Victoria tube station upgrade.

One of the busiest underground stations in London, used by over 75 million people a year, is about to get some much needed improvements. As part of an overall upgrading of London transport, Victoria tube station (where there is also a mainline railway station) will increase in size by 50 per cent, as a new underground ticket office, lifts, escalators and a new entrance are added.

The project, which will cost around 500 million, should ease peak-time congestion, a serious problem at Victoria where platforms often have to be closed during rush hour due to overcrowding. The enormous number of commuters from south London and the surrounding counties has put too much pressure on the mainline and the underground stations at Victoria and the tube station is now busier than Heathrow airport.

In total, 10 billion is to be invested in improving the London transport system over the next five years, over half of which will be spent on the underground. The Victoria line will also be getting 47 new trains and an upgraded signalling system, which should be in place when building work on the Victoria tube station is completed in 2013.