Stratford International station

Stratford International National Rail Docklands Light Railway

High Speed 1 Station entrance
Stratford International
Location of Stratford International in Greater London
Location Stratford
Local authority London Borough of Newham
Managed by Network Rail (High Speed) for HS1 Ltd
Owner London and Continental Railways
Station code SFA
Number of platforms 4 for National Rail[1] and 2 for DLR, 6 in total
Accessible Yes
Fare zone 3 (DLR services only)
National Rail annual entry and exit
2009–10 69,436[2]
— interchange 16[2]
2010–11 Increase 407,497[2]
— interchange 1,277[2]
2011–12 Increase 611,044[2]
— interchange 3,823[2]
2012–13 Increase 957,964[2]
— interchange 3,353[2]
2013–14 Decrease 928,366[2]
Key dates
30 November 2009 Opened (Southeastern)
31 August 2011 Opened (DLR)
Other information
Lists of stations
External links
London Transport portal
UK Railways portalCoordinates: 51°32′41″N 0°00′31″W / 51.5448°N 0.0086°W

Stratford International station is a main line railway and Docklands Light Railway station located in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham in east London, United Kingdom. The station opened on 30 November 2009 for Southeastern services on High Speed 1,[3] although the station building was completed in April 2006.[4] The station is managed by Southeastern, who operate all trains serving it.

It is located on the eastern edge of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, adjacent to the subsequently opened Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. On 31 August 2011 an extension of the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) was opened to connect the station directly to the wider London public transport network and Stratford station slightly to the south. The DLR station is physically separate, across the road from the High Speed 1 station. Oyster Cards are valid for travel at the DLR station, but not at the High Speed 1 station. The four-platform station is built within Stratford Box, a 1.1-kilometre (0.7 mi) concrete-sided cutting.[5]:154

Background

High Speed 1 station concourse

The station is on the High Speed 1 railway between St. Pancras and Ebbsfleet International. As the station lies just inside the eastern boundary of the London Olympic Park, much of the surrounding land was little more than construction site until mid-2012.[6]

The tracks descend into tunnel at both ends of the station as its platforms are closer to the surface than the tunnels; some of the platforms have a noticeable dip along their length at the east end. Stratford International has four platforms in the station box: two at the outer edges and two shorter ones forming a central island. The mainline through tracks run down each side of the station between the adjacent platforms. There is a waiting room on the island platforms but not on the outer platforms.

Thirty-five metres beyond the eastern portals, the tunnels pass just below the Central line tunnels turning north from Stratford. The bottom invert of each Central line tunnel is only 4.3 metres (14 ft) and 8.0 metres (26 ft) above the high-speed running tunnels.[5]:153–156

The station was not authorised by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 and an order under the Transport and Works Act 1992 had to be made to allow for its construction.[7] In the centre of the station is a single-track inclined viaduct, rising to the east end along and above the length of the island platforms. This is to allow out-of-service trains to leave the station box and reach the depot at Temple Mills.

Services

High-speed services

The full service started on 13 December 2009 using Class 395 multiple units. The typical off-peak service is:

There are 1 or 2 international trains per hour in each direction that pass through without stopping.

The peak hour service is 19 trains arriving at St Pancras between 07:00 and 09:59.[8]

From 2nd January 2015 the typical off-peak service will be:

During the 2012 Olympic Games, a service of eight trains an hour ran between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, calling at Stratford, replacing the high speed service. Two of these would be extended to Ashford and one to Faversham. Between 11pm and 1am the service between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet would be increased to twelve per hour.[9] To enable the domestic services to stop at platforms previously designed for Eurostar trains the platforms had to be raised.[10]

Docklands Light Railway

DLR station soon after opening in 2011

The Docklands Light Railway extension to Stratford International consists of a short new line from Stratford International to Stratford station, then continues along the former North London Line route between Stratford and Canning Town, stopping at Stratford High Street (on the site of the original Stratford Market railway station), Abbey Road, West Ham and Star Lane before joining the existing DLR branches from Canning Town to Woolwich Arsenal (during weekday peak hours only) and Beckton. Originally planned to open in July 2010, this was delayed to 31 August 2011.[11]

Bus services

London Buses routes 97; 308; 339; D8; and N205 serve the station.

International services

The original intended purpose of Stratford International station was to act as the London stop for regional Eurostar trains bypassing St Pancras and continuing to other destinations in Britain.[4] However, these services did not come into being, and Rob Holden, chief executive of LCR and deputy chairman of Eurostar, stated that, "stopping a high-speed train seven minutes out of St Pancras is less than ideal", leaving only the domestic Southeastern trains serving the station.[4] Critics derided the station as a white elephant.[12]

By the time Southeastern was serving the station, the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis was urged by Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, and Peter Miller, Westfield's CEO, to order Eurostar to stop at the station.[13] John Burton, development director of Westfield's Stratford City mall, said domestic services were a "poor substitute" for Eurostar: "International commuters are essential in order to realise the vision of a major metropolitan centre for east London. Direct international services will be a key part of the legacy of the Olympics."[12]

Miller and local politicians including former Mayor Ken Livingstone warned that international services would be vital for the success of the Stratford City scheme and the regeneration of East London.[4][13] London Assembly member Andrew Boff has suggested that rail operators considering running international trains should be forced to stop at Stratford International as part of their High Speed 1 line access.[14] However, Eurostar could not stop during the 2012 London Olympics[15] because of the high frequency of the Javelin service.[16]

There are several other potential operators that may use the station for International services including Deutsche Bahn's proposed London-Frankfurt service[17] and the "Transmanche Metro" project to Calais via local stations.[18]

Access and interchange

Stratford stations

Legend

DLR

Stratford Int'l  HS1

Stratford (high level) NLL

HL  Lea Valley Lines

HL GEML

HL Central line

HL DLR via Poplar

Stratford (low level)
Stratford High Street (ex-Stratford Market)
DLR via Canning Town
Jubilee line

Access to the station was, at design stage, to be via a new link road to Waterden Road, which linked in turn to the A12 at Lea Interchange and south to Carpenters Road. This link road was constructed and a new signal junction installed on Waterden Road but never opened. However, these roads were stopped up in mid-2007 to enable the construction of the Olympic Park.

When opened it was located adjacent to the construction sites of both the London Olympic Park and Westfield Stratford City shopping centre which prevented pedestrian access; during local redevelopment work a temporary bus service linked Stratford International to nearby Stratford. The DLR station opened on 31 August 2011,[19] and Westfield Stratford City on 13 September 2011.[20] The bus service ran until 20 September.[21]

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stratford International station.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stratford International DLR station.
  1. ↑ "Extra trains for Westfield Stratford City opening" (Press release). Southeastern. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  3. ↑ "High speed". Southeastern.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Webster, Ben (21 April 2006). "Ghost train station that cost £210m". The Times. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Jan Bakker, Klaas; Bezuijen, Adam; Broere, Wout (28 March 2006). Geotechnical Aspects of Underground Construction in Soft Ground: Proceedings of the 5th International Conference of TC28 of the ISSMGE: 15–17 June 2005. The Netherlands: Taylor & Francis. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  6. ↑ "Eurostar unveils Ebbsfleet International Station as new high-speed gateway to continental Europe". eurostar.com. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  7. ↑ SI 2001/1451 The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Stratford Station and Subsidiary Works) Order 2001 (No. 1451) at the Statute Law Database
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Southeastern: High Speed timetable" (PDF). Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  9. ↑ Southeastern. "Olympics timetable High Speed". Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  10. ↑ Tom Edwards. "Stratford platforms raised to host Javelin trains". Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  11. ↑ "Docklands Light Railway extension marks one year to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games". Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Stratford needs Eurostar, warns boss of Olympic mall Evening Standard. Ross Lydall, 9 September 2010
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Make Eurostar stop at Stratford International, ministers urged Evening Standard. Rob Lydall 17 February 2010
  14. ↑ News from Andrew Boff: Stratford International is white elephant, says Boff Greater London Authority, Andrew Boff 26 May 2010
  15. ↑ Eurostar 'will not stop' at Stratford International BBC Accessed 25 May 2010
  16. ↑ http://www.docklands24.co.uk/content/docklands/news/story.aspx?brand=Docklands&category=news&tBrand=docklands&tCategory=znews&itemid=WeED14%20Jul%202010%2014%3A58%3A24%3A663
  17. ↑ Jameson, Angela (10 March 2010). "Deutsche Bahn may run London to Frankfurt service". The Times (London). Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  18. ↑ "Commuter trains from Calais to Kent 'could be running before 2012 Olympics', claims French mayor". Daily Mail. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  19. ↑ "Docklands Light Railway opens to Stratford International". Railway Gazette International. 31 August 2011.
  20. ↑ "Westfield Group Press Release". Westfield UK. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  21. ↑ Stratford International details, nationalrail.co.uk, accessed 14 September 2011 archive
Preceding station   DLR   Following station
TerminusDocklands Light Railway
Stratford
towards Beckton or Woolwich Arsenal
National Rail
St. Pancras International   Southeastern
High Speed 1		   Ebbsfleet International or
Ashford International
Future services
Old Oak Common   TBA
High Speed 2		   Ebbsfleet International