Coverings behind benches on some Elizabeth line platforms have been put up by Transport for London (TfL), in an effort to stop the station walls picking up grease and dirt from passengers.
By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter
Coverings behind benches on some Elizabeth line platforms have been put up by Transport for London (TfL), in an effort to stop the station walls picking up grease and dirt from passengers.
It comes after questions were raised about how TfL was going to deal with so-called ‘ghost marks’ on the walls, which were becoming increasingly visible as passengers were unintentionally dirtying the white surfaces with their bags and backs of their coats.
The coverings feature “moquette-inspired” silhouette designs, and will also more clearly indicate priority seating at the end of each bench. They are being rolled out initially at Bond Street, Farringdon, Liverpool Street stations.
In comments to the BBC on Friday, Elizabeth line director Howard Smith said: “The Elizabeth line has had a transformational effect since opening, providing new, accessible journey options for customers, including at new central London stations.
“These stylish new moquette-inspired designs will enhance the customer experience by protecting the areas behind the seats.”
The issue of ‘ghost marks’ was first raised with Sir Sadiq Khan at the end of 2023, when the mayor was asked by Baroness Caroline Pidgeon – who at the time was a member of the London Assembly – what he was doing to ensure the walls were being “regularly cleaned to ensure the stations remain fresh for decades to come”.
He told the Liberal Democrat former mayoral candidate: “A rigorous cleaning programme is maintained at all of TfL’s stations to ensure a clean and safe environment for customers.
“However, TfL is exploring new ways to clean the walls behind seating at some of its Elizabeth line stations to try to remove any marks and protect the walls in future.”
Opened in May 2022 and spanning 73 miles, the Elizabeth line runs from Reading and Heathrow Airport in the west to Abbey Wood and Shenfield in the east.
The line quickly became hugely popular with Londoners and is now the UK’s busiest railway service.
But it has also suffered issues with reliability, with five of its stops featuring in the list of London’s worst ten stations for cancelled trains over the last year. Of those five, the worst was Acton Main Line – where 8.72 per cent of services were cancelled.
