The Grimshaw project includes the construction of a giant new passenger terminal concourse to be located under the tracks, and two new exits at Tooley Street and Saint Thomas Street. Its main task is to increase the station's capacity by two-thirds and to provide free access to all platforms from the main hall. This, in particular, will require the destruction of the vaulted tunnel between Steiner Street and Weston Street (now the location of popular cafes and bars).
Due to the space of the existing main hall, it is planned to expand the adjacent bus station and build new shopping areas into the western gallery; the latter will be reopened and expanded to link the London Bridge underground station to Joyner Street. The number of tracks passing through the station will be increased from six to nine, which will allow 18 Thameslink trains to enter here at once per hour.
The old brick facades of the station will receive undulating canopies made of steel and glass, in accordance with the style of one of the tallest skyscrapers in Europe "Shard", which is being built in the southwestern part of the site, near the bus station. There will also be a giant central hall, designed by Pascall & Watson, who were attracted to the work by the chief architect of the skyscraper, Renzo Piano.
The London Bridge renovation will mark the final stage of the £ 5.5bn Thameslink modernization program. Public hearings on the project are going to be held after May 16. Construction work will begin in 2013 and will be completed in 2018.
