London Bridge: New station layout in a bid to beat overcrowding danger

Commuters crammed on to the platforms at London Bridge station

A redesign of routes through London Bridge station aims to dampen fears around overcrowding.

In January, several commuters had panic attacks after being trapped on station platforms as rail staff tried to manage congestion.

A London passenger watchdog said rail bosses had not managed overcrowding properly.

Now the layout has been switched up to make exiting quicker and more efficient.

A Network Rail poster in the station reads: "New station layout - To make your journeys more comfortable we are changing the walking routes to separate Southeastern, Thameslink and Southern passengers."

The Southeastern timetable change in the new year meant an increasing number of services run to Cannon Street, instead of Charing Cross, meaning more passengers now have to change at London Bridge.

In January, there were two occasions where rail bosses needed to use crowd control measures due to a points failure and then a trespasser on the lines.

Passenger Jimmy Court was caught up in the second overcrowding incident in January and said he was worried there seemed to be "no way out".

Commuters took to social media again at the end of February, saying the "dangerous" overcrowding had not improved.

Ollie Waite posted video footage of a crowded platform where the exit escalator had been closed off.

Tagging Southeastern rail, Network Rail and the mayor of London, he said: "Disgraceful and dangerous overcrowding as usual at London Bridge.

"Only a matter of time before a serious event happens here." 

Commuter Ben Clarkson also tweeted about "ridiculous and dangerous overcrowding".

Rail bosses have not managed overcrowding properly, says TravelWatch chief executive Michael Roberts

Michael Roberts, chief executive of TravelWatch, said Network Rail and Southeastern had not managed overcrowding properly and timetable changes were "definitely a factor".

He said: "They haven't managed it properly on some of those worst occasions. They say they understand that and want to tackle it but we've got to make sure they're actually doing it...

"The real concern is actually is the railway going to be safe here at the station.

"The operators I think understand that - but we've been asking them to make sure they've got the right measures in place, so that when these incidents do happen, when we do get large crowds building up at London Bridge, that they are managed safely."

Local MPs and councillors are so unhappy with management of the station and Southeastern services that they have started a petition to transfer services to Transport for London, which has more than 5,000 signatures.

In a joint statement, Southeastern and Network Rail said their top priority was always safety.

They said: "Disruption to train services can result in crowding, particularly at large stations like London Bridge.

"You may have seen reports of this recently and we know crowding can be confusing and frustrating.

"But we have thorough plans in place to ensure that if our stations are crowded, they are still safe."