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Thursday 2 Jun 2016

New station control office unites rail staff at London Bridge as concourse opening approaches

Region & Route:

| Southern

The first piece of the new London Bridge station has come into use after more than 240 railway staff moved into new station offices over the bank holiday weekend, including a state-of-the-art control room. The move marks the first piece of the new station to come into operational use, with the first half of the stunning new concourse opening to passengers in August.

Network Rail station manager Denis Kirk said: “For the first time at this station we now share a single office with our colleagues from the train operators. Video screens mean the shift station manager now has a perfect view of the concourse, which means we’re no longer so reliant on radios. Everyone is right there with you and gives you an immediate response when needed.”

“It’ll make a big difference to our passengers as we are now able to provide a safer station environment and provide our passengers with the latest service updates more quickly, which overall will provide them with an improved passenger experience and a station that suits their needs.”

“Over one weekend we moved 240 operational staff from our old office on Tooley Street into our new home at the station. It was an immense piece of work following months and months of planning and it’s a tremendous achievement that it went so smoothly.

The new concourse at London Bridge, which is being constructed as part of the Thameslink Programme, will unite the Southeastern and Southern sides of the station under one roof for the first time and the new control room will provide a similar level of integration with operational staff. More than 50 million people use the station every year.

Richard Dean, Southeastern's director of train services, said: "It is very good news that we now have a combined control room at London Bridge, which will enhance the already close working arrangements between all train operators that serve the station and Network Rail. This will be particularly so during busy periods at peak times.

“The move into the new centre went without a hitch, which is testament to the hard work and planning put in by all.”

The first half of the concourse is set to open in late August this year, with the station being set for completion in early 2018.

Notes to editors
Thameslink Programme 
Network Rail is delivering the government-sponsored Thameslink Programme to transform north-south travel through London. When complete in 2018 it will give passengers:

• New 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
• Robust tracks and signalling offering more reliable journeys
• A completely rebuilt London Bridge station with more space and great facilities

 London Bridge facts

• 54 million passengers start or end their at London Bridge 
• 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