Nick, there is no platform to platform transfer now, but when it is finished, all 15 platforms will be accessible via a giant undercroft - the way I envisage it is a bit like St Pancras. So escalators down from each platform to a big circulating space. And inevitably, a shopping mall.

I work very close to LB, so the idea of getting on the Jubilee line at LB to travel to Canada Water, to then change onto the Overground just seems daft.

I went to Bath for work the other day. There were bad delays in the morning outbound (but GW trains service for delayed passengers was far superior it must be said). On the way back though, it took me longer to get from Paddington to HOP than it did from Bath to Paddington, thanks to another signal failure at LB.

I got to LB, saw that the 1821 was cancelled, with no hope of anything out until 1853. My next thought was go to NXG and change. But no, nothing stops their either for that 30 minute period. So I worked out it would be marginally quicker to go out to Norwood Junct and come back in.

The NWD train goes through every station on the way, and passes by the platform at NXG anyway. Wouldn't an idea be to stop the NWD fast trains additionally at NXG, to enable interchange onto the Overground here and minimise congestion at Canada Water, whilst still not having to increase trains into LBG?

I went through London Bridge on Thursday on a train to Charing Cross. The platforms are still there, but the train did not stop. There seems to be a large hole in the ground, presumably where the undercroft will be. Personally, I think this will make a better way to transfer between platforms than the old bridge, which often had stampedes of passengers when the platform number for a departing train was announced.

The best thing about it will be the ability to go down the escalators mid-platform, walk across the concourse in the basement which is of Wembley Stadium proportions and then go back up to the through Charing Cross platforms.

I won't miss the 1980s style footbridge or the crush on it when our trains are cancelled.

Sounds good!

Bring it on!

I do think though the downside to the lovely new concourse is the loss of platform space. That's why, as I understand it, the completed new platforms still have bits fenced off on them - because that's where the escalators will be. It can take quite some time to get off the train in the mornings because there's a huge amount of people disembarking with not much space to funnel through.

Wonder if you'll need to go down that way to get to the tube, or whether the existing route will still exist?

Hopefully, there will be more than one down escalator on each platform!

The 'artist impression' pictures on the platform hoardings of the new undercroft shows one up escalator and one down escalator to/from platforms but with a wide fixed stairway between them ...

Yesterday I watched the 1975 film "Operation London Bridge", absolutely fascinating in the context of what's happening now.

http://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b751b2a07

The most interesting thing for me, is the way that the passenger interchange between platforms 8 - 14 used to be underground, and there was footage of the old brown footbridge being built. The artists impression of the finished passenger concourse gave me a real pang of nostalgia!

The film also shows footage of what stations used to be like down the line from LB and boy does it look grim! Narrow, packed platforms with no safety bumps, no yellow lines; workmen with no safety clothing / helmets, it looks nothing like today. I'd like to know how reliable services were then! Notable that more work seemed to be done at nights than appears to now.

EDIT: YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7Qlnu9Gbdw

This post was last modified: 11-02-2015 12:02 AM by rymerster.

Great film. Thanks for sharing.

I think the suggestion above of stopping some more trains which are already going through New Cross Gate is a good one. Doesn't solve the problem, but would surely reduce crowding at Canada Water. Perhaps this is something the Forest Hill Society might be able to champion?

Great video. And all so familiar!

I see that post half term the trains have reverted from bad to bloody awful again.

Sadly yes. London Bridge trains were in a terrible state this morning, knocking on to an already crowded Overground.

Every train journey I have tried to undertake this week has been at least 15 minutes late or just cancelled. We were sitting on a train in LB last night and that was then made a fast so not stopping at FH, we all had to rush across the platform to another train. Shamble upon shambles.

Makes me very nostalgic for the slam door commuter trains. They were so much faster to fill / empty.

I prefer the modern trains. We just need to copy the Japanese and employee staff to push passengers into the trains!

I spent 5 years in Japan from the age of 11. I caught two trains to school and was regularly pushed onto trains. They were boiling in summer and it was a massive crush but they worked, were on time and stopped in the same place all the time so you knew where the doors were going to be.

Whilst I lived there they upgraded the train lines, a massive undertaking. No delays or cancellation ever.

Why cant we do this?

Commuters hurdling over and crawling under closed barriers to avoid concourse overcrowding due to signal failures - will this be enough for someone to do something about the London bridge chaos?!?!

http://www.standard.co.uk/news/transport...83409.html

Those pictures are hilarious. How can some people lose all self respect just to catch a train.


They just need to have a constant BTP presence and arrest anyone who does stuff like that. Or put them in a little child's corner for 30 minutes on little stools.


One of the cool things about the new underground concourse is that it will open directly on to the street on both sides. So you can just walk out at Street level to the bottom of the Shard/Guys Hospital or the road on the other side.

to be fair, i had the impression from this that some people at the front were in fear of being crushed. Bad impact last night from cancellation of all overground trains due to a broken down train plus a fatality in Streatham = chaos. Just to top it off, my morning train from FH to Victoria had only half the usual carriages, due to stock failure.