PASSENGERS using Victoria station are set to benefit from a major £695million upgrade.

When completed, the scheme would increase the size of the station by about 50 per cent, with a new ticket hall, lifts and escalators to ease congestion.

The project has been approved by the Government, but still needs to be given the rubber-stamp from the Transport for London funding board in the autumn.

Construction could then start in 2010 and would take about seven years to complete.

If introduced, a new entrance would be created beneath Bressenden Place, allowing passengers from Victoria Street to enter the station without crossing the complex of streets towards the existing station entrance.

New lifts would be put in the existing Victoria line ticket hall, providing step-free travel from the street to the Victoria line and for interchange with District and Circle line platforms.

London mayor Boris Johnson said: "For many people, Victoria station is the gateway to central London, and for a long time it has been creaking under pressure from the sheer number who use it every day.

"This key upgrade will transform the experience for those using the station, making life easier and more convenient."

Around 80 million people pass through the gates of Victoria Tube station every day.