First major changes for passengers as London Bridge redevelopment gathers pace

Thursday 16 May 2013

First major changes for passengers as London Bridge redevelopment gathers pace

Region & Route:: | Southern

The first major phase of the redevelopment of London Bridge station will begin later this month when three platforms are taken out of use until spring 2014.

Over the late May bank holiday platforms 8-16, which are used by Southern services, will be closed to prepare the area for work on platforms 14-16. Between Saturday 25 May and Monday 27 May (inclusive) no Southern train services will call at London Bridge and some will be diverted to London Victoria.

From Tuesday 28 May until spring 2014, platforms 14, 15 and 16 will remain closed while they are redeveloped and platform 13 will be narrowed. There will be no access to the footbridge from platform 13.

The changes are a vital part of Network Rail’s plans to alter the number of terminating and through platforms at London Bridge to provide more capacity to, from and through the station. Currently there are six through and nine terminating platforms; by 2018 there will be nine through and six terminating platforms. As well as providing greater capacity, it will also reduce the number of trains having to wait outside the station for the next available platform.

To inform passengers of the changes, an exhibition will take place at London Bridge station and staff will be on hand to answer questions about the project. The exhibition will be open from 7am to 7pm from Monday 20 May to Wednesday 29 May, located on the concourse opposite the entrance to platforms 12-14.

Robin Gisby, Network Rail’s managing director of network operations, said: “We’re transforming one of London’s busiest stations. While we work, London Bridge will remain open for the thousands of people who use it every day and we are working closely with the train operating companies which serve London Bridge to keep passengers informed.

“Once complete London Bridge will unlock the full benefits of the Thameslink programme and increase capacity through central London.”

In a joint statement, train operators First Capital Connect, Southeastern and Southern commented: “We are working together, and with Network Rail, so passengers are kept informed of the work at London Bridge station.

“We will ensure our customers are aware of the changes that affect them and what the various journey options are.

“Our station exhibition is just one example of how we are talking with our customers. We’ve created a programme website, ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk where customers can keep up to date with the Thameslink programme and sign up for email alerts about changes that matter to them.”

As a result of closure of platforms 14, 15 & 16, and to coincide with Southern’s timetable change, there will be platform alterations to many Southern services and some will be retimed from 19 May onwards. One Southern morning peak service will be diverted to London Victoria from 20 May onwards and passengers are advised to check train times and platforms carefully before travelling.

The route through to platforms 1 to 6 will also change from Saturday 25 May as the entrance by the interim ticket office leading to access ramps closes until early 2014. This change will extend journeys between the interim ticket office and platforms 1-6. Passengers will be informed in advance and the new route will be clearly signposted.

Network Rail will carry out the work to the station and track in distinct phases, each having a different impact on train services. This means a number of shorter periods of disruption rather than all passengers being impacted for the full duration of the project.

When the station redevelopment is fully complete in 2018, London Bridge will benefit from increased numbers of services with train services between 8am and 9am increasing from 70 to a maximum of 88.

London Bridge will have the biggest station concourse in the UK and will be fully accessible with lifts or escalators taking passengers to every platform. The lighter and brighter station will have new entrances on Tooley Street and St Thomas Street with improved access to local cycling, walking and bus routes.

While the work at London Bridge is taking place, passengers should plan their journeys in advance using the National Rail Enquiries website www.nationalrail.co.uk.

Notes to editors

London Bridge station milestones:

May 2013

No Southern services to London Bridge from Saturday 25 May – Monday 27 May (inclusive).
First platform closures at London Bridge. Platforms 14, 15 & 16 close until spring 2014. Southern services will be running with changes to platforms and the retiming of some services.

December 2014 to January 2018

Thameslink route services between Bedford and Brighton through central London will not call at London Bridge.

These services will be diverted via Herne Hill. The Department for Transport is considering ways to maintain a service between Brighton and London Bridge. The train companies, Network Rail and Transport for London are identifying the best alternative routes for affected passengers.

January 2015 to August 2016

Services to and from Charing Cross will not call at London Bridge. Services to and from Cannon Street will call at London Bridge

We are developing plans with Transport for London, to identify the best alternative routes available for affected customers to use when travelling to London Bridge and the surrounding area during this period of disruption.

Some diversions of services will take place between Charing Cross and Cannon Street.

January 2015 onwards

Greenwich line, New Cross and St. John’s station services are diverted to Cannon Street from January 2015 onwards. The related timetables are in development and will be communicated in advance.

August 2016 to early 2018

Services to Cannon Street will not call at London Bridge. Services to and from Charing Cross will resume calling at London Bridge.

2018

Station and track works are complete with more space and more train services.

About the Thameslink programme

The work at London Bridge will unlock the full potential of the £6bn Government-funded Thameslink programme. As well as rebuilding key stations, the programme will connect many destinations north and south of London and deliver a brand new fleet of high capacity, high frequency trains.

When the station is complete, each platform will be connected by a street level concourse bigger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium, which is being constructed below the current platforms in the arches. Each platform will need to be demolished in turn to allow for the construction of the concourse below.

The current phase of the programme involves renewing seven miles of railway track and signalling around London Bridge station and entirely rebuilding several bridges. This phase also includes creating a link at St Pancras International to services from the Great Northern route to Cambridge and Peterborough. This builds on the success of phase one of the scheme that has seen Blackfriars and Farringdon stations rebuilt, new services introduced, and the first longer 12-carriage trains introduced on the Thameslink route.

London Bridge station

London Bridge is London's oldest station, first built in 1836. With over 50 million users, the station is one of the busiest stations in Britain with almost 50% more passengers than Gatwick Airport and more than twice the number it was designed for. Despite recent improvements to the bus station and a new concourse next to the Shard, it remains a dark and crowded station with poor links to other forms of transport and a blocker to regeneration of the local area.

Southern service change from Monday 20 May 2013

As a result of the platform changes at London Bridge the following Southern trains will not call at London Bridge and will now terminate at London Victoria at 08.40:

07.25 Tonbridge to London Bridge
07.43 Gatwick Airport to London Bridge

Please note these trains form one train at Redhill departing at 08.02.

Alternative trains to London Bridge are available from East Croydon:

08.25 arriving 08.41
08.28 arriving 08.43
08.29 arriving 08.47

Closure of route through to platform access ramps

When the route from the interim ticket office to the ramps up to platforms 1 to 6 closes on 25 May, the current information kiosk will move and a replacement will be installed next door to the TfL bus information kiosk on Railway Approach. This will be installed in the first week in May and fitted out in preparation for the closure. An alternative route to the platform access ramps will be clearly signposted.

This closure is needed to prepare the area for a new viaduct which will carry two new railway tracks to serve two new through platforms.

For more information follow us @TLProgramme or visit ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - South East route
020 3357 7969
southeastroutecomms@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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