London Waterloo
The former Waterloo International Terminal returns to permament use after more than ten years standing idle.
The former Waterloo International Terminal, built for Eurostar trains, came back into permanent use on December 10.
After more than ten years standing idle, it is now carrying commuters from Berkshire, instead of travellers to Paris and Brussels.
Passengers from Reading, Wokingham and Windsor, as well as the Richmond loop, now arrive on the giant platforms, which have been extensively altered over the past three years. The local services look a little lost in a place built for long-distance luxury travel, on trains that were a quarter of a mile long.
Platforms have been shortened, a wide concourse has been constructed, and a new walkway created for a level connection to the main Waterloo station. The wide platforms under a clean, light roof provide a stark contrast with the ruststreaked and grimy canopy of the main station.
The work forms a key part of the £800 million project to increase capacity at Britain’s busiest terminus by 30%. In two years, new Bombardier Class 701 Aventra trains are due to be operating in place of today’s ageing Class 455s and near-new Class 707s from Siemens. However, work is far from finished, with three of the five platforms now open for business (Platforms 20-22). Platforms 23 and 24 are still being completed, and will come into service following the timetable change next May.
At the station entrance, new glass screens were still being fitted as the station opened. Creating a new weatherproof link between the former international and domestic stations has caused the contractors significant challenges, as the two areas were not previously directly connected on one level.
New direct routes from the platforms to London Underground are expected to open in January. Until then, passengers must walk into the main station to take existing escalators.
Beneath the platforms, the ‘orchestra pit’ Eurostar check-in and customs area remains a building site. The old escalators taking passengers to the platforms have gone, and eventually there will be what Network Rail ambitiously terms a “leisure and cultural destination”, but which others call a shopping area.
“A construction site that’s a quarter of a mile long in the heart of London, done while minimising disruption for passengers, has been incredibly difficult,” said Network Rail Programme Manager David Barnes.
“We’ve had to do a lot of demolition within the building. We’ve had to create new routes through it - a new roof and a new footbridge.
“Over 6,500 people have worked on the project, and it will mark a significant increase in capacity for the whole station. So all passengers should benefit - not just those on the Reading and Windsor lines who are using the new platforms.”
The additional platforms ease
the congestion within the main station, enabling South Western Main Line services to spread out from the central platforms.
Andy Mellors, managing director of South Western Railway, said: “This means more flexibility and will help to improve punctuality, especially during peak times.
“Between now and May next year, we will be providing over 6,000 extra seats into our fleet. This is in addition to the 15,000 extra seats already provided into and from Waterloo since the franchise began.”
Performance on the routes out of Waterloo has been declining for six consecutive years. Passengers have endured daily disruption, caused largely by infrastructure faults between Woking and Waterloo.
“We are putting passengers at the heart of our approach to running the railway, and this incredible piece of engineering is all about giving better journeys to the many millions of people who travel on this route every year,” said NR Wessex Route Managing Director Andy Thomas.
“Thousands of our engineers and track staff have worked tirelessly over the last three years, rebuilding this iconic terminal from top to bottom.”
Network Rail Director of Sponsorship Stewart Firth said: “By opening up the new platforms, we take a bit of pressure off the other platforms - the busiest in the country. That will add a little bit of resilience into the way we operate the station on a daily basis.
“Removing the customs area and changing its use to very high-density suburban passenger services is a very large scheme. We have some finishing touches still to do - some architectural work, some more glass, completing the look and feel of the station. Then we will open up the lower level for people to reach the Underground in the New Year.”
Work to the platforms includes 1½ miles of new tactile strips to help visually impaired passengers. Previous ridges near the platform edge were square shaped, which indicated a step up ahead. Now they are in a diamond pattern to indicate a step down.
Eurostar services had switched to St Pancras in 2007. The platforms were briefly brought back into use for three weeks during August 2017, when much of Waterloo was closed to lengthen Platforms 1 to 4 at the opposite end of the station.