The work has now started on the new Blackfriars station that will form a vital part of the multi-billion pound, Thameslink expansion project to help to alleviate  congestion in the capital.

Once completed, at the end of 2011, this £350m new station will have a capacity of three times the number of trains and passengers as it does now and will see an increase in the maximum number of carriages per hour to 172. from the current level of 64

This will be the first station in London to span the Thames and will provide direct access to the South Bank and attractions including the Tate Modern. The work also includes widening the bridge to allow for new track to be laid and all Network Rail platforms will be extended across to the South Bank of the Thames. The station will have new step-free access  and a new glass façade will be added

Preparatory work has already commenced, and the completion is scheduled towards the end of 2011. The current Blackfriars 'overground' station will remain open and operational throughout the reconstruction but the complete rebuilding of the underground station means it will need to be closed from March 2009, reopening in the autumn of 2011.

Andy Mitchell, Network Rail's Thameslink programme director, said: "The work we will undertake at Blackfriars is absolutely vital to this congestion-busting upgrade. The Thameslink expansion will deliver what passengers need - more capacity, less crowding, more frequent services in central London. There will some planned changes to the service to allow work to be done at nights and weekends – but the prize is great - services tripled and train lengths doubled. And the benefits will come soon - many of them as early as 2011."

The Blackfriars project is just one part of the multi-billion pound Thameslink upgrade programme. This scheme will hugely increase north-south journey opportunities through London and vastly increase capacity. Work has already begun at Luton Airport Parkway. The major work at Blackfriars, Farringdon and Borough Viaduct is due to start soon. Work to radically overhaul the track layout to the east of London Bridge (including work at Bermondsey and Tanners Hill) is planned to begin in late 2012.

Phase One of the Thameslink Programme and should deliver the following:
Longer trains with a 50% increase in carriages on local services between Bedford and Central London
An increase in the number of trains between north and south London (between King’s Cross/ St Pancras Int. and Blackfriars) from 8 per hour (64 carriages p/h) to 16 per hour (172 carriages p/h) by 2012.

Capacity will increase further once the entire project is completed in 2015 to 24 trains per hours (288 carriages p/h)
Blackfriars becomes the first station to span the Thames with a new entrance on the South Bank, providing direct access to Tate Modern
Better interchanges at an improved Farringdon station
Better dispersal of passengers from St Pancras International
New journey opportunities through London (North to South)