£1bn rail station upgrade ‘won’t meet future demand’

THE newly opened concourse at one of London’s busiest railway stations will not meet demand in the long-term, the head of Network Rail has said.

Two-thirds of the £1 billion redevelopment at London Bridge station, which opened yesterday, will enable passengers to access all platforms from one level for the first time.

But Mark Carne, chief executive of Network Rail, said yesterday that he was not confident it would meet the needs of passengers in the future as the numbers using the station increases

“There’s no doubt at all that this is not going to meet the demand for 50 years,” he said. “As the passenger demand continues to grow, we will need to continue to invest and there will need to be significant investment in the railways over the next 20 years just to keep pace. Since this project was originally approved, the passenger numbers have grown by 35 per cent.”