London Bridge station concourse partially opens

Two-thirds of the new concourse at London Bridge railway station is now open as work continues on the redevelopment project.

Passengers at London Bridge will be able to access all platforms from one level for the first time.

Once the £1Bn project is completed in January 2018, it will be larger than the pitch at Wembley Stadium.

Network Rail Chief Executive Mark Carne said the redevelopment of the station would bring big improvements for north-south travel through the capital.

He said: “We are rebuilding Britain’s fourth busiest station – the tracks, the platforms and the infrastructure which enables trains to run – all the while keeping the station open and doing our best to keep passengers moving.”

Since work began on the station in 2012, the station has had numerous incidents of overcrowding and severe delays such as the closure of Kings Cross Station over the Christmas period in 2014.

Mr Carne addressed these issues and apologised for the impact the redevelopment work had caused. He said: “I am extremely sorry that while doing this work there have been times when passengers have suffered frustrating delays. I know that the promises about tomorrow are of little consolation when performance isn’t good enough today.

“I am pleased that, finally, some of the benefits of this project will be much more visible.”

At the opening of London Bridge, Network Rail’s Chief Executive took the opportunity to warn that without significant investment, he couldn’t be sure that the demands of rail passengers could be met as numbers continue to rise.

Mr Carne told the Press Association: “There’s no doubt at all that this is not going to meet the demand for 50 years.

“As the passenger demand continues to grow, we will need to continue to invest and there will need to be significant investment in the railways over the next 20 years just to keep pace.”

“Since this project was originally approved, the passenger numbers have grown by 35%. So it’s a constant challenge to keep pace with demand but that’s a problem of success and I think Britain’s railways are a huge success story.”

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