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Tuesday 21 Jan 2014

First phase of London Bridge redevelopment nears completion as £6.5bn Thameslink Programme stays on track

Region & Route:

| Southern

Passengers are being reminded to check for changes to their journeys to and through London Bridge station when the first phase of Britain’s biggest station redevelopment project completes at the end of March.

Between Friday 28 and Sunday 30 March, engineers will work round the clock to bring platforms 14 and 15 at London Bridge back into service, the first platforms to have been rebuilt ready for the increased capacity and additional services that will be available when the redevelopment of London Bridge completes in 2018.

Over the same weekend, platforms 12 and 13 will be taken out of service so work can start to rebuild and reposition them, part of a five-year programme of work which will see the station completely rebuilt in phases working from the south side of the station to the north. Once completed, the station will boast a concourse bigger than the pitch at Wembley with more space and facilities for passengers and better connections to the underground and buses.

The rebuild of London Bridge station and the surrounding railway forms the critical final phase of the £6.5bn Thameslink upgrade programme, which will increase capacity and reduce congestion on north-south rail routes through London and across the south-east. The work is being delivered whilst keeping the station, serving 52m passengers a year, open for business.

There will be significant changes to Southern services following the morning peak at London Bridge on Friday 28 March and no Southern services will operate into London Bridge on Saturday 29 March and Sunday 30 March. All other stations on Southern routes will operate as normal on these dates.

This vital work means that passengers using London Bridge over the weekend of 28-30 March will need to check before they travel and may need to make alternative travel arrangements to reach their destinations.

Passengers are being reminded of these scheduled service changes at information events held by Network Rail and Train Operators at London Bridge and other stations across the affected route starting on Wednesday 23 January.

Network Rail, Train Operators and TfL will provide customers with more detailed advice and information in early March.

In a joint statement, train operators First Capital Connect, Southeastern and Southern said: “We want passengers planning on using First Capital Connect, Southeastern and Southern routes via London Bridge between the 28-30 March to remember to check before they travel. Alternative routes will be communicated and signposted for passengers needing to travel into or through London Bridge over this period.”

“We are committed to providing passengers with advance notice of service changes this year to help minimise the disruption whilst the vitally needed £6.5bn redevelopment of Thameslink including London Bridge takes place”.

Dave Ward, Network Rail’s route managing director for London and the South East, said: “The Thameslink Programme will deliver much needed increased capacity on these heavily congested routes, with more frequent and longer trains with more space. This will ease the overcrowding and improve the journeys of the 52m passengers using London Bridge every year.”

“Rebuilding London Bridge while keeping the station open for passengers is challenging, but given the vital role this station and routes play to commuters, it is necessary. It’s inevitable that it will involve some changes to the way services operate from now until 2018. More detailed information on hotspots and alternative routes will be launched in spring this year to help customers plan for the changes in autumn and winter 2014”.

Passengers can find out more about the Thameslink Programme and planned station changes by visiting ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk. Passengers and businesses can sign up on the Thameslink website for email alerts or follow @TLProgramme on Twitter.