Overcrowding and service delays at London Bridge station on Tuesday, 3rd March caused severe disruption as commuters jumped and crawled around barriers to enter the station.
The ruckus was caused by signal delays as well as a power switch-off that resulted from a person jumping on to the tracks at Streatham Common. Rush hour services came to a standstill as the station doors were shut to prevent more crowds from entering the station.
Southern Rail UK produced this official statement:
“Unfortunately, a series of incidents including a person being struck by a train have affected evening peak services from London. Delays of up to 60 minutes, cancellations and short notice alterations to services have been experienced by our passengers for which we apologise.”
The “chaos” comes amidst a project, known as the Thameslink Programme, from Network Rail to rebuild the London Bridge station. The project plans to create more space in the station, as well as faster routes and more consistent services. National Rail stated that the next major changes are underway from January 2015 to August 2016.
While Tuesday’s incident was perhaps the most extreme, outraged passengers took to Twitter to tweet about the poor service since the beginning of this year.
Amid the angry tweets from passengers, London Mayor Boris Johnson stated that the disruption “must end now”. Criticism towards the way the government and rail services handled the situation has increased over the past few days as passengers and government officials called for something to be done.
Tom Copley, Labour Assembly Member tweeted a long message calling on the government to intervene in incidents like this:
Labour candidate for Lewisham Vicky Foxcroft has also taken to Twitter to call for support of a petition for government action in the disruption of these trains.
Some are arguing that passengers should be compensated for their cancelled or delayed journeys. Passengers also raised concerns over safety issues as hundreds of people were enclosed between doors and barriers until services resumed. The Thameslink Programme will not be completed until 2018.
