The Central line is to be closed off at Tottenham Court Road station in London for nearly a year starting January 2015, as the station is rebuilt and Crossrail is tied to it.

The closure will put significant strain on the Northern Line, which will be the sole line for shoppers, diners and drinkers to use between 3 January and mid-December 2015 if they don't want to walk down to Oxford Circus or take the bus.

TfL said that the Tube station's full upgrade "will help it meet the estimated demand of more than 200,000 journeys per day once Crossrail is built."

Benefits will include a new, larger ticket hall, more escalators and a public piazza outside Centre Point.

Crossrail, which will run between Reading and Heathrow in the west and Shenfield and Abbey Wood in the east, will be entered and exited from 2018 via a ticket hall on Dean Street.

Tottenham Court Road is one of the busiest stations, being situated near the shopping district of Oxford Street and the bars of Soho, while the Central Line is one of the busiest lines.