Media centre

Tuesday 22 Jul 2014

EAST CROYDON - video and press release: Passengers urged to plan an alternative route this August as massive rebuild of London Bridge rail station will affect journeys into the capital

Region & Route:

| Southern

Next month, between 23 and 31 August, passengers travelling from or through East Croydon to London Bridge will need to find an alternative route to and from the capital as Network Rail’s plan to completely rebuild London Bridge station continues. For nine days, two of the three train operators who normally serve the station will be unable to call there.

The August changes, which cover the Bank Holiday and four working days, mean there will be no direct trains from Brighton, Gatwick Airport, Three Bridges and East Croydon to London Bridge. No First Capital Connect or Southern services will be able to call there as a three-track bridge is completely rebuilt and some of the platforms, track and signalling systems are replaced.

• First Capital Connect and Southern services south of Blackfriars will be very busy
• Stations like East Croydon and Gatwick are expected to be busier than usual and passengers might not get on the first train
• The southern end of London Underground’s northern line is expected to be busier for this time of the year, as are sections of the District and Circle Line
• Certain sections of London Overground will be busier than usual and London Overground services will not be able to operate to and from New Cross from 26 to 29 August. These services will be diverted to Crystal Palace to double the number of London Overground trains serving stations between Sydenham and Brockley, which will temporarily not be served by Southern. A replacement bus service will run every 15 minutes between New Cross and Canada Water and some additional supplementary bus routes serving some other stations.
• Southeastern services will run as normal but are likely to be busier

Stephen Norris, East Croydon station manager, said: “We are expecting more passengers to be interchanging at East Croydon and my team are ready to assist with helping them.”

The same team that planned London's Olympics travel is working with the rail industry to manage and communicate the part closure of London Bridge because of the knock-on impact it will have across the rail, London Underground and London Overground networks.

A new, mobile-friendly Thameslink website has been launched providing details of the changes (ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk). Rail, London Underground and London Overground passengers are also being targeted with information on their alternatives via social media, leaflets, posters, announcements on trains and at stations as well as advertising across London and the south east.

Nicky Hughes, Network Rail’s head of communications for London and the south east, said: “London Bridge is one of the country’s busiest stations and we’re rebuilding it piece by piece to transform north-south travel through London while keeping it open for passengers. This is a huge challenge.

“We are doing as much of the construction work as we can behind the scenes, but there will be times, such as this August, when we have to temporarily divert services around the track we’re replacing.

“There are alternative routes for everyone affected and we urge passengers across London and south east to visit our new website, check if you are affected and then find out your alternative routes so you know your travel options.”

London Bridge is one of Britain’s busiest stations and is being completely rebuilt as part of the government’s multi-billion pound investment to transform rail services across London and the south east. When finished the Thameslink Programme will give passengers travelling to or from East Croydon new spacious trains, and new robust tracks and signalling will mean more reliable journeys. A new link to the north of St Pancras will connect the Thameslink route to the East Coast Main Line meaning for the very first time passengers will be able to travel from Gatwick straight through central London to the counties north of London without changing.

To minimise the impact on the 21m passengers who use East Croydon station every year, Network Rail is carrying out the hugely complex construction work at London Bridge in phases. In August a vast amount of track and signalling work will take place as platforms 12 and 13 are brought back into use and platforms 10 and 11 are closed for demolition and rebuilding. While the station is closed we will replace a three-track bridge on the approach to London Bridge and we will continue to build a new concourse beneath passengers’ feet that will be bigger than the pitch at Wembley.

Passengers are being advised to sign-up for alerts and to keep checking ahead as more changes are planned for December 2014 and between January 2015 and 2018

For more information and to keep up-to-date

• Visit ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk
• Follow @TLProgramme
• Text TLP 12 and your home station to 60777