Mark Carne: Commuters will soon be able to see our rail renaissance

The railway network in the south of England is one of the most congested anywhere in Europe — as passengers standing on crowded commuter trains know all too well. In the past 20 years the number of people travelling on the rail network has doubled, and the rail network, our stations and our platforms are dealing with more passengers than they were ever designed for.

But after decades of underinvestment, we are now spending record amounts on improving the railway. Our Railway Upgrade Plan represents the biggest investment programme in the railways since Victorian times. These huge projects take many years to plan and build and during this time passengers often don’t see the benefits — instead they see walls of wooden hoardings around construction sites and overcrowding on platforms.

A major part of the railway upgrade is the Thameslink Programme, which when completed in 2018 will transform north-south travel through London. Before work started London Bridge station was so congested that Thameslink trains simply weren’t able to call there during the morning and evening peaks, with trains instead diverted via Elephant and Castle.

The construction work to transform London Bridge station has been going on for four years. It is the most ambitious redevelopment of any London station in a generation and one of the most technically demanding projects ever undertaken on our railway.

We are rebuilding Britain’s fourth- busiest station — the tracks, the platforms and the infrastructure which enable trains to run — all the while keeping the station open and doing our best to keep passengers moving.

I am extremely sorry that while doing this work there have been times when passengers have suffered frustrating delays.

I know that promises about tomorrow are of little consolation when performance isn’t good enough today.

I am pleased that, finally, some of the benefits of this project will be much more visible from next week.

From Monday we are opening two-thirds of a new concourse that will be the size of the pitch at Wembley, making it much better for the 56 million passengers who use the station every year.

The station will blend 21st-century engineering with Victorian heritage and architecture. It will be as transformative as the King’s Cross redevelopment and will become an iconic new station for London.

Our team has worked hard to make this possible — every night, every weekend, every bank holiday for years.