London Bridge reconstruction works

[hwl]

Is the footbridge across Platforms 1-6 going soon as well?

The bit to platform 8 is going this weekend the other areas will go 1 by 1 later on.

The link to P5/6 will last a while longer to enable access during the demolition.

The link to the old SER office from P1/2 will go after that

and finally the the P1/2 to P3/4 link.

 

[physics34]

Isnt a bit of the new concourse underneath gonna open later this year or 2016?

 

[hwl]

Isnt a bit of the new concourse underneath gonna open later this year or 2016?

August 2016

 

[Bald Rick]

Thanks for this.

interesting to see the platform 9 wall is gone. It was meant to be listed i think so i dont know what has happened to that.

It wasn't listed.

 

[physics34]

August 2016

oh, miles away

 

[hwl]

oh, miles away

Still needed for construction access until 2016 when construction site access swaps to the north side on Tooley Street.

 

[physics34]

It wasn't listed.

ah ok. Heard a rumour it was as it was meant to have been demolished a while ago.

 

[bicbasher]

There was a confusing sign on the footbridge next to the Sweet Express cabin with the Thameslink Programme hazard sign saying the footbridge is closed from Saturday, but clearly 1-6 will stay open for now.

Was sad to walk along Platform 8 with the temporary fencing up, yet it gave a great view of the work happening. The NSE clock on the platform no longer works either.

 

[neilm]

Shambles today!

 

[Bishopstone]

Shambles today!

A snapshot of the live departure board at 18.45 makes grim reading.

 

[jopsuk]

things seem to be going poorly, with massive queues

 

[bicbasher]

I managed to beat the queuing system by commuting from Charing Cross and using the footbridge via Platform 8. However that option goes after Friday.

If these issues continue during the evening peak once the Charing Cross through services stop next week, it'll put even more pressure on LOROL via Sydenham if passengers can't even get on the Southern trains.

 

[Barn]

There was a confusing sign on the footbridge next to the Sweet Express cabin with the Thameslink Programme hazard sign saying the footbridge is closed from Saturday, but clearly 1-6 will stay open for now.

4, 5 and 6 only for a few more days though. Enjoy them while you can!

 

[hwl]

Who ever moved the departure board should get a meeting with out tea or biscuits...

 

[Bishopstone]

Has there been another signal/points issue tonight, or is this really still knock-on from the problems of this morning?

I see one of my regular trains, the 18.23 to Eastbourne, left 31 late, whilst the service my brother uses down to Epsom was 58 late leaving, and appears to have vanished into the ether at Carshalton Beeches...

 

[tsr]

In roughly chronological order, here's how the service congestion seems to have unfolded:

Earlier electrical/track circuit problems in Merstham Tunnel
Serious door fault on a 171
Drivers and signallers using the new layout cautiously (which, I would emphasise, is entirely understandable)
Poor sight lines to departure boards resulting in London Bridge concourse congestion
Poorly-timed PNBs and staff handovers, partly due to earlier delays (obviously PNBs are very much needed - hopefully no need to stress that here)
Overcrowding on the West London Line leading to congestion elsewhere
Police in attendance to at least one train at London Bridge
Points failure outside London Bridge

 

[Bishopstone]

Thanks.

My train up this morning required paramedic attendance at London Bridge, just to add to your list!

 

[tsr]

Thanks.

My train up this morning required paramedic attendance at London Bridge, just to add to your list!

Ah - my list is just for this evening! And all based on things I've been able to personally verify or heard directly from people at London Bridge itself. No doubt there may have been more issues, too.

 

[Evvy73]

It has to be said, it was absolute chaos this evening - possibly the worst I have ever seen in 16 years of commuting through London Bridge.
First of all there was a crush to get into the station, which was followed by more crushing once in as people stopped to look at the departure boards which have now moved to just inside the main doors (a stupid place for them!), which then lead to more crushes at the ticket barriers as people were dashing to catch already delayed trains.
There was no organisation and trying to find any staff until you were on a Platform was nigh on impossible.
If you search under the hashtag of #LondonBridge on Twitter you will see numerous photo's posted by disgruntled commuters.
For example, these two were both posted just after 6pm

OUTSIDE: https://twitter.com/MrStearn/status/552169229714468864/photo/1

INSIDE: https://twitter.com/Made_with_pink/status/552193119215964161/photo/1

Add that to the 34min delay this morning (I think I was on the same train as @Bishopstone ) and it hasn't been a very pleasant first days commuting to 2015!

 

[Minstral25]

Cannot believe how bad it has been today. What a shambles.

First completely cancelling all Northbound trains from Redhill left several thousand passengers trying to squeeze into Southbound trains to change at Gatwick (At early peak only FGW three car turbos from Reading were actually going that way but I gather later some real trains were sent). Then they sent a train up to Redhill, reversed it to Gatwick, reversed it back to Redhill again (full up having told passengers it was going to London), reversed it to Salfords and finally sent it in a Londonish direction whereupon it got stuck outside East Croydon for a very long time.

Then this evening the utter chaos at London Bridge with Police manhandling frustrated commuters, trains reported as leaving half empty because commuters couldn't get through the crowds to their trains. Actually most couldn't get close enough to see the departure boards as they are well hidden.

You couldn't have written a script with more suspense than the current commute to London Bridge.

I'm hoping they will have ironed out some of the issues for tomorrow morning

 

[Bald Rick]

Cannot believe how bad it has been today. What a shambles.


I'm hoping they will have ironed out some of the issues for tomorrow morning

I share your pain.

This morning hit Redhill commuters very hard - mostly because of the overrun at Merstham, and then compounded by three separate failures of kit on the approaches to London Bridge. One of these had a notable impact, and caused platform 15 to be out of use till after the peak. These were all faults, now rectified, which (touch wood) means tomorrow morning should be much better.

This evening is a different matter. Notwithstanding the list of minor issues posted by tsr above, the station did not cope at all well tonight. This is being looked into with urgency.

 

[Minstral25]

I share your pain.

This morning hit Redhill commuters very hard - mostly because of the overrun at Merstham, and then compounded by three separate failures of kit on the approaches to London Bridge. One of these had a notable impact, and caused platform 15 to be out of use till after the peak. These were all faults, now rectified, which (touch wood) means tomorrow morning should be much better.

This evening is a different matter. Notwithstanding the list of minor issues posted by tsr above, the station did not cope at all well tonight. This is being looked into with urgency.

Sadly every morning until the new station is operational for Redhill Commuters it will be a nightmare. Out of 3 packed high peak arrivals only 1 survives to the new January 15 timetable and the one that arrives just after high peak gone too. Advice - change at East Croydon??????

The evening problems need sorting out fast as well.

 

[Chrisgr31]

Ah well the good news is 30 mins delay repay each way! Mind you dont know what the door fault was on the Class 171, assume that was the 15.08 as it never came back for the 18.08. Would have thought it could have been run on that as a 4 car.

Anyway leaving that aside as others have said the Departure Boards at London Bridge are impossible to read.

I was fortunate came through the doors on the left, couldnt read the boards decided to head to the platforms so though the gatelne on the left just as they called Alpha x and Alpha y (or some other letter or number) to the doors presumably to close them.

Got to the platforms friend tweeted me the 18.08 was cancelled so leapt on the delayed 1845 to East Grinstead. Left late and very crowded but seems I was lucky.

 

[yorkie]

Just a reminder that this thread is for the actual infrastructure works themselves.

To discuss the temporary timetable (and your experiences of it), please use London Bridge - new timetable during reconstruction works commencing 5th January

 

[SF-02]

This evening is a different matter. Notwithstanding the list of minor issues posted by tsr above, the station did not cope at all well tonight. This is being looked into with urgency.

Will be interesting to see the outcome of the investigation. I've had doubts for a while of the computer predictions for passenger flow during rebuilding work for both southern and southeastern sides. I thought (and think for SE) there will be pressures at the best of times but a small event occurs and big problems will ensue.

With the southeastern changes next week and the cuts to SE metro on the Greenwich line, this will see a lot of extra people on the platform waiting to board. This could hamper others getting onto their trains, and cause issues when the desired trains arrive if people can't board. This could also hamper people entering the station if too congested on platforms, and then add in more people travelling via tube to London Bridge from the west end as Charing X not possible. They could take the tube to Cannon Street but there will be some who can't or won't, at least initially.

 

[evergreenadam]

Chaos tonight reported:


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...hit-dangerous-overcrowding-London-Bridge.html

 

[Chrisgr31]

I think the issues are that when you have a queueing system passengers then cant get in to catch their trains. Its not an issue for passengers going to say East Croydon because they have a large choice of trains, passengers going to Uckfield have a choice of one of the 18.08 or 19.08 (although there is a change at Oxted option), and I am sure that passengers to other destinations have similar issues with a lack of trains.

So if you are going to have a queueing system you really need to find some way of congregating all the people for one destination in the same area, so when there train comes in, or is on the approach they can all be let though to the platform. However that then takes an extreme amount of organisation.

So not really sure what the answer to that is!

 

[Deepgreen]

This morning was slightly better - but we still arrived over 20 minutes late from Redhill. Not a word from the train crew nor sign of the conductor. They seem to have given up and just stagger on from day to day. Of course, 'Delay Repay' only kicks in after 30 minutes, so individual delays of 20 minutes each way each day don't count, yet add up to hours over a week. On top of this, despite the TOCs' repeated bleatings about how information is so important, it's still absent or wrong far too often!

 

[Minstral25]

I think the issues are that when you have a queueing system passengers then cant get in to catch their trains. Its not an issue for passengers going to say East Croydon because they have a large choice of trains, passengers going to Uckfield have a choice of one of the 18.08 or 19.08 (although there is a change at Oxted option), and I am sure that passengers to other destinations have similar issues with a lack of trains.

So if you are going to have a queueing system you really need to find some way of congregating all the people for one destination in the same area, so when there train comes in, or is on the approach they can all be let though to the platform. However that then takes an extreme amount of organisation.

So not really sure what the answer to that is!

Convert the Bus station into pens for passengers each one for a specific route of stations - herd them through when the train has arrived.

They treat us like cattle anyway!!

 

[L&Y Robert]

They treat us like cattle anyway!!

How bad will it have to get before a natural negative feed-back effect takes place where people decide either live near their work or work near their domicile? From the posts I read all over the Forum, overcrowding seems to be endemic on the network. There are ultimate physical limits, one person per square foot standing room say, and the "Cant get throught the barriers" problem discussed above. Bottlenecks will occurr, and we must learn from the highway engineers - improvement to this road here creates a problem on that roundabout there, or that junction 10 miles away. We are experiencing the constraints of ultimate capacity at the pinch points - that's where you'd expect them. Answer - reduce the demand.