Hello everyone.
I couldn't find an answer to my question by searching. Hoping you can help. I am strongly considering renting a flat on Shelton Street in the Covent Garden area. I read somewhere that the Covent Garden tube stop is an "exit only stop." Is this true? If so it may be a deal breaker as of course we would need to get on the tube as well as just off at that point.
Some tube stations are exit only on special occassions... Like Westminster on NYE or Ladbrooke Grove during the Notting Hill Carnival... But its rare. Covent Garden is just a normal tube stop, you'll be fine.
Covent Garden and Leicester Square are famous for being the two closest stations in central London.
It was exit-only in 2015 for re-building, you may be reading an old guide book, see here: https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2015/november/covent-garden-tube-station-lift-works-completed
Any station can be made exit-only when the crowds get too bad, but that is not very often and the walk to Leicester Square is so short it should be no issue.
Thanks all!
If you're renting a flat there, make sure you have either triple glazing or very strong earplugs, unless you're very hard to wake up or prevent from sleeping.
You might find getting off at one of the other nearby stations more convenient at peak times and weekends anyway as the lift capacity is low even when they are all working.
I remember in the days of Thatcher (and run down public services), Covent Garden would often be closed on a busy shopping Saturday if the lifts were unoperational.
