Commuters are fighting plans to close Caledonian Road Station next year.

As reported in the Gazette, Transport for London (TfL) will shut the Underground station from January 4 until mid-August for its two lifts to be refurbished.

But the plans have caused outcry among commuters, residents and businesses who rely on the station.

A petition has been set up. calling for Mayor of London Boris Johnson to see that the refurbishment runs in a way that won’t close the station.

Nigel Scott, 65, of Haringey, is leading the campaign.

He works for the Shingles Support Society at Omnibus House, near to the station, and said: “TfL need to be more imaginative.

“There are currently two empty lift shafts at the station, in addition to the two currently in use. They could put new lifts in the empty ones without the need to close the station.

“The impact would be massive. Usage of the station is six million a year. That information is from TfL itself, and means four million journeys would be affected from January to August.

“I haven’t spoken to anyone who doesn’t agree, whether it’s residents, shops or pubs.”

During the closure, TfL has advised people to use Holloway Road Underground station, a nine to 13-minute walk away, or Caledonian Road & Barnsbury Overground station, a five to 10-minute walk away.

But Mr Scott said: “Holloway Road is not easily accessible. And Caledonian Road is over a mile from King’s Cross. There’s no other station nearby that can take the load.

“I work in the Omnibus House office space, and it’s going to affect everyone’s ability to do business because everyone will be inconvenienced.

“That’s not even mentioning the Caledonian Road residents. Everyone is going to be messed around by this.

“It’s like they think it’s a small station in the middle of nowhere. But there’s a lot going on around here that depends on the station.”

On average, the station’s two lifts, both 30 years old, fail once a week.

Last month, TfL said it considered refurbishing the lifts one at a time to keep the station open.

But managing director Nick Brown said: “If only one ageing lift was in operation, the larger volume of customers using it would put additional stress on the remaining aged lift and would increase the risk of customers becoming trapped should the lift fail.”

To view the petition, visit change.org/p/transport-for-london-boris-johnson-don-t-close-caledonian-road-tube-station-for-8-months-install-4-lifts-instead/u/13895728