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Waterloo International railway station

51°30′11″N 0°06′53″W / 51.502973°N 0.114809°W / 51.502973; -0.114809 (London Waterloo Railway Station)

Waterloo International National Rail
Four Eurostar Class 373s at Waterloo International in June 2006
LocationSouth Bank
Local authorityLondon Borough of Lambeth
Managed byNetwork Rail
OwnerNetwork Rail
Station code(s)WIT
Number of platforms5
Key dates
14 November 1994Opened
13 November 2007Closed
5 August 2017Reopened temporarily
5 September 2017Closed for upgrade works
10 December 2018Platforms 20–22 reopened
19 May 2019Platforms 23–24 reopened
Replaced byLondon St Pancras International
Other information
External links
London transport portal

Waterloo International station was the London terminus of the Eurostar international rail service from its opening on 14 November 1994 to its closure on 13 November 2007, when it was replaced by London St Pancras International as the terminal for international rail services following the opening of High Speed 1 (HS1). It was on the western side of London Waterloo mainline station but was managed and branded separately.

In August 2017, the buildings and platforms were reopened for one month while platforms within the main station were rebuilt. After a period of redevelopment, platforms 20–22 reopened as part of the main station in December 2018, followed by platforms 23 and 24 in May 2019.

History

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Waterloo International during construction in 1992
Waterloo International arch

The station was designed by Grimshaw Architects with Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners appointed consultant engineers.[1] In October 1990, Bovis Construction was awarded the construction contract.[2] It was completed in May 1993, in time for the scheduled completion of the Channel Tunnel. Construction of the tunnel was delayed however, and the station did not open until November 1994, when it won the European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture as well as the Royal Institute of British Architects' Building of the Year Award.[3][4]

Waterloo International had five platforms, numbered 20 to 24, one (20) taken from the mainline station, and four new ones. Unlike the platforms at the main station, they were long enough to accommodate trains of up to 20 coaches (total length 394 metres). The platforms were all covered by a 400 m long[1] glass and steel vault of 36 arches forming a prismatic structure, conceived by Anthony Hunt Associates. The five vaults are supported by a grid of cylindrical concrete columns that rise up from the carpark level, through the circulation levels to the platforms. A structural glass wall separated the existing Waterloo station from the International station.[1]

A two-level reception area fronted the main station concourse. The curvature of the roof is steeper on the western side and here the trains passed close to the structure. The roof arches are made up of two dissimilar curved trusses, triangular in section, with compression booms of tubular steel (CFS) and tension booms of solid steel. Both compression and tension members are curved – structural engineer Anthony Hunt described the trusses as "banana shaped". Curved, tapering trusses were later used to great effect at Kirklees Stadium in Huddersfield.[1]

The first Eurostar departure was on 14 November 1994, and the last service left on 13 November 2007.[5][6][7] From the next day Eurostar services used their new London terminus of St Pancras International.[8]

Post-Eurostar

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Ownership of Waterloo International station passed from London & Continental Railways to BRB (Residuary) Limited, with no clear plans for the future use of the Eurostar platforms.[9] Some reports had suggested that they might be used for shops,[10] but a parliamentary written answer of 4 June 2008 stated platform 20 was to be used by some South West Trains services from December 2008.[11] At the time of closure, Network Rail had no immediate plans to use the other four former international platforms for domestic use[12] and they were disused from November 2007.[13]

From 4 July 2010 to 2 January 2011 two of the disused platforms hosted theatrical performances of Edith Nesbit's The Railway Children.[14][15] The audience was seated either side of the actual railway track. The show includes the use of a steam engine, coupled to one of the original carriages from the 1970 film being shunted in and out of the theatre area as required by a Class 08 shunter.

All the former international platforms were temporarily used for regional services during the refurbishment of the main station from Christmas 2013.[16] Platform 20 came back into regular use for timetabled services in May 2014.[17][18]

In March 2016, it was announced that the platforms and terminal building were to be incorporated into the main station as part of an £800 million refurbishment.[19] In August 2017, the platforms were used temporarily while other platforms were upgraded, and after a further period of closure for redevelopment, they were permanently brought back into use in December 2018 (20, 21 and 22) and May 2019 (23 and 24).[20][21][22] The terminal building started a new life as a shopping centre called "The Siding" in late 2022.[23]

Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Terminus   South Western Railway
South West Main Line 		  Vauxhall
  Disused Railways  
Terminus   Eurostar
London to Paris/Brussels 		  Ashford
International

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Waterloo International Terminal". engineering-timelines.com. Archived from the original on 15 April 2014. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
  2. ^ Around the Regions Rail issue 134 1 November 1990 page 23
  3. ^ Bunting, Madeleine (2 December 1994). "Few passengers and trains but Waterloo's tunnel vision wins award for elegance". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  4. ^ Waterloo International - Building of the Year Rail issue 242 21 December 1994 page 10
  5. ^ Faultless start for Eurostars Rail issue 240 23 November 1994 page 9
  6. ^ "Waterloo International: 1994-2007". The Guardian. London. 13 November 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2007.
  7. ^ Farewell to Waterloo International The Railway Magazine issue 1281 January 2008 page 6
  8. ^ "St Pancras Eurostar service opens". BBC News. 14 November 2007. Archived from the original on 20 February 2009. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  9. ^ Bell, Dan (14 November 2006). "Terminal faces uncertain future". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 January 2007. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  10. ^ Murray, Dick (6 April 2005). "Shops plan for Waterloo International". Evening Standard. London. Archived from the original on 18 May 2008. Retrieved 14 November 2007.
  11. ^ "Waterloo Station: 4 June 2008: Hansard Written Answers". TheyWorkForYou.
  12. ^ "8-year wait till commuters can use all Waterloo Eurostar platforms". London SE1. Archived from the original on 4 September 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  13. ^ "Waterloo International terminal platform reopening delayed". London SE1. Archived from the original on 3 September 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2009.
  14. ^ Gritten, David (29 June 2010). "The Railway Children: weepie that will never run out of steam". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  15. ^ "Full steam ahead for The Railway Children at Waterloo International". London SE1. 30 June 2010. Archived from the original on 12 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Waterloo Station improvements to begin over Christmas". TRL. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 8 December 2013.
  17. ^ South West Trains launches 10-car Windsor line trains International Railway Journal 11 March 2014
  18. ^ "First significant step in re-opening Waterloo International". South West Trains. 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
  19. ^ "More platforms and longer trains for Waterloo station". BBC News. 23 March 2016. Archived from the original on 28 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  20. ^ "Old Eurostar Platforms Reopen at Waterloo Station". Londonist. 10 December 2018. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  21. ^ Horgan, Rob. "Waterloo opens revamped Eurostar terminal in £800M upgrade". New Civil Engineer. Archived from the original on 8 January 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
  22. ^ "Wessex improvement programme". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  23. ^ "Go-ahead to turn iconic Waterloo terminal into shopping mall". www.constructionenquirer.com. 3 November 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2017. Retrieved 24 February 2017.
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Media related to Waterloo International railway station at Wikimedia Commons