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Wednesday 27 Jul 2016

KENT and SE London: One month to go until all change at London Bridge as Network Rail prepares to open first part of new station concourse

Region & Route:

| Southern

Passengers travelling into London from Kent and south east London will be able to use the first two-thirds of the new station concourse at London Bridge from the end of August, as a major milestone is reached in the station’s redevelopment.

Bank Holiday Monday (August 29) will be the first time passengers from the region will be able to use the massive new station concourse, which is being created underneath the existing railway as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan to provide a bigger, better, more reliable railway for passengers and businesses.

When complete, the station will be unrecognisable with a concourse bigger than the pitch at Wembley providing the millions of passengers who use the capital’s fourth busiest station each year with more space, easier connections to other rail services and the underground, as well as better shops and facilities.

As construction moves from the completed section of the station and begins on the remaining platforms – currently used by services to and from London Cannon Street – there will be major changes to train services.

Thameslink Programme director Simon Blanchflower said: “It’s a major milestone for the programme when we open the concourse this August bank holiday, as it also means that passengers will finally get to see the outcome of all the work we have been doing for the past few years. There will be wider platforms, new shops and cafes and of course the huge new concourse we have built under the tracks.”

“There will also be changes to some train services from that week as we start the massive logistical task of moving construction work from the south to the north side of the station, so I would also encourage passengers to check before they travel.”

Richard Dean, Train Services Director at Southeastern, said: “We’re really pleased that our passengers will be able to start using the new station. There’s still a lot of work to do and we need to make major changes to our services to allow the next phrase to happen. We ask that passengers check southeasternrailway.co.uk/august for full details of how their services will be affected, especially on the working days, Tuesday 30 August – Thursday 1 September when we’ll be running fewer trains than normal.”

Mr Blanchflower added: “This is the first time we have been able to build what is effectively a brand-new station in London while keeping the station open for the 56 million passengers that travel through it each year. We have designed it entirely around the needs of the passengers and taken inspiration from modern transport hubs such as airports as much as from the railway stations of the past. The station will be complete in January 2018.”

Notes:

Train alterations

There will be no trains at Cannon Street main line station from Saturday, 27 August, to Thursday, 1 September, while work is carried out on the tracks approaching it through London Bridge. Trains will be diverted to Victoria or Blackfriars where possible, but passengers may have to find alternative routes to work. London Bridge station and Charing Cross services are expected to be busier than usual.  Queueing systems may be in place at peak times. Passengers are being asked to consider changing their normal journey to work if possible.

Charing Cross trains will begin calling at London Bridge from 29th August, for the first time since January 2015. Cannon Street trains will not call at London Bridge until January 2018.

About Thameslink Programme

The Government-sponsored Thameslink Programme is  transforming north-south travel through London. When complete in 2018 it will give passengers:

• New longer and more spacious trains running every 2 to 3 minutes through central London in the peak
• Improved connections and better options to more destinations on an expanded Thameslink network including Cambridge and Peterborough
• More robust tracks and state-of-the art signalling and more reliable trains to make journeys more reliable.
• Completely rebuilt stations at Blackfriars and London Bridge

London Bridge facts

Over 120 million people a year go to London Bridge or through it to Cannon Street and Charing Cross – around 50 million start or end their at London Bridge itself

The new concourse at London Bridge will be bigger than the pitch at Wembley, increasing passenger capacity by 65%

London Bridge will be longer than the Shard is tall From 2018, more frequent services:

Between Blackfriars and St Pancras - up to 24 trains per hour in each direction during the peak

Between London Bridge and St Pancras - up to 18 Thameslink trains an hour in each direction, during the peak.

179 years old – London Bridge is London’s oldest surviving rail terminus, first opened in Dec 1836