please empty your brain below
Great improvements and I now use it in preference to going the distance on to Charing Cross, but there's still that dire blind left turn into the Jubilee Line ticket hall at the end of the long-ish walk to the Tube station. Hopefully that too will be redesigned at some point. I travel outside peak hours, so maybe a system's already in place during the rush periods.

Waterhouse | 03.01.18 - 7:08 a.m. | #

I must say it looks huge from the photos. One issue I do have is how narrow the platforms appear in the photo in the article. If two trains arrive at the sane time on an island platform, I'd imagine that would get congested very quickly.

Paul | 03.01.18 - 8:38 a.m. | #

The video from Geoff was significantly more informative than the msm offering yesterday, usual tired routine of questions about fare rises... blah, blah blah, reply from rail person of 'we have to pay for improvements... blah, blah, blah', then repeat in January 2019, January 2020 etc.

Still Anon | 03.01.18 - 9:02 a.m. | #

Those new entrances will need names. For example, should the new entrance on Tooley Street be the 'Hays' entrance, since it is almost opposite the Hays Galleria? Or the 'More London' entrance since that is nearby? Or even the 'Southwark Crown Court' entrance?

dg writes: They have names. For example, the entrance on Tooley Street is called the 'Tooley Street' entrance.

RayL | 03.01.18 - 9:45 a.m. | #

Be sure to go to Elephant & Castle to see how the upgrade work is going there (none, it still looks a mess)

Phuk | 03.01.18 - 9:59 a.m. | #

Another benefit of the new station is improved crowd safety. The old compact access to platforms (were they 5 and 6?) using a ramp was handy, but in my view awfully dangerous when crowded.

An unfortunate side-effect of the improved safety is typically longer walks. But overall a great improvement - and an amazing achievement. Thanks for the pictures.

Malcolm | 03.01.18 - 10:00 a.m. | #

People may be confused by the statement that Platform 1 didn't exist before. There was a platform 1 in the old station - roughly where platform 2 is now, but there had not been a platform 7 for many years.

I recall reading that although Thameslink trains will not be calling at London Bridge until May, some trains may be routed that way before then (rather than the slower route via Tulse Hill) for driver training purposes. Likewise the odd Peterborough service may find itself at St Pancras Low level instead of Kings Cross

timbo again | 03.01.18 - 10:16 a.m. | #

The new station means I get no trains to Charing Cross but apparently at some time in the future I will be able to go to Peterborough.

I'm told it's called progress.

Chris | 03.01.18 - 10:17 a.m. | #

@timbo again
Be interesting to see passenger reaction as occasional Thameslink trains begin using the LBG route for driver training until May.
The journey will be much quicker than via Tulse Hill so presumably the train will be held at a signal for 6-7 minutes between LBG and BFR to aces its original path ~ meanwhile passengers won’t be able to alight at LBG!

Roger French | Homepage | 03.01.18 - 10:46 a.m. | #

This is a fantastic and much needed development. Although I come in from the Hertfordshire nowadays, having spent 30 years of my life doing the commute to Charing Cross and then London Bridge or Cannon St, this is a very welcome development. London Bridge was a dreary, damp, slippery place especially those ramps to platforms 1 & 2 that somebody mentioned earlier. What is also remarkable is that not only does the throughput increase but due to the dive-under work in Bermondsey, the services will be "untangled" from each other allowing Thameslink and Southern and South Eastern to function hopefully a little better. It should not be forgotten that this entire project was completed with the almost impossible constraints of multiple destination services, Victorian infrastructure and the fact that the station was effectively open during the entire process. I am very proud of the work that has been done in this project.

Mitch | Homepage | 03.01.18 - 10:56 a.m. | #

The lack of seats is a real stain on the development. You only have to see Euston on how poorly treated rail customers are when waiting for their platform to be called.

We just want a seat without having to visit overpriced food outlets!

Mark | 03.01.18 - 11:21 a.m. | #

Aside from the lack of seats and announcements, it has to be said - we really can do infrastructure when we want to, can't we? I mean in a "British Railways are underfunded" way rather than a patriotic way.

So have they now got rid of all the crap that used to be on the platforms separating the two faces?

I shall have to go there again, but I never understood the layout when I used to go there, so I'm even less likely remember how it has changed!

Kirk | 03.01.18 - 11:40 a.m. | #

Oh, I should also say - it reminds me very much of new Birmingham New Street, although I hope the wayfinding is better.

Kirk | 03.01.18 - 11:42 a.m. | #

Looks wonderful. One question:

What's happened to the access via the footbridge to Hay's Galleria, which linked to escalators down from platform level to the tube, up ramps to platforms 1-6, and along to the main councourse - has all of that (ramps, corridor, escalators, footbridge) gone? (I've not used that bit of the station for ages so may have gone a while ago!)

lockedintheattic | 03.01.18 - 1:16 p.m. | #

Looks great - it does appear it’s a much longer route from the train to the underground now which channels you down a shopping arcade.

This is very similar to st Pancras but while st Pancras is mainly longer distance travel London Bridge will mainly be commuter traffic. Be interesting to see how that western arcade space feels, looks quite compact and not the same wow factor as st Pancras.

The permeability through the station from tooley st towards Bermondsey st will be amazing.

Flare | 03.01.18 - 1:57 p.m. | #

@Chris
"some time in the future" is actually not that far away - before the end of the current football season.

Although if you used to have services to Charing Cross the planned service pattern suggests you are more likely to have direct trains to Luton Airport than to Peterborough.

timbo again again | 03.01.18 - 2:06 p.m. | #

@timbo

Thanks, but either way I used to have a direct service to Charing Cross and now -- after years of disruptions -- I don't.

This is being presented to me as an improvement, presumably in the hope that if I am told enough times that it is an improvement I will come around to believing it.

Nope.

Chris | 03.01.18 - 2:22 p.m. | #

Re Paul's comment on the apparent narrowness of the platforms - in old money the minimum platform width from the face of any fixed object, be it column, sign post, wall or seat, to the edge of the platform was 6' 3" or thereabouts.
If I read it right, according to Issue 5 of the Rail Group Standard GI/RT7016 dated March 2014, the minimum is now 2500 mm, or where site constraints preclude for "isolated" lighting columns etc this the distance is to be not less than 2000 mm. The minimum width of an island (double face) platform is stated as being 4000 mm.
Anyone got a tape measure?

strawbrick | 03.01.18 - 3:16 p.m. | #

@Chris

Definitely not an improvement for you, I agree. As I used to frequently travel between Waterloo and Greenwich I can sympathise.

Similarly, my journey from Holborn Viaduct didn't change in either speed or frequency when it switched to City TL, but now the train is already full when I join it instead of me getting first dibs at the terminus.

And electrification of the main line out of Kings Cross means I lost the direct trains I used to use to visit my family.

timbo again again again | 03.01.18 - 3:35 p.m. | #

You can't beat a nicely detailed concrete prong.

drD | Homepage | 03.01.18 - 4:53 p.m. | #

Travelled to it twice on my commute already. Discovered it has both a Costa and a Leon. This is good news.

EonLeader | 03.01.18 - 6:46 p.m. | #

Improvements are that SE and Southern trains are less likely to be held up by Thameslink trains outside London Bridge, that there will be a new metro style service from L Bridge to St Pancras/Kings Cross. Changing at L Bridge for copious Charing X trains isn’t much of a hardship. Keeping Charing X trains on the Greenwich line would have created more conflicts. If we are never willing to change anything, then nothing can ever change. It’s just a shame that the DFT lacked the balls to go fully one station, one terminal in the new SE franchise.

Anonymous | 03.01.18 - 6:47 p.m. | #

@EonLeader Thankfully they don't have a Benugo... yet.

TheLupineOne | 03.01.18 - 7:08 p.m. | #

I suspect a big problem will be when coast bound Southeastern passengers waiting on the shelterless windswept platforms for a train from CHX suddenly need to switch to one from CST or vice versa, e.g. because of a last minute delay, or a platform alteration, or the intended train arrives full to the gunwales, or is a dreaded 375/9 with the painted concrete 'ironing board' seats.

It used to be a quick scamper up and over the prefab footbridge, but now it'll be almost impossible because of the long escalators.

Unless it's recently changed, it won't be easy to check the next few coast bound trains coming from the 'other' terminus without going downstairs to check the big A-Z display. It's all very well designing it like an airport, but at airports you don't have to sprint from one departure gate to another at very short notice.

Gerry | 03.01.18 - 8:14 p.m. | #

I'm amazed to see what a difference has been made, and how nice it all looks. I used to use London Bridge daily for around 9 years. I remember a run-down tatty station and the long queues to get off the high-level platforms at peak times, as the scrum of passengers all had to leave by the narrow subways. Sometimes it could be quicker to go up the bridge to another platform and exit from there!

Now it looks modern and spacious, quite a transformation. I hadn't realised the road under the station had closed but it seems a good idea. It's good that the arches have been opened to make more space too, I remember the London Dungeon used to occupy much of them and the queue for this in the summer would often block up the pavement, too!

Not so keen on the hundreds of shops and few seats idea or that adopting anything from an airport is a good idea. Airports seem to go out of their way to be passenger hostile (forcing a long zig-zag walk through the duty free shop before you can get near any of the gates). I hope they don't try that at any stations!

Jon Combe | 03.01.18 - 9:56 p.m. | #

FAO - for platform arrivals or departures, this website and app is your friend:

www.realtimetrains.co.uk

It knows well ahead of the concourse info where trains are going to be situated.

Mark | 04.01.18 - 10:58 a.m. | #

That was meant for Gerry and not an advert, sorry!

Mark | 04.01.18 - 10:59 a.m. | #

I was lucky to get a behind-scenes site visit last summer. Fascinating! However, the cost of making it look posh must have been phenomenal. The fancy-looking brickwork, in a lot of cases, is carefully sliced bricks stuck onto cast concrete structures... And the amount of tensile bracing needed to allow removal of sections of original arch work was not insignificant.

NickK | 04.01.18 - 9:37 p.m. | #

It's an amazing feat of logistical engineering considering that only a few platforms were closed at any one time, and that none of the platforms has remained in the same place. Added to that, although the station is still on the same strangely shaped footprint, the platforms are generally straighter than before.

The URL link in this comment has a video of the layout fading from old to new a couple of times to illustrate.

NickW | Homepage | 04.01.18 - 11:09 p.m. | #

@ lockedintheattic

The footbridge and the escalators are still there, but they're much less useful now as there's no direct route down from the platforms. You'd have to go out the front at Shard level and turn right. If you're on a Southeastern service you'd have to go down to the new concourse, then up again, or through the Western Arcade (with the quad arches) and turn right and right again.

ijmad | 05.01.18 - 1:04 a.m. | #

Buy a pastie or buy a pasty?


Ian | 06.01.18 - 10:51 p.m. | #











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