London Bridge station chaos: Government tells rail bosses to fix “unacceptable” situation urgently
Ministers in the Department for Transport have warned bosses at Network Rail that they must deal with “unacceptable” chaos at London Bridge station urgently.
In a meeting between government officials and rail bosses yesterday morning, aides made clear that the delays and overcrowding seen at the central London station this week must not continue, as passengers vented their fury on social media.
“Passengers have the right to expect a good service, with disruption kept to a minimum,” a spokesman for the department said. “We recognise that some disruption is necessary with a project of this scale, but the events at London Bridge were clearly unacceptable. The industry must learn lessons and we are in close contact with Network Rail as they make the adjustments necessary to deliver a more robust service in future.” He added that the department will be keeping a close eye on how Network Rail seeks to solve the situation in the days to come.
A spokesperson for Network Rail said additional staff will be in place and more information screens will be added by the end of this week to help ease overcrowding. Platforms 10 and 11 will remain closed for another year as work continues.