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Saturday 26 Jul 2014

Travelling to or from London this August? Passengers urged to plan ahead as vital improvements at London Bridge rail station and on the London Euston line will affect journeys to and from the capital

Region & Route:

National

With a month to go until the nine-day part-closure of London Bridge rail station and two weeks to go until a series of weekend and Monday closures of the line between Euston and Milton Keynes, the rail industry is urging passengers to know their alternative routes into London.

London Bridge

London Bridge rail station is being rebuilt in phases to keep the station open for business and to minimise disruption to customers. From 23 to 31 August, major reconstruction work at the station will mean no First Capital Connect or Southern services will be able to call at London Bridge. London Bridge Underground station will not be affected.

These changes are likely to affect up to 50,000 commuters every morning rush hour who normally travel into the station on First Capital Connect and Southern services. There will also be no direct trains to Gatwick or Luton Airport stations from London Bridge. As these passengers move onto alternative routes, transport planners predict that certain routes across the south east are likely to be much busier, including:

• Southern services and First Capital Connects services south of Blackfriars will be very busy
• Interchange stations like East Croydon and Gatwick are expected to be busier than usual and passengers might not get on the first train
• The southern end of London Underground’s northern line is expected to be busier than normal for this time of year, as will parts of the District and Circle lines
• Certain sections of London Overground will be busier than usual and will not be able to operate to and from New Cross from 26 to 29 August. These services will be diverted to Crystal Palace to double the number of London Overground trains serving stations between Sydenham and Brockley, which will temporarily not be served by Southern. A replacement bus service will run every 15 minutes between New Cross and Canada Water and some additional supplementary bus routes serving some other stations.
• Southeastern services will run as normal but are likely to be busier

The team that planned London's Olympics travel is working with the rail industry to manage and communicate the part closure of London Bridge because of the knock-on impact it will have across the rail, London Underground and London Overground networks.

A new, mobile-friendly Thameslink Programme website has been launched providing details of the changes (ThameslinkProgramme.co.uk). Rail, Underground and Overground passengers are also being targeted with information about their alternatives via social media, leaflets, posters, announcements on trains and at stations as well as advertising across London and the south east.

Speaking on behalf of the Thameslink Programme, Nicky Hughes, Network Rail’s head of communications for London and the south east, said: “London Bridge is one of the country’s busiest stations and we’re rebuilding it piece by piece to transform north-south travel through London while keeping it open for passengers. This is a huge challenge.

“We are doing as much of the construction work as we can behind the scenes, but there will be times, such as this August, when we have to temporarily divert services around the track we’re replacing.

“There are alternative routes for everyone affected and we urge passengers across London and the south east to visit our new website, check if you are affected and then find out your alternative routes so you know your travel options.”

London Bridge is one of Britain’s busiest stations and is being completely rebuilt as part of the government’s multi-billion pound investment to transform rail services across London and the south east. To minimise the impact on the 117m passengers who pass through the station every year, Network Rail is carrying out the hugely complex construction work in phases. In August a vast amount of track and signalling work will take place as the rebuilt platforms 12 and 13 are brought back into use and platforms 10 and 11 are closed for demolition and rebuilding. While the station is closed we will replace a three-track bridge on the approach to London Bridge and we will continue to build a new concourse beneath passengers’ feet that will be bigger than the pitch at Wembley.

Rail minister Claire Perry said: “We are investing billions of pounds in building a world-class rail network, and the Thameslink Programme is a vital part of that. By 2018, passengers travelling across London will enjoy better services, improved connections and greater comfort on their daily commute.

“With a project of this size, there will of course be some disruption in the short term but we have been working closely with Network Rail and the train companies that are delivering the project to keep this to a minimum. However, with key works scheduled for London Bridge in a month’s time, I do urge passengers to be prepared and to make their travel plans now.”

Euston - Watford - Milton Keynes

Over the past 15 years the number of trains using the West Coast Main Line has doubled. The line around Watford is a particularly heavily-used section of the railway and much of the infrastructure dates back to the 1960s. As a result, it is becoming increasingly unreliable and needs replacing.

Every Saturday and Sunday between 9 and 25 August services between Euston and Milton Keynes will be severely restricted. On Monday 11 and 18 August, there will be an amended timetable in operation. Passengers are being advised to plan an alternative route at Nationalrail.co.uk/Watford