London Bridge station

London Bridge
Main station concourse in January 2018
Location	Southwark
Local authority	London Borough of Southwark
Managed by	Network Rail
Station code	LBG
DfT category	A
Number of platforms	15
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	1
National Rail annual entry and exit
2013–14	56.442 million
– interchange	8.815 million
2014–15	49.517 million
– interchange	8.454 million
2015–16	53.851 million
– interchange	2.025 million
2016–17	47.874 million
– interchange	1.986 million
2017–18	48.453 million
– interchange	7.393 million
Railway companies
Original company	London & Croydon Railway
Pre-grouping	South Eastern Railway London, Brighton & South Coast Railway
Post-grouping	Southern Railway
Key dates
14 December 1836	Opened
Other information
External links	Departures Layout Facilities Buses
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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 (the other being Waterloo) 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 at the turn of the 20th century, and had spread to national routes by the 1930s. The station was extensively rebuilt by British Rail in the 1970s, along with a comprehensive re-signalling scheme and track alignment. It was further developed in the 2010s to better accommodate the Thameslink route which provides a connection to Gatwick Airport, Luton Airport and Crossrail.

London Bridge is served by Southeastern services from Charing Cross and Cannon Street to destinations in southeast London, Kent and East Sussex and is a terminus for many Southern commuter and regional services to south London and numerous destinations in South East England. Thameslink services from Bedford, Cambridge and Peterborough to Brighton and other destinations in Sussex and Kent began serving the station in 2018.

Location

The main line station is one of 19 UK stations managed by Network Rail. It has a ticket hall and entrance area with its main frontage on Tooley Street, and other entrances on Borough High Street and within the main line station concourse. It is one of two mainline London termini south of the River Thames, the other is Waterloo. The Underground station is on the Jubilee line and the Bank branch of the Northern line. Several London Buses routes, including 43 and RV1, pass the station; some via the bus station. River buses use the nearby London Bridge City Pier.

History

London Bridge station was opened on 14 December 1836, making it the oldest London railway terminus that is still running. It was not the earliest station in the London metropolitan area, as the London and Greenwich Railway had opened stations at Spa Road (in Bermondsey) and Deptford on 8 February 1836. The completion of the line into London Bridge was postponed because of delays in constructing a bridge at Bermondsey Street. From 10 October 1836, trains were able to operate as far as the east end of this bridge, with passengers having to walk the last 300 yards (270 m). The station has had several changes of ownership and complete rebuilds since opening.

National Rail station

A plan of lines in and out of London Bridge Station

The station's platform configuration is:

• Platforms 1, 2 and 3 serve trains to/from Cannon Street and southeast London and Kent.
• Platforms 4 and 5 serve Thameslink trains between the Brighton main line and the Thameslink core via Blackfriars.
• Platforms 6–9 serve trains to/from Charing Cross to southeast London, Kent and East Sussex.
• Platforms 10–15 serve mainly Southern services toward south London and the south coast.

The platforms are linked together by a large street-level concourse, offering a ticket office, retail facilities and waiting areas, with entrances on St Thomas Street and Tooley Street.

Services

Mainline railways around the South Bank
South Western main line to Weymouth Hungerford Bridge over River Thames Waterloo Charing Cross Waterloo East ( 1864– 1868 ) Blackfriars Road Elephant & Castle Blackfriars Thameslink to Sutton, Sevenoaks and Brighton Thameslink to MML & ECML ( 1864– 1885 ) Blackfriars Bridge City Thameslink Brighton main line to Brighton London Bridge Cannon Street South Eastern main line to SE London and Kent River Thames

London Bridge is the fourth busiest station in the United Kingdom, serving around 54–56 million passengers a year. Typical services from the station are:

Southeastern to/from Charing Cross

The typical weekday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 18 tph to London Charing Cross
• 2 tph Dartford via Bexleyheath
• 2 tph to Dartford via Sidcup Template:Sfn
• 2 tph to Gravesend via Sidcup (semi-fast)Template:Sfn
• 2 tph to Dartford via Lewisham and Woolwich Arsenal
• 2 tph to Hayes avoiding Lewisham
• 2 tph to Sevenoaks via Grove Park
• 2 tph to Tunbridge Wells
• 2 tph to Hastings via Tunbridge Wells
• 1 tph to Dover Priory
• 1 tph to Ramsgate via Canterbury West

Southeastern to/from Cannon Street

The typical weekday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 12 tph to London Cannon Street
• 2 tph to Hayes via Lewisham
• 2 tph Orpington via Grove Park
• 4 tph Loop service via Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal of which 2 return to Cannon Street via Sidcup and 2 return via Bexleyheath
• 2 tph loop service via Sidcup returning to Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich
• 2 tph loop service via Bexleyheath returning to Cannon Street via Woolwich Arsenal and Greenwich

Southern

The typical weekday off-peak services in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 2 tph to London Victoria via Crystal Palace
• 2 tph to Caterham via Tulse Hill
• 2 tph to Caterham and Tattenham Corner dividing and attaching at Purley
• 2 tph to Coulsdon Town via Forest Hill
• 2 tph to Beckenham Junction via Crystal Palace
• 2 tph to Epsom via West Croydon
• 1 tph to Uckfield via Oxted

Thameslink

The typical weekday off-peak service in trains per hour (tph) is:

• 4 tph to Brighton via Gatwick Airport
• 2 tph to Horsham via Gatwick Airport
• 2 tph to Gatwick Airport via Redhill
• 2 tph to Rainham via Greenwich, Woolwich Arsenal, Dartford and Gravesend
• 4 tph to Bedford via St Pancras International, St Albans City, Luton Airport and Luton
• 2 tph to Luton via St Pancras International, St Albans City and Luton Airport
• 2 tph to Cambridge via St Pancras International and Stevenage
• 2 tph to Peterborough via St Pancras International and Stevenage

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Blackfriars		Thameslink Thameslink		East Croydon or Norwood Junction or Deptford
Waterloo East		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		Orpington
		Southeastern SE Metro (London Charing Cross)		Lewisham
London Cannon Street		Southeastern Greenwich Line		Deptford
		Southeastern SE Metro via New Cross		New Cross
Terminus		Southern Brighton Main Line, Tattenham Corner Line and Redhill routes		Norwood Junction or East Croydon
		Southern London Bridge – Uckfield		East Croydon
		Southern SN Metro via New Cross Gate		New Cross Gate
		Southern SN Metro via Peckham Rye		South Bermondsey

External links

• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
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• Station information on London Bridge station from Network Rail
• More photographs of Underground station

Thameslink Programme publicity:

• "London Bridge redevelopment" (PDF). Publicity leaflet. Network Rail. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
• "London Bridge – a vision for the future" (PDF). Public information display panel. Network Rail. 6 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
• "London Bridge – a bigger, better station" (PDF). Public information display panel. Network Rail. 9 May 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 November 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2013.