Chalk Farm tube station will be closed this weekend as work begins on replacing the station’s two lifts.

Preparatory work till take place on Saturday and Sunday, meaning the station will not be open to use by passengers.

From Monday, the station will be open again, but with a reduced lift service; only one will be operating at a time as the two 40-year-old lifts are replaced consecutively.

TfL has advised customers using Chalk Farm station from Monday to access the Northern Line to be prepared to wait longer to use a lift, or to take the stairs instead.

The stairs at Chalk Farm station consist of one flight of 53 steps, plus another of 20 steps from the lift landing to the platforms.

“I’m sorry for the disruption that the lift work will cause our customers, but the new lifts will be more reliable with fewer delays when the work is complete,” said Mark Wild, London Underground’s managing director. “Replacing the lifts one at a time means we can keep the station open while the work is being carried out. We will work hard to complete this vital upgrade as quickly as possible, keeping customers and local businesses up to date as the work progresses.”