Wednesday 17 Dec 2014
Pictures: Finishing touches to new platforms at London Bridge, ready for the New Year
- Region & Route:
- | Southern
The finishing touches are being made to a pair of new platforms at London Bridge rail station, ready for their introduction after Christmas.
When complete, in 2018, the station will have been totally rebuilt as part of the £6.5bn Thameslink Programme.
Major changes to train services at London Bridge start this Saturday (December 20).
Passengers are urged to check before they travel over Christmas and the New Year either with their operator or at www.thameslinkprogramme.co.uk
- London Bridge Underground station is not affected by the work.
Notes to editors
Details of service changes
From 20 December and throughout next year journeys to or from London will change as our work to improve the railway continues. These changes include:
20 December 2014 to 4 January 2015
No Southern or Thameslink trains will stop at London Bridge
There will also be changes to other services, including Southern and Gatwick
Express services to Victoria and London Overground and Underground
22 to 24 December
During the morning peak (7.54am – 9.01am) trains to Charing Cross will not call at London Bridge
5 January 2015 to 2018
No Bedford to Brighton cross-London Thameslink trains will call at London Bridge station
A reduced service will run between Brighton and London Bridge in the off-peak and a very limited service will run in the peak
12 January 2015 to August 2016
Some Southeastern trains to Charing Cross will not stop at London Bridge for 20 months
Some Southeastern stations will have all trains diverted to Cannon Street, with no trains calling at Charing Cross or Waterloo East
During this time, National Rail tickets to and from London terminals issued by Southeastern, Thameslink, Southern and SouthWest trains will be accepted at selected Underground stations in South London without extra charge.
For more information please visit ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk or your train operator’s website:
Southeastern - www.southeasternrailway.co.uk
Thameslink - www.thameslinkrailway.com
Southern - www.southernrailway.com
Follow us @TLProgramme
For free text updates text TLP 12 and your home station to 60777
About the Thameslink Programme
The government-sponsored £6.5bn Thameslink Programme will 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 new track and signalling systems offer more reliable journeys
A completely rebuilt London Bridge station with more space and great facilities
London Bridge facts
Over 117 million people a year go to London Bridge or through it to Cannon Street and Charing Cross – 54 million start or end their at London Bridge itself
Platform 6 is the busiest in Europe serving 18 trains per hour
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
Up to 24 trains per hour will run in each direction, during the peak, between St Pancras and Blackfriars
Up to 18 Thameslink trains an hour will run in each direction, during the peak, between London Bridge and St Pancras – currently there are none between 7.30 and 9am
178 years old – London Bridge is London’s oldest surviving rail terminus, first opened in Dec 1836
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.
Follow us on Twitter: @networkrail
Visit our online newsroom: www.networkrailmediacentre.co.uk