The May 2018 timetable will be the culmination of many years’ work, reports JAMES ABBOTT
For Southeastern MD David Statham it’s been a personal journey. From when he joined First Capital Connect as Thameslink Project Director in 2008 to the present, he has been involved in the story of what we used to call ‘Thameslink 2000’ and is now the Thameslink Project. He was at FCC when the central London closures started, up until the signing of the rolling stock contract with Siemens for what would become the Class 700s. He joined Southeastern in time for the beginning of the London Bridge platform suspensions for Charing Cross services at the beginning of 2015.
The dramatic scope of the London Bridge rebuilding, documented in these pages in recent years, required major changes to operating practices. The planned changes included taking the two busiest platform faces in Europe (the old London Bridge platforms 5 and 6) out of commission, and at times three out of Southeastern’s seven London Bridge approach roads were out of action. The timetable had to be rewritten several times and the operators had to be nimble on their feet.
It all culminated in two massive blockades over August Bank Holiday and Christmas 2…
