 3 minutes to the Bank of England
If you've not been down here in the last year then you totally won't recognise the place. [8 different photos]
