Southeastern Criticised Over Slimmed-Down Timetables After 'Dangerous' Overcrowding At London Bridge

Commuters have complained about "dangerous" overcrowding at London Bridge station after trains were cut at peak times.

Disgruntled passengers took to social media to share concern for "dangerous" overcrowding, with hundreds of people queuing to get on to platforms.

Southeastern, which operates trains from the station, said passengers were delayed due to a trespasser at Hither Green, south east London, but many blamed the network's new slimmed-down timetable.

Implemented on December 11, the "simplified" timetable involves fewer peak-time trains and a cut in services, and has caused serious backlash.

One passenger, Suzanne Whitlock, wrote:

"100s of passengers in a crush at London Bridge due to the changes you introduced - with no consultation - in December.

"It's not just doubled commutes, it's dangerous. Every night is like this, trapped on packed trains, escalators and platforms. Do something."

Another person wrote:

"Remind me again how your new timetable is so much better? Never once experienced this under the old system where passengers were split between London Bridge and Cannon Street."

A spokesperson for Southeastern told Sky News:

"An earlier trespasser on the line at Hither Green last night caused line closures, cancellations and delays in and out of London, which had an impact on services at London Bridge.

"The individual was removed from the tracks, with power restored to all lines by Network Rail and normal services resumed by 5.39pm. We're sorry for any inconvenience caused to our customers due to this incident."

"A safety review was held this morning with Network Rail".

'Absolutely atrocious'

At a council meeting on 25 January, Greenwich Council's deputy leader, Averil Lekau, said that she would be writing to the company, calling the ongoing issues "absolutely atrocious".

But former Greenwich Council leader Danny Thorpe pressed for more urgent action, after he was one of many caught in the "appalling" conditions at London Bridge on Wednesday night.

"Hundreds of people were kettled onto platforms," Mr Thorpe said in the meeting. "Things got so bad there was violence and the police were called to the station."

He called for Ms Lekau to send an urgent letter on Thursday, raising "serious concerns about health and safety," which he said was "undoubtedly being caused by the lack of trains being delivered".

'Teething issues' with new timetable

Southeastern and Network Rail apologised for disrupted, overcrowded and unreliable services over the past two weeks, blaming "teething issues" with the new timetable on 23 January.

Urging individuals to claim "Delay Repay compensation" they added:

"We're still confident that the new timetable will make things better for you... but we need strong performance all the time. We are taking action to improve punctuality and reliability."

The company has also been invited to a scrutiny panel.

(c) Sky News 2023: Southeastern criticised over slimmed-down timetables following 'dangerous' overcrowding