After years of hidden construction work, the first phase of the new London Bridge station opened this morning. A morning where the number of staff out to help lost passengers outnumbered the number of passengers, but it was an early start on a Bank Holiday.
Tomorrow morning it’ll be very different.
The key difference people will notice is space. The new space is vast compared to what went before. It’s also quite warm, in that while steel and concrete dominate, there is a lot of wood cladding to soften the effect.
Overall, I think people will be impressed when they first use it.
Click on the photos to enlarge them
Unfortunately, although I was only on the site for a few minutes, and surrounded by lots of staff as I was photographing, just as I was heading outside, I was stopped by a member of staff who took me over to security who insisted that I needed a permit to take photos, and even if did get a permit, I wouldn’t be allowed to take photos on the platforms.
Jobsworths. Quote their own website back to them.
http://www.networkrail.co.uk/aspx/777.aspx
You can take photographs at stations provided you do not sell them. However, you are not allowed to take photographs of security related equipment, such as CCTV cameras.
Flash photography on platforms is not allowed at any time. It can distract train drivers and train despatch staff and so is potentially very dangerous.
I took photos there yesterday without any hassle.
Do you possess a time machine I can borrow?
I took photos this morning without any hassle, including on platforms (perhaps because it was with my mobile).
This is standard “bull***t” from so-called security jobsworths as Kit Green says.
Ignore them, or point out the rules, or tell them you’ve been doing it since before their parents briefly met to spawn under some damp rock or other.
( yes – I’ve done all of the above at different times in the past …)
They are trying it on.
Quote the now-retired head of British Transport Police (Andy Trotter) who said “We welcome photographs – they can be used as evidence if anything does go wrong”
Wow! These are better than anything thameslink prog have produced – the concept of zoom out is very basic really!
I found that getting permission to take photos, including the platforms was `simples`. I visited the Network Rail Reception Desk, and they asked for my name, took a photograph, and I was given a lapel badge, which I had to return when leaving the station.
I took many pictures, in full view of several security guards – no problem.
I also took a number of photos in full view of the security guards, and it was only when I was leaving that I got stopped, taken over to security, then to a Network Rail employee who looked at me, and told me to get a pass, and I wouldn’t be allowed to use my camera on the platforms.
It seems that the rules were relaxed later in the day, as numerous people took photos on the platforms. I just ran into the only three jobsworths in the station at 7:30am.
Ian,
I have taken pictures all over the network with very few problems. I took the notice from the website Kit Green quoted at top of this thread. I did mention about where I could take pictures, and was just told I had access to ALL public areas, and this is what the pass said.
As usual, it is the odd jobsworth that causes all the trouble. At Richmond, I was told I had to give a weeks notice and to fill in a complicated form, which was clearly for a film crew!!
Must say, as a n erstwhile user of the station until retirement in 2013, I really liked the sense of space on the concourse.