Published on : Tuesday, August 23, 2016
In less than one week’s time, passengers from Kent and south east London will be able to see the first two-thirds of the brand new concourse at London Bridge station. There will also be major changes to train services over the bank holiday and during the following three working days as no trains will run to or from Cannon Street.
Passengers are urged to check before they travel to or from London Bridge.After more than three years of work, the finishing touches are being made ahead of the August Bank Holiday when the hoardings come down and passengers will experience for the first time what has been built beneath their feet.
On Monday, 29 August the newly built platforms 7 – 15 will be open for use, new retail units will open for business and passengers will be able to make use of new exits from the station.
Network Rail’s Thameslink Programme director, Simon Blanchflower, said: “This is a major milestone for passengers, who will be able to experience the brand new concourse and facilities for the first time. There is still work for us to do and I would like to thank passengers for their patience as we rebuild London Bridge as part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan to deliver a modern, more reliable railway.”
Richard Dean, Train Services Director at Southeastern said: “We’d like to thank our passengers for bearing with us during the rebuild. We’re really pleased that they’ll now be able to start using and enjoying the new London Bridge station. Our new timetable – and the temporary changes being put in place between Saturday 27 August and Thursday 1 September – will mean changes for some people, so we urge all of our passengers to check before they travel.”
Last weekend, volunteers and their families from Network Rail, Southern, Southeastern and the Department for Transport took part in the ‘London Bridge Challenge’ to test the station’s concourse, platforms and facilities ahead of unveiling the improvements to passengers.
Tim Witcomb, a partnering manager at Network Rail who attended the event, said: “It was great to see how all of the hard work of the past three years has paid off. The concourse is very impressive; it’s spacious, easy to navigate and very modern but still keeps some of the character of the old London Bridge.”
The concourse will be fitted with lifts, stairs and escalators to make it fully accessible for everyone, particularly wheelchair users and those with buggies or heavy luggage. Passengers will be able to use new exits and entrances from the station as well as new shops, cafes and retail facilities to enjoy while passing through. When it is completed in 2018, the concourse will be the largest in Britain and bigger than the pitch at Wembley stadium.
Throughout construction work, Network Rail has kept the station open for the 50 million passengers who use it every year. Building work will now move away from the Southern and future Thameslink platforms and focus on the north of the station, where trains to Cannon Street run.
Source:-Network Rail
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