London Bridge Station — Attraction in London

Overview: London Bridge Station is one of the oldest railway stations in London, with a rich history dating back to 1836. It underwent significant redevelopment in recent years, completing a major transformation in 2018. The station is a key interchange and plays a crucial role in connecting various rail and underground lines.

Architecture and Design: The redevelopment of London Bridge Station resulted in a modern and spacious architectural design. The station features a combination of historical elements and contemporary structures, providing a seamless blend of the old and the new. The concourse is expansive, with high ceilings and natural light, creating a more pleasant and open environment for travelers.

Transport Connections: London Bridge Station serves as a vital transportation hub, connecting various National Rail services, London Underground lines, and bus routes. It facilitates easy access to popular destinations in London and beyond, making it a strategic location for both commuters and tourists.

Facilities: The station offers a range of facilities, including ticket counters, self-service machines, waiting areas, and shops. There are also several dining options and retail stores for passengers to explore. Accessibility has been improved during the redevelopment, with lifts and escalators making it easier for people with reduced mobility to navigate the station.

Redevelopment Impact: The recent redevelopment has significantly improved the overall efficiency and aesthetics of London Bridge Station. The project aimed to enhance capacity, reduce congestion, and improve the overall travel experience for the growing number of passengers using the station daily.

Local Area: Situated near the iconic Tower Bridge and the Tower of London, London Bridge Station offers easy access to some of London's most famous landmarks. The surrounding area has seen development and regeneration, with plenty of shops, restaurants, and cultural attractions nearby.

Conclusion: London Bridge Station is a vital transportation hub that has successfully blended historical significance with modern functionality. The redevelopment has transformed it into a more spacious, accessible, and aesthetically pleasing transit center, making it a key player in London's extensive public transportation network. Travelers can expect a well-connected and convenient experience when passing through this...

Terrible design.

The platforms are too shallow and have roofs that offer no protection from the rain. In the winter people start to put their umbrellas up as they step off the train, hitting others in the face and slowing down exiting onto the platform. The platforms turn into large queuing areas as people wait to squeeze down the stairs and escalators. People end up queuing dangerously close to trains as they accelerate out of the station. Getting onto the train isn't much better as people push their way down the narrow platforms.

The platform signs are not clear. People often get off the train and pause trying to work out which platform they're on, the signs aren't obvious and often obscured by other signage.

The (often broken) escalators lead you down into a chaotic area with people going in every direction at once, it's a horrible experience whichever direction you try to go. These escalators are very long which means changing platforms takes an unnecessarily long time, a bridge over the platforms with a short staircase could easily fix this.

The station is cold. There are no enclosed waiting areas and so in the winter the only refuge is in shops, which are barely heated. The whole station feels like it was designed to get you into a shop not function for passengers.

Exits from many platforms lead you out onto Tooley Street, with it's narrow pavements and a busy road. This despite a pedestrian bridge (previously available at platform level) that would have avoided the road entirely.

The station has no bins of platform level causing people to drop their rubbish onto the platforms.

Even simple considerations like the placement of train time displays are bungled, the screens on the lower level face away from incoming foot traffic, causing people to stop, turn around, and block the flow.

The route between overground and underground trains still leads you past lots of shops around a dog leg of intersecting tunnels which means people are again walking into each other needlessly.

The current toilets are falling apart, and usually disgusting and very clearly too small for such a large station. The ongoing construction of more facilities is long overdue, and should have been in the original plan.

In short, London Bridge station is not just poorly designed it's actively hostile to its users. A modern major station costing £1bn shouldn’t feel like a daily...

Staff are very rude, not helpful at all and they provide misinformation. Due to my physical health I needed to return home sooner than my advance ticket time, I asked two members of staff how/where I could pay to change my journey. They informed me that my tickets were valid on the next train due in 12 minutes.

We descended the escalator to the platform level and the elevator was not working, we attempted to scan our tickets which weren't working. We approached three members of staff who were chatting among themselves at the barriers. Their reactions made it seem as though we were disrupting their break and I apologised and confirmed whether they were on break: they were not.

I relayed the information gained from the other employees about the tickets and one staff member said that this advice was wrong and we had to wait for the correct time to use the tickets. I explained that I wished to pay for an earlier time and asked if I could do this and was told 'no, not here'.

At this point my feet were so swollen that I was walking with one shoe off and relying heavily on my walking aid. The staff went back to talking and I apologised for interrupting again and asked where I could go to get my ticket changed. One staff member pointed at the ticket office.

By the time we got over to the ticket office, the train due was arriving at the platform so we had missed the earlier train, which was hourly. So we went back up the escalator and luckily found a bar to sit in and have a meal which took us up to our scheduled departure.

The area was unclean with rubbish on the floor and discarded coffee cups. There was a lack of security presence and one man, clearly inebriated was swaying, stumbling and shouting on one of the benches.

The building acts as a greenhouse and is very hot and uncomfortable to wait in.

We will certainly avoid this station in the future and I would not recommend to anyone with...