More than 1,000 engineers have been working round the clock at London Bridge railway station every day since December 20, including Christmas Day, on a massive project to rebuild the station to improve facilities and services for passengers.
This timelapse photography shows just some of the work that has been going on there as part of the Government-backed £6.5bn Thameslink Programme.
New track and power supplies have been installed while signal engineers have been commissioning a new signalling system to incorporate the two new platforms and the re-modelled approaches to the station.
Some Thameslink Programme work at other sites on the network has already been completed, allowing some services to resume. This included new signalling installed on the New Cross Gate to Sydenham corridor and also in South London near Bermondsey allowing resumption of planned Southern and London Overground passenger services. Work to replace tracks at the entrance to the Hornsey Depot in North London was also completed.
Thameslink Major Programme Director Simon Blanchflower said:
“It’s been busy couple of weeks at London Bridge as we continue with our plans to improve travel through the station for passengers. We’re creating a concourse the size of the pitch at Wembley under the tracks, but in order to get to that stage – in 2018 – there’s a great deal of work to be done above ground first, with the new platforms for Southern passengers a sign of things to come.
“I would like to thank passengers for bearing with us as we do the work.”
There have been no Southern or Thameslink services at London Bridge station since December 20 and these will resume, with a revised timetable for 2015, on January 5.
There will be further changes on January 12, when platforms 4, 5 and 6 are taken out of use for rebuilding and we begin a 20-month period where Southeastern’s Charing Cross trains run through the station without stopping.
Details of service changes
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
- During this time, National Rail tickets to and from London terminals issued by Southeastern, Thameslink, Southern and South West Trains will be accepted at selected Underground stations in South London without extra charge.
5 January 2015 to 2018
- No Bedford to Brighton cross-London Thameslink trains will call at London Bridge station, although they will continue to run on an alternate route.
- 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
- 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.
The timelapse video:
Source| Network Rail
