Sign up to FREE email alerts from MyLondon - London Underground News Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Campaigners fighting to stop Crossrail 2 running through Chelsea have welcomed Transport for London (TfL) plans to increase Tube capacity.

The No Crossrail in Chelsea say the announcement to upgrade signalling on the District and Circle lines to increase capacity by 27,000 passengers per hour provide furthers evidence that a new station is not needed in Chelsea.

Under plans being considered it would be built on the site of the current fire station in King’s Road. The campaign group argue that the route should use the Victoria to Clapham Junction section of the railway and not run through Chelsea.

Celebrities such as Felicity Kendal, Trevor Eve, Loyd Grossman and Cheri Lunghie are among those against to the plans.

Campaigners are also opposed to the potential design of the station, saying it would sit out of place on the road.

It says the TfL decision to boost capacity by between 30 and 40 per cent as a result of increasing the frequency and number of trains, will help end overcrowding on these two important tube lines for Chelsea and South Kensington.

Campaign chairman Chris Lenon said the news was bad news for Kensington and Chelsea Council . He said: “These improvements further undermine the case for a Crossrail station on the King’s Road. RBKC have not publicised this announcement made on 3 August. They haven’t welcomed it despite the obvious benefits for residents – why?

“Is it because this fundamentally undermines any transport case for the Crossrail station they have been campaigning for, but which local people do not need and do not want?

TfL figures show Sloane Square currently has a passenger footfall of 52,000 people per weekday. Mr Lenon argues when South Kensington’s numbers are added to this the increase in capacity will be equivalent to the passenger numbers the royal borough are claiming for the King’s Road station. Both tube stations will also be minutes away from the Victoria Crossrail 2 station and its interchanges.

A council spokesman said the TfL announcement was welcomed and he hoped more Underground improvements would follow, including step-free access on existing lines.

But he added: “These very welcome improvements to the District and Circle lines in no way undermine the case for a brand new Crossrail 2 station, bringing 5,000 homes in Chelsea within a ten minute walk of an underground station for the first time.

“This is not the first claim put forward by the No campaign which does not stand up to scrutiny. For months it has been claiming that a Crossrail 2 station on King’s Road could have as many as 72,000 passengers an hour, spilling out onto King’s Road. We are pleased to see that the campaign appears to have moved away from this position. TfL estimate that about 5,000 passengers would use the station, in the busiest hour of the morning.”

No Crossrail in Chelsea campaign is calling on the borough to lobby TfL to provide step-free access at both Sloane Square and South Kensington underground stations. In addition, it has written to the nine ward councillors for Royal Hospital, Chelsea Riverside and Stanley wards asking them to discuss the proposal with local residents and declare whether they support the proposed Kings Road station or oppose it before 30 September.