page_title: London Bridge station
section_title: Thameslink Programme
hierarchical_section_title: London Bridge station / History / Thameslink Programme
caption_attribution_description: English: The new concourse under platforms 7-9 at London Bridge railway station in London, which opened in August 2016.
context_page_description: London Bridge is a central London railway terminus and connected London Underground station in Southwark, south-east London. It occupies a large area on three levels immediately south-east of London Bridge, from which it takes its name. The main line station is the oldest railway station in London fare zone 1 and one of the oldest in the world having opened in 1836. It is one of two main line termini in London to the south of the River Thames and is the fourth-busiest station in London, handling over 50 million customers a year.
  The station was originally opened by the London and Greenwich Railway as a local service. It subsequently served the London and Croydon Railway, the London and Brighton Railway and the South Eastern Railway, thus becoming an important London terminus. It was rebuilt in 1849 and again in 1864 to provide more services and increase capacity. Local services from London Bridge began to be electrified in the beginning of the 20th century, and had spread to national routes by the 1930s. The station was extensively rebuilt by British Rail during the 1970s, along with a comprehensive re-signalling scheme and track alignment.
context_section_description: The station was comprehensively redeveloped between 2009 and 2017 with the rebuilding of all platforms, the addition of two major new street-level entrances, and changes to passenger concourses and retail facilities. The Shard opened next to the station in 2012. It included a new entrance and roof for the terminal level concourse, and a larger bus station was constructed in front of the building.
  This was followed by a major transformation programme known as Masterplan, linked to the Thameslink programme.
  Work began in 2012 with the terminal platforms adjacent to St Thomas Street, reducing the number from nine to six and extending them to accommodate longer 12-car trains. Through platforms were increased from six to nine, all of which catered for 12-car trains. In the redeveloped station, Charing Cross services were assigned four new dedicated platforms (6, 7, 8 and 9), and Thameslink services to platforms 4 and 5. The existing platforms for Cannon Street services on the north side of the station were also rebuilt.
  During the works, Charing Cross trains did not call at the station for most of 2015–16 as the platforms were rebuilt, followed by Cannon Street trains from 2016–17. Thameslink services to/from the Thameslink core did not stop between 2015 and May 2018, when an all day service with significantly enhanced frequency began as the programme of works was completed.
  As part of the rebuilding works, the listed northern wall of the terminus train-shed was demolished and replaced with a new retaining wall, and the listed bays of the roof over the terminating platforms were dismantled and stored. Each of the rebuilt platforms has its own full length platform canopy.
  The footbridge dating from the 1970s that linked platforms for passenger interchange was also demolished, replaced by an interchange concourse underneath the platforms accessed by lift, stairs and escalator. This required the demolition of brick vaults between Stainer and Weston Streets, which were pedestrianised and became part of the new concourse. A wider route was created through the Western Arcade to Joiner Street and the underground station by relocating existing shops in to renovated barrel vaults. Two major new street level entrances were opened to the south on St Thomas Street, and to the north, on Tooley Street. This required demolishing the 1893 SER office building.
  The refurbished station was officially opened by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge on 9 May 2018. The total estimated value of the project was around £1billion. In July 2019, the refurbished station made the shortlist for the Stirling Prize for excellence in architecture.
  In 2020 the Thameslink lines at London Bridge were one of the few locations in the UK to use a digital signalling system.
caption: Part of the new concourse under platforms 7–9.
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