Work is due to commence on the long-delayed £3.5bn Thameslink rail project.

Network Rail's Thameslink Programme is the biggest rail project ever proposed in the UK and will tackle overcrowding on some of the country's busiest routes by increasing passenger capacity north-south, to and from London.

Luton Airport Parkway is the first of 22 stations to have their platforms lengthened to increase capacity.

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The scheme will see three times as many trains travelling through London every hour (an increase from 8 to 24) while the trains themselves will increase from 8-carriage services to 12.

Services on the busy north-south line through central London will continue to run during the project, expected to be completed by 2015.

There will be major improvements to London Bridge, Farringdon and Blackfriars stations, which will become the first station to span the Thames.

Network Rail believe that, as well as the environmental benefits of the investment, the scheme will also improve public transport access to areas of expected growth such as the London Bridge area and the Docklands.

(NS/SP)