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Monday 21 Aug 2017

Passengers in the South East are advised that there will be queuing systems at Cannon Street as Network Rail prepares for August closures

Region & Route:

| Southern

Network Rail and Southeastern are advising passengers that between Tuesday 29 August and Friday 1 September there will be queuing systems in place at Cannon Street station during the busiest times, as Network Rail continues to rebuild London Bridge and the surrounding railway, as part of the Thameslink Programme.

Between Saturday 26 August and Saturday 2 September, including four working days, there will be no Southeastern services to or from London Bridge, Waterloo East and Charing Cross. There will also be no trains at Cannon Street on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 August or at Blackfriars on Monday 28 August and Saturday 2 September.

Network Rail will use this time, when the railway is less busy than usual, to move the Charing Cross lines through London Bridge into a new position and open newly rebuilt platform 6, which will mean that more Charing Cross trains can stop at London Bridge.

Throughout the eight day period, there will be fewer Southeastern trains running to and from London. Those that do run will be much busier than usual and diverted to other London stations, including Victoria, Blackfriars, Cannon Street and Waterloo.

During the four working days that are affected by this work, Tuesday 29 August – Friday 1 September, Cannon Street in particular will be exceptionally busy as more passengers will be using the station than usual.

During the evening peak, two queuing systems to enter the station will be in operation, one on Dowgate Hill and the other outside the front of the station. Passengers are advised that queues of up to 30 minutes are to be expected and they will need to leave more time for their journeys. If possible, Cannon Street passengers should try to travel outside of the evening peak.

Simon Blanchflower, Thameslink Programme director, Network Rail, said: “Over these eight days we are investing a further £12 million in our Railway Upgrade Plan, which will ultimately lead to better, more reliable journeys to and through London. The decision to ask passengers to queue is not one we have taken lightly, but safety is our priority. I would like to thank passengers for their patience and remind them to visit www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk/2017 for up-to-date travel advice.”

Ellie Burrows, Train Services Director, Southeastern, said: “We know it’s a challenging time for our passengers while the work takes place and journeys may take longer than usual. We are advising passengers to look in advance at the amended timetable and think about changing their journey or working from home if at all possible. If passengers are travelling from Cannon Street in the evening peak they should check our website for live information or follow us on Twitter @se_railway”.