All change at Waterloo with shops and cafes to grace arches
BOARDED-UP railway arches at Waterloo station could be turned into shops and cafes as part of a 15-year project of redevelopment.
Network Rail has unveiled plans to overhaul the capital terminus after drafting in Grimshaw, the architecture firm behind the £1bn renovation of London Bridge station.
Details laid out in a 210-page document reveal ambitions to replace Waterloo’s empty spaces with retail and pedestrianise the area outside the station’s main entrance.
This space will be renamed “Victory Arch Piazza” and filled with hundreds of trees. Network Rail expects the scheme, which is backed by Lambeth council, will take up to 15 years and create up to 10,000 jobs.
‘It is imperative this station continues to evolve to ensure it is a world-class transport hub’
It is not yet clear how much it will cost, and planning permission is yet to be secured. However, Network Rail chairman Lord Hendy told the Evening Standard that he wants the private sector to fund the project, meaning it will use “as little public money as we can manage”.
The plans come after Network Rail’s five-year revamp of London Bridge, which nearly doubled passenger capacity and added 90 shops and restaurants to the station. The transformation was hailed a success after London Bridge remained operational throughout and the project was delivered on time.
It followed the £800m redevelopment of St Pancras International, which opened as the new Eurostar Terminal in 2007, and the £550m revamp of King’s Cross, completed in 2013. Lord Hendy said: “I think our combined objective is to do the same thing around
Waterloo as we now see at King’s Cross.
“It is imperative this station continues to evolve to ensure it is a world-class transport hub and meets the needs of the millions of passengers that use the station each year.” Waterloo station opened in 1848 with just six platforms, with its launch coming a week earlier than planned to allow spectators to travel by train to the Epsom Derby in
Surrey. It has since more than tripled in size to become Britain’s third-busiest station, boasting 24 platforms and 57.8m passengers a year. There will be no new platforms under the redevelopment but concourse space will be increased by 40pc to reduce congestion.
Space to park 5,000 bicycles will also be created, while there will be new station entrances on Lower Marsh and Mepham Street. Lambeth council, which has approved the project, is hopeful that it will bring an economic boost to the neighbourhood.