London Waterloo station

Waterloo

London Waterloo
Victory Arch is the main entrance
Waterloo Location of Waterloo in Central London
Location	Lambeth
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Managed by	Network Rail
Station code	WAT
Platforms in use	19
Accessible	[1]
Fare zone	1
National Rail annual entry and exit
2004/5	62.389 million[2]
2005/6	61.036 million[2]
2006/7	83.993 million[2]
2007/8	91.452 million[2]
2008/9	88.548 million[2]
13 July 1848	Opened
List of stations	Underground · National Rail
External links	Departures • Layout
	Facilities • Buses
London Transport portal UK Railways portal

Waterloo station,^[3] also known as London Waterloo,^[4] is a major railway terminus in central London, owned and operated by Network Rail. It is located in Lambeth, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth, and in Travelcard Zone 1.

With some 88 million passengers in financial year 2008-09, Waterloo is easily Britain's busiest railway station in terms of passenger throughput.^[5] The total number of people passing through the station is considerably greater, as this figure is based on ticket sales for London Waterloo alone and does not include usage data for the Underground and Waterloo East. The Waterloo complex ranks as one of the busiest passenger terminals in Europe, comparable to the Gare Saint-Lazare and second only to the Gare du Nord in Paris.^[6] It has more platforms and a greater floor area than any other railway station in the UK. (Clapham Junction, just under four miles down the line, has the largest number of trains.) It is the terminus of a network of railway lines in Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, South West England, and the south-western suburbs of London. Its most important long-distance destinations are Portsmouth, Southampton and Bournemouth, all on the south coast.

History

The London and South Western Railway (L&SWR) opened the station on 11 July 1848 as 'Waterloo Bridge Station' (from the nearby crossing over the Thames) when its main line was extended from Nine Elms. Designed by William Tite, it was raised above marshy ground on a series of arches.^[7] The unfulfilled intention was for a through station with services to the City. In 1886 it officially became 'Waterloo Station', reflecting long-standing common usage, even in some L&SWR timetables.

As the station grew, it became increasingly ramshackle. The original 1848 station became known as the 'Central Station' as other platforms were added. The new platform sets were known by nicknames - the two platforms added for suburban services in 1878 were the 'Cyprus Station', whilst the six built in 1885 for use by trains on the Windsor line became the 'Kartoum Station'. Each of these stations-within-a-station had its own booking office, Taxi stand and public entrances from the street, as well as often poorly marked and confusing access to the rest of the station. By 1899 Waterloo had 16 platform roads but only 10 platform numbers due to way platforms in different sections of the station or on different levels sometimes duplicated the number of a platform elsewhere.^[8] A little-used railway line even crossed the main concourse on the level and passed through an archway in the station building to connect to the South Eastern Railway's smaller station, now Waterloo East, whose tracks lie perpendicular to those of Waterloo. Passengers were, not surprisingly, confused by the layout and by the two adjacent stations called 'Waterloo'. By 1897 there were also three separate (and separately-owned) Underground stations named 'Waterloo' under or close by the station, as well as the adjacent Necropolis Company station.^[9] This complexity and confusion became the butt of jokes by writers and music hall comics for many years in the late 19th century. In Jerome K. Jerome's book Three Men in a Boat no one at Waterloo knows the wanted train's platform, departure time or destination.^[9]

In 1899 the L&SWR decided that only totally rebuilding would improve the situation. The relevant legal powers were granted that year and extensive groundwork and slum clearance were carried out until 1904, when construction on the terminus proper began. The new station was opened in stages, the first five new platforms opening in 1910. Construction continued sporadically throughout the First World War, and the new station finally opened in 1922 with 21 platforms and a concourse nearly 800 feet (250 m) long. The new station included a large stained glass window depicting the L&SWR's company crest over the main road entrance, surrounded by a frieze listing the counties served by the railway (the latter survives today). These features were retained in the design despite the fact that by the time the station opened the 1921 Railway Act had been passed which spelt the end of the L&SWR as an independent concern.^[9] The main pedestrian entrance, the Victory Arch (known as Exit 5), is a memorial to company staff who were killed during the two world wars. Damage to the station in World War II required considerable repair but entailed no significant changes of layout.

A past curiosity of Waterloo was that a spur led to the adjoining dedicated station of the London Necropolis Company, from which funeral trains, at one time daily, ran to Brookwood Cemetery bearing coffins at 2/6 each. This station was destroyed during World War II.^[10]

Mainline railways around the South Bank
If display breaks, try Hide/Show. Charing Cross Hungerford Bridge across River Thames Waterloo International (1994-2007) ◄ SWML &c. Waterloo Waterloo East Blackfriars Road (1864-1868) ◄ Thameslink and to Sevenoaks Elephant & Castle ♦ / B'friars / City Tlk.  TLK ►  (♦, above, was B'friars Bdg [1864-85]) Cannon Street London Bridge River Thames Brighton and SE Main Lines

Ownership of Waterloo underwent a succession, broadly typical of many British stations. Under the 1923 Grouping it passed to the Southern Railway (SR), then in the 1948 nationalisation to British Railways. Following the privatisation of British Rail, ownership and management passed to Railtrack in April 1994 and finally in 2002 to Network Rail.

Platforms 20 and 21 were lost to the Waterloo International railway station site, which from November 1994 until 13 November 2007 was the London terminus of Eurostar international trains to Paris and Brussels. Construction necessitated the removal of decorative masonry forming two arches from that side of the station, bearing the legend "Southern Railway". This was re-erected at the private Fawley Hill Museum of Sir William McAlpine, whose company built Waterloo International. Waterloo International closed when the Eurostar service transferred to the new St Pancras railway station with the opening of the second phase of "HS1", High Speed route 1, also known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link or CTRL. Ownership of the former Waterloo International terminal then passed to BRB (Residuary) Ltd.

Station facilities

The major transport interchange at Waterloo comprises London Waterloo, Waterloo East, the Underground station (which includes the Waterloo and City line to Bank, affectionately known as 'the drain') and a bus station.

Waterloo station connects to Waterloo East, across Waterloo Road, by a high-level walkway constructed mostly above the bridge of the former little-used connecting curve.

Waterloo station clock

River services operate from nearby Waterloo Pier next to the London Eye.

A large four-faced clock hangs in the middle of the main concourse. Meeting "under the clock at Waterloo" is a traditional rendezvous.^[11]

Police station

For many years until February 2009 there was a British Transport Police police station at Waterloo by the Victory Arch, with a custody suite of three cells. Although it was relatively cramped, until the late 1990s over 40 police officers operated from it.^[12] Following the closure of the Eurostar Terminal at Waterloo,^[13] the police station closed in February 2009,^[14] and the railway station is now policed from a new Inner London Police Station a few yards from Waterloo at Holmes Terrace.^[15] The Neighbourhood Policing Team for Waterloo consists of an Inspector, Sergeant, two Constables, Special Constables, and 13 PCSOs.^[16]

Transport links

London bus route 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 77, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 211, 243, 341, 381, 507, 521, RV1, X68 and night bus route N1, N68, N76, N171, N343 and N381.

Services

Waterloo has 19 terminal platforms in use, making it the biggest station in the UK in terms of platform numbers. The station is managed by Network Rail, and all trains are operated by South West Trains.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		South West Trains Waterloo to Woking Reading and Windsor Lines Mole Valley Line Kingston Loop Line Hounslow Loop Line Hampton Court Line New Guildford Line		Vauxhall
		South West Trains Waterloo to Basingstoke Alton Line		Clapham Junction or Surbiton
		South West Trains South Western Main Line Portsmouth Direct Line West of England Main Line		Clapham Junction or Woking

Waterloo International

Farewell message from Eurostar to the erstwhile International station, viewed from western side of main concourse, December 2007

Waterloo International was the terminus for Eurostar international trains from 1994 until 2007, when they transferred to new international platforms at St. Pancras. Waterloo International's five platforms were numbered 20 to 24.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
		Disused Railways
Terminus		Eurostar		Ashford International

Waterloo East

Waterloo East is a through station, the last stop on the South Eastern Main Line before the terminus at Charing Cross.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Charing Cross		Southeastern South Eastern Main Line		London Bridge

Waterloo Underground station

Waterloo is served by the Bakerloo, Jubilee, Northern (Charing Cross branch) and Waterloo & City lines. It is one of only two London terminals without a close connection to the Circle Line, the other being London Bridge.

Future

Eurostar platforms

The disused international platforms of Waterloo, seen from the London Eye

Since the transfer of Eurostar services away from Waterloo, the former Eurostar platforms 20-24 of Waterloo International have remained unused. Waterloo suffers significant capacity problems, and there are proposals to convert the former international station to domestic use. In December 2008 preparatory work was carried out to enable platform 20 to be used by South West Trains suburban services, including the removal of equipment such as customs control facilities, at an estimated cost of between £50,000 and £100,000.^[17] However, the conversion of the remaining platforms has been delayed as it would require further alterations to the station infrastructure; the former Eurostar lines would now conflict with the Windsor line services, and it is proposed to build a flyover.^[18] The re-opening of the Eurostar platforms is also linked to a separate project to acquire new rolling stock (possibly 15-car Siemens Desiro trainsets) to run longer trains. The annual cost of maintaining the disused platforms has been estimated at £500,000.^[17]

The project has been criticised for its delayed completion date;^[19] in 2009 the Department for Transport confirmed that National Rail was developing High Level Output Specification options for the station, with an estimated date for the re-opening of the platforms of 2014, seven years after their closure.^[20]

From 4 July 2010 two of the disused platforms will host the theatrical performance of The Railway Children by E. Nesbit. The audience will be seated either side of the actual railway track. The show will include the use of a live steam train pulling one of the original carriages from the 1970s film. The performance is moving to London after two sell-out and critically-acclaimed summer runs at the National Railway Museum in York.^[21]

Heathrow Airport links

Waterloo station is the central London terminus for the proposed Heathrow Airtrack rail service. This project, promoted by BAA, envisages the construction of a spur from the Waterloo to Reading Line to Heathrow Airport, creating direct rail links from the airport to Reading, Woking and Guildford. Airtrack is planned to open in 2015, subject to government approval.^[22]

Cultural references

In the 1990s, after Waterloo station was chosen as the British terminus for the Eurostar train service, Florent Longuepée, a municipal councillor in Paris, wrote to the British Prime Minister requesting that the station be renamed because he said it was upsetting for the French to be reminded of Napoleon's defeat when they arrived in London by Eurostar.^[23] There is a name counterpart in Paris: the Gare d'Austerlitz is named after the Battle of Austerlitz, one of Napolean's greatest victories. However, this station is less important than most other stations in the city.

Film

• The station is the subject of John Schlesinger's documentary film Terminus
• Several scenes in The Bourne Ultimatum, starring Matt Damon, were filmed with British actor Paddy Considine at Waterloo between October 2006 and April 2007
• Bollywood film Jhoom Barabar Jhoom was filmed extensively within Waterloo and the storyline was set around two people awaiting passengers arriving at the station
• Scenes for Incendiary were filmed at the station during April and May 2007
• The station has been used to shoot scenes for films including London to Brighton, Russian Dolls, Franklyn, Breaking and Entering and Outlaw

Television

• In the Only Fools and Horses episode "Dates", Del meets Raquel for the first time at Waterloo
• BBC Top Gear presenters James May and Richard Hammond are filmed at Waterloo outside the Eurostar terminus as they race Jeremy Clarkson, who is in an Aston Martin DB9, to Monte Carlo. They are also filmed when forced to land at Lille and take the Eurostar to London to beat Jeremy to the NatWest Tower
• Waterloo frequently appears in television productions, including Waking the Dead, The Commander, Spooks, The Apprentice and The Bill

Books

• In Jerome K Jerome's 1889 comic novel, Three Men in a Boat, the protagonists spend some time in the station, trying to find their train to Kingston upon Thames. After being given contradictory information by every railway employee they speak to, they eventually bribe a train driver to take his train to their destination.

Music

• Waterloo and Waterloo Underground are the setting for the Kinks' song "Waterloo Sunset", written by Ray Davies and recorded in 1967. Its lyric describes two people (Terry and Julie, sometimes taken to refer to sixties icons Terence Stamp and Julie Christie.^[24][25]) meeting at Waterloo Station and crossing the river (via Waterloo Bridge, as Davies has confirmed). The song has been recorded by Cathy Dennis and Def Leppard: other acts, such as David Bowie and Elliott Smith, have covered the song in live performances
• Adrian Evans wrote the song "London Waterloo", which is dedicated wholly to the station
• The lyrics in the 1979 song "Rendezvous 6:02" by British progressive band U.K. describe a meeting at Waterloo
• The lyrics to "Torn On The Platform" by Jack Peñate refer to the station ("train leaves at two, platform 3, Waterloo")
• Carl Barat's band Dirty Pretty Things' debut album is called Waterloo to Anywhere
• The booklet accompanying The Who's album Quadrophenia includes a photo of the album's protagonist on the steps of Waterloo, depicting a moment from the song 5:15
• The music video to 'West End Girls' by the Pet Shop Boys was part filmed at Waterloo in the mid 1980s
• Abba held a press photo shoot at Waterloo on 11 April 1974, the day after their first appearance on Top of the Pops, in celebration of their 'Waterloo' winning the Eurovision Song Contest five days before

Gallery

Detail of the Victory Arch	Waterloo concourse	Platforms 15 and 16 looking west	Waterloo from the London Eye with Waterloo International on its western flank
A 1910 Railway Clearing House map of lines around Waterloo - note the connecting line between Waterloo and Waterloo East

References

External links

• Station information for Waterloo from Network Rail
• Waterloo photo gallery on Flickr
• London Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Waterloo Underground Station Bakerloo Line entrance to station in 1925
  • Waterloo Underground Station building in 1964 after rebuilding
  • Waterloo in 1925
• Waterloo Station Central Telephone Enquiry Bureau (CTEB) History
• http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/3164