....screamed the headline on the front page of the Evening Standard on
Friday:
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23918471-.do

Here's the rather more sober low-down from TfL:
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/proj...nges/5140.aspx
or via http://tinyurl.com/Victoria-escalator-work

Essentially the three escalators that directly lead between the ticket
hall and the Victoria line platforms need to be refurbished, and
they're going to be done one-by-one over the course of the next year
which means there'll only be two in action at any one point in time.

As a result, between 4pm and 8pm each weekday these escalators will
only run upwards for Victoria line pax exiting the station - those
entering and heading for the Victoria line will need to take the
longer route via the subsurface Circle & District line platforms (my
guess - and it's just a guess - is that the route from the subsurface
C&D platforms down to the Victoria line will likely be made one way
during this time, so those changing from Vic to the C&D lines will
have to circulate via the ticket hall.)

The basic advice being given is to try and avoid using Victoria Tube
station at busier times if possible - though my reckoning is that
those getting off the Victoria line and exiting in the evening peak
will be ok as there'll still be two escalators going up (as is
normally the case). I can imagine the morning peak might be trickier,
as there'll only be the one escalator going directly down from the
ticket hall to the Vic line - though it should still be possible to
get to the Vic line via the subsurface C&D platforms (wiley pax might
fare better entering the station via the entrance north of Terminus
Place, i.e. the bus station).

I dare say commuters would likely do well to avoid Victoria
Underground station altogether and poss. consider rerouting away from
Victoria entirely (e.g. London Bridge. Elephant & Castle, Brixton
etc). Pimlico Tube station on the Victoria line is an easy walk of
just over half a mile away so walk 10 mins or so.

Lots of buses too, but particularly worth noting is the uber-frequent
bus corridor leading up from Victoria to Marble Arch via Park Lane
(e.g. the 36 and 436 are a good way to get over to Paddington) - this
bus spider map for Victoria shows what's what (PDF):
http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaro...toria-2277.pdf

I dunno how bad things will be away from the rush hour(s), though I
did actually (eventually) exit through Victoria Tube station earlier
today (Sunday) having got off the Victoria line - there was a large
queue of people waiting to ascend the single escalator that was in use
up to the ticket hall, so not fancying the look of it I turned round
and headed for the alternative exit via the subsurface C&D line
platforms - alas this was closed, as the Circle and a chunk of the
District weren't running through Victoria courtesy of our old friend,
weekend engineering works. I'd think that if possible it'd be a rather
good idea to open up this route as an exit even if the C&D lines
aren't running (unless the work on the subsurface lines might somehow
prevent this, but unless it's actually happening right there at
Victoria SSL station then I can't see this being a problem - unless
I'm missing something).

I returned to the queue and it took perhaps five minutes, possibly
more, until I was at the escalator - everyone had resigned to waiting
patiently, and live PA announcements had begun being made (which were
honest in describing the works as ongoing for the next year, to the
resigned sighs of the crowd). I got the feeling from the PA
announcements that it may have been a particularly bad moment - a game
at the Arsenal had finished not too long beforehand for instance - but
I'll think twice before going that way again if there's no secondary
exit via the subsurface C&D platforms, and I definitely won't be
relying on making any très rapide five minute Tube to rail connections
there!

One last think - without getting into the whole nomenclature debate
w.r.t. development and all that, the final comment in the ES piece is
suitably daft ("Sometimes it feels like I'm in the third world in
London") - one wonders if the student who was quoted knows much about
the transport systems in place in say Lagos. Of course the Standard's
template for such articles effectively mandates such a finishing
flourish - it's more or less hard-coded into ES hacks as one of their
prime directives.