Demolition work has begun to untangle a mess of railway tracks near Millwall’s football ground in Bermondsey.
You’ll soon be able to see “big changes” out of your train window on the approach to London Bridge as a result of the work that is being carried out as part of the £6.5bn Thameslink rail improvement programme.
A massive ‘dive under’ - the opposite of a motorway flyover - is being created to separate flows of trains approaching the station, with the aim of improving reliability and reducing delays.
Several stretches of old viaduct and bridges are being demolished close to Millwall’s New Den.
Greg Thornett, project manager for the Network Rail scheme, said: “Our Victorian ancestors did a fantastic job and we are still using much of their work to carry more than 200,000 passengers every day – including a stretch of the oldest railway in the whole of London.
“However, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to untangle the current complex track layout, which is a result of historic railway operators dating back over 150 years running services adjacent to one another into London on their own infrastructure.”
When complete, Charing Cross trains will arrive at top left, dive down, and run on a new railway diagonally top left to bottom right of the picture. Thameslink trains will arrive at top right, and pass over the Charing Cross lines as they head towards the centre- bottom of the picture. Both existing (and now disused) viaducts, middle and right, will be partly demolished
Thameslink is rebuilding much of the railway from New Cross Gate through London Bridge and on to Blackfriars and St Pancras.
The dive under being constructed will allow Charing Cross trains from south-east London and Kent to dive down to almost street level, under a new route carrying Thameslink services from Croydon, and back up again.
Twenty bridges between New Cross and Waterloo East are being strengthened to allow up to 24 trains per hour though central London.
An artist's impression of the Bermondsey dive under
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