Waterloo International railway station

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Waterloo International
Location
Place	South Bank
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Coordinates	51°30′12″N 0°06′49″W / 51.5032, -0.1135Coordinates: 51°30′12″N 0°06′49″W / 51.5032, -0.1135
Operations
Station code	WAT
Managed by	Until 14/11/2007 Eurostar Since 14/11/2007 - Department for Transport
Platforms in use	5 (no. 20-24)
Live departures and station information from National Rail
Transport for London
Zone	1
History
14th November 1994 13th November 2007	Opened Closed
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail

Eurostar route map (before Channel Tunnel rail link)
Legend 0:00 Waterloo International 0:50 Ashford International Channel Tunnel (0:21 transit) 1:15 Calais-Fréthun 1:40 Lille-Europe 2:15 Brussels-South 2:35 Paris Gare du Nord 2:53 Marne la Vallée-Chessy (Disneyland) 6:00 Avignon Centre 6:47 Moûtiers (ski) 7:19 Aime la Plagne (ski: set down only) 7:37 Bourg Saint Maurice (ski) Times shown are fastest timetabled journey from London Waterloo.

Waterloo station from the London Eye with Waterloo International at the bottom of the picture.

Waterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service, on the western side of Waterloo railway station, London.

Designed by the architectural firm Nicholas Grimshaw and Partners over 5 years, it was built at the start of the 1990s at a cost of £135 million and completed in May 1993 in time for the scheduled completion of the Channel Tunnel. However, delays in the construction of the Tunnel meant that the station opened only in November 1994, when it won the Royal Institute of British Architects' Building of the Year award.^[1]

Waterloo International has five platforms, numbered 20 to 24, made up of one platform (20) taken from the mainline station and four new ones, all covered by a new 400 m long glass and steel vault made up of 37 arches and forming a prismatic structure, conceived by Anthony Hunt Associates. It was managed and branded separately from Waterloo mainline station. A two-level reception area fronts the main station concourse. The first Eurostar service left on 14 November 1994 and was formed of Eurostar units 373004/373003 ^[2] and the last service departed at 18.12 (GMT) on 13 November, 2007, for Brussels, with Eurostar services departing from their new London terminus of St Pancras International from the following day.^[3]

After that the station reverted to the ownership of the Department for Transport. The Eurostar platforms' future use is unclear. ^[4] Some reports suggested that they would be used for shops,^[5]) although it was stated in November 2007 that they could be converted for local rail services starting in November 2008.^[6] South West Trains hoped they could use all 5 platforms^[7] as the 19 main line platforms operate at capacity during peak hours. However the South West Trains magazine e•motion states on page 10 of issue 26 (Jan/Feb 2008) that no decisions have been made about the Eurostar platforms. The tracks used by Eurostar have limited access to those of the mainline station and extensive track and signalling work would be needed to gain much benefit from using the International platforms for local services.

[edit] See also

• List of closed railway stations in London

[edit] Gallery

Farewell message from Eurostar to its Waterloo terminus, early December 2007.

Waterloo International in early January 2008. It may be converted to serve local rail services.

[edit] In film

• The station is shown repeatedly in The Russian Dolls (Les Poupées russes), as the main character Xavier commutes frequently, by rail, between Paris and London.
• In Mr Bean's Holiday, Mr Bean sets out on this holiday from Waterloo International

[edit] References

1. ^ Bunting, Madeleine. "Few passengers and trains but Waterloo's tunnel vision wins award for elegance", The Guardian, 2 December 1994. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
2. ^ "Waterloo International: 1994-2007", Guardian Unlimited, 13 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-18. 
3. ^ "St Pancras Eurostar service opens", BBC News, 14 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
4. ^ Bell, Dan. "Terminal faces uncertain future", BBC News, 14 November 2006. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
5. ^ Murray, Dick. "Shops plan for Waterloo International", Evening Standard, 6 April 2005. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
6. ^ Coughlan, Sean. "Waterloo sunset", 12 November 2007. Retrieved on 2007-11-14. 
7. ^ Murray, Dick. "End of the line for Waterloo's Eurostars". Retrieved on 2007-11-14.