TfL conceded without a fight in court because it expected to lose. It has agreed to “withdraw and reconsider” the eight month closure plan because the council argued that the impact on people with disabilities had not been taken into account and also because the council and the station’s users had not been consulted. A pause and reflection is as much as the court would have been able to insist upon. It is not the job of the court (or the council) to run a railway. So theoretically, TfL could reconsider and carry on with the closure plan – if it can show that there is no other feasible option. How likely is this? The backlash against the station closure plan and the threat of judicial review from Islington Council has been embarrassing for TfL. Details of a feasibility study have been revealed following a Freedom of Information request. This showed that TfL had studied and costed the option of replacing one lift at a time and keeping the station open throughout, but had decided against this on grounds of cost to itself (not to its users) and the inconvenience of occasionally having both lifts out of use (if the one not being replaced were to break down). This problem would be mitigated because lift engineers would be on site for twenty hours a day – they would be working on the other lift anyway. In the view of an informed observer, “It would be extremely stupid for them to try the closure options when the one lift at a time option is easy and would cost only £500,000 more than full station closure and when there is not the safety problem they publicly claimed - but they just might still try and do it.” Islington Council is continuing to press TfL hard to make an announcement that they will get on with fixing the lifts straight away one at a time. It’s not over yet We are close to a final victory but the petition must continue until TfL has made the right decision. Please ask friends to keep signing.