Rush hour London Bridge service cut due to Thameslink disruption

The Thameslink upgrade work, which required the suspension of London Bridge train services over Christmas and which has caused severe delays to the services this week, since they resumed is going to cause further pain, with the announcement that Brockley will lose five rush-hour trains until Friday, and possibly for the longer term.

The announcement from Network Rail says:

"Over the festive break we undertook 16 days of work rebuilding two new platforms, removing and replacing 3km of track and installing new signalling into London Bridge. This work was completed on time.

"However, the new timetable has proved challenging to manage. We have reviewed this and made some immediate changes to a small number of evening peak services which will reduce the pressure on the infrastructure and allow us to deliver a more punctual service that passengers deserve. We will monitor the service this week and assess if any longer term changes are required.

"We have reviewed the operation of the station concourse, placed more staff at London Bridge, and implemented additional crowd control measures to separate passengers entering and exiting trains. By the end of the week, we will have additional passenger information screens, so the concourse is used more evenly.

"To avoid a repeat of the last two nights' disruption, we have made some immediate changes to a small number of evening peak services, which will reduce the pressure on the infrastructure and allow us to deliver an improved service.

"The trains that are being withdrawn are five London Bridge to West Croydon services. They are: 16.36, 17.06, 17.38, 18.06, 18.36. Three West Croydon services into London Bridge are also withdrawn: 17.12, 18.13, 17.42.

"We are withdrawing these services as alternative routes are available for passengers who normally take those trains. Passengers for Brockley, Honor Oak Park, Forest Hill and Sydenham will have a half-hourly service."