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Major improvement works will be carried out at Paddington Tube station this year, Transport for London (TfL) has announced.

It will result in the temporary closure of Bakerloo line platforms forcing 82,000 passengers passengers to find alternative routes each day.

TfL say the work will be complete before the Notting Hill Carnival on the August Bank Holiday.

Currently around 165,000 customers use Paddington Tube station daily, with more than 80,000 people using the Bakerloo line. But the number of customers using TfL services at Paddington is expected to jump to 248,000 when Crossrail begins operating in 2018.

Bakerloo service at the station will cease on April 2 and is due to recommence in mid August. During that time engineers will dig a new 165m tunnel underneath the station to enable passengers to interchange between the Bakerloo line and new Crossrail platforms. The new pedestrian link will incorporate escalators, lifts, stairs and new passageways in order to make interchanging between the Tube and Crossrail as easy as possible for passengers.

The heavily used escalators serving the Bakerloo line will also be practically rebuilt, with nearly every component replaced. TfL say this will extend its lives for a further 20 years.

David Waboso CBE, London Underground’s Capital Programmes Director, said: “Paddington Tube station serves as a major interchange and when TfL-run Crossrail arrives in 2018, around 248,000 customers a day will be using our services.

“We try to carry out as much of our improvement work as possible when the Tube is closed, but in this case need a closure period due to the nature and scale of the work. In order to keep disruption for passengers to a minimum, we are combining Bakerloo line escalator and Crossrail works so that services are non-stopping for the shortest time possible.”

Customers are advised to use alternative Tube routes from Paddington, or nearby Edgware Road (Bakerloo line) station. Passengers will still be able to access the Circle and District lines via the ticket halls from the Network Rail concourse and Praed Street . Access to the separate Circle and Hammersmith & City line ticket hall is unaffected.

The work is the latest part of a huge programme of modernisation of London Underground that is seeing major stations, trains, track and signalling being updated or replaced to provide more capacity and reliability.