Report highlights 57 tube stations at 'high risk' of flooding

A new report out on Monday said it was “only a matter of time” before serious flooding hit the London Underground, with 57 stations and 28 other sites across the network highlighted as at risk serious water ingress.

Some of the capital’s busiest subterranean transport hubs - including King’s Cross St Pancras, London Bridge and Waterloo - were included in the list, unpublished but obtained by the Guardian.

The report, which was funded and commissioned after Hurricane Sandy left parts of New York City’s subway resembling storm drains in 2012, said “the rapid nature of flooding events often produces high safety consequences.

“London has been fortunate to escape the worst of recent storm events in the UK, but it is only a matter of time before heavy rainfall seriously affects London and the underground network.

“The risk is generally expected to increase [as] climate change predictions are that storms will become more intest. There is some evidence to show that these have already increased in frequency,” the report explained.

It was the first flood risk report for the Tube since 2001, and identified 85 high risk sites - 57 of them stations, and the rest ventilation and access shafts and tunnel entrances. Another 68 locations were deemed ‘significant risk’, including 23 stations.

The biggest risks came from flash flooding, caused by heavy downpours, and burst water mains.

London Underground requested £3m over three years as part of the report, to analyse the riskiest sites and start installing protective measures, though any money depended on the outcome of the mayoral election next month.

Major stations in the highest risk category included: Caledonian Road, Clapham Common, Colliers Wood, Euston, Finsbury Park, King’s Cross St Pancras, London Bridge, Marble Arch, Mile End, Old Street, Seven Sisters, Stockwell, Victoria and Waterloo.