Liverpool Street Station is set to strip back its advertising boards by more than 75 per cent, throwing out old posters in favour of new, modern digital displays and more information screens.
Government rail company Network Rail has submitted a new planning application to remove dozens of adverts across the concourse and platforms of the UK’s busiest railway station.
Network Rail has identified 148 advertising boards throughout the station, and hopes to reduce this number to as few as 34, according to a heritage statement report in Network Rail’s application.
The rail company says that stripping back the adverts is an attempt to further improve the experience of the millions of passengers who pass through Liverpool Street every year.
“Our aim is to improve passengers' journeys through our station by installing additional information screens and replacing old advertising boards with modern digital displays,” a Network Rail spokesperson told The Independent.
"Should we receive planning permission, we hope these changes will make travelling through Britain's busiest station a much smoother experience."
Alongside a better passenger experience, the application’s heritage statement said that removing adverts would reveal covered-up walls and views across the 1870s train shed, which will have a “heritage benefit”.
If approved, Liverpool Street will not be the first London station to revitalise the way it uses adverts around the station.
In October last year, London’s Euston station switched off a large advertising screen that overlooks the concourse as part of a plan to improve the station.
The plan was put in place following overcrowding issues, last-minute train announcements, and people rushing to platforms forced authorities to look at improving conditions.
To try to create a smoother experience passing through Euston, Network Rail later switched on its large overhead advertising board, but instead displayed live train travel updates for passengers.
At Liverpool Street, most of the existing displays are static posters, which Network Rail hopes to replace.
In total, 138 static posters will be removed and replaced with 17 digital advertising boards in new locations. A further seven static boards will be replaced with screens under a previously approved plan.
Some digital displays will appear at the end of the platforms, with an additional screen showing train departures, allowing passengers to see travel information and find their platform, which promises to improve passenger flow.
The overhaul of advertisements comes after a separate multi-million-pound proposal by Network Rail to redevelop Liverpool Street.
The company hopes to transform the station into a “landmark gateway to the City of London” that can accommodate over 200 million annual passengers.
The proposal includes eight new lifts, six new escalators, a wider concourse and step-free access across the station to enhance accessibility at Liverpool Street.
Increased ticket barriers, family toilets, cycle storage, cafes and pedestrian routes are also listed among the plans.
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