TUFNELL Park Underground station will be out of action for nine months while the lifts are replaced.

Residents and businesses were left “horrified” by the length of the closure as Transport for London confirmed its plans to start work on June 8.

The station caters for 4 million passengers every year but will not re-open until March next year. 

Critics say the service does not have to be closed for so long, particularly if  TfL replaced one lift at a time.

Former Labour Party leader Lord Kinnock, who lives locally, is among those who have signed a petition calling for a re-think.  

Green Councillor Sian Berry said it will cause extra crowds at Kentish Town and Archway tube stations. “I believe it’s all about TfL saving money. Their communications have been appalling. They’ve not wanted to talk to us about the issue, let alone hold a public meeting.”

Local author Michele Hanson said it was going to cause difficulties for the elderly and disabled as well as hitting local business. She said: “I can’t understand why they can’t keep the station open, as we asked, and repair one lift at a time?”

Tim Farrell, 30, general manager at Aces and Eights on the corner of Fortess Road, said: “It is really horrifying. We have a small venue downstairs which we sell as being right next to a tube station, so this is really going to affect my business. 

“It is really black and white that this is a cost-saving thing. Most of our shows, which are comedy or live music, finish at 11pm so people can travel to and from here to do those things, so this is really going to hit us.”

Mustafa Derici, who works at Tufnell Park Kebab and Fish bar in Brecknock Road said: “We are 100 per cent going to lose customers because of this, especially at night-time. In the day there are more local customers but not in the evening or weekend.”

Ali Tep, who works at Tufnell Park Off Licence, said: “It is going to kill all the businesses on the street. The station is the only thing that keeps you alive.”

TfL argue that the current two lifts are around 40 years old and need to be replaced to ensure they work reliably. It added yesterday (Wednesday) that the existing lifts fail “once a week on average” causing unplanned travel disruption to customers. 

TfL said the option of replacing the lifts one at a time and keeping the station open was considered. 

But a spokesman said: “However, this was neither the safest nor least disruptive option for customers. If only one ageing lift was in operation, the larger volume of customers using it would risk becoming trapped and unplanned station closures would increase significantly.”

TfL added that the total time to complete the work on both lifts will be around nine months rather than 20 months if the lifts were replaced one at a time while keeping the station open.

Gareth Powell, London Underground’s Director for Strategy & Service Development, apologised for the disruption and said they were working hard to keep local businesses informed about the progress of the project.