Stratford International station

"Stratford International" redirects here. For the University of the same name, see Stratford International University.

Stratford International

High Speed 1 Station entrance
Stratford International Location of Stratford International in Greater London
Location	Stratford
Local authority	London Borough of Newham
Managed by	Southeastern
Owner	London and Continental Railways
Station code	SFA
Number of platforms	4 for National Rail and 2 for DLR, 6 in total
Accessible
Fare zone	3 (DLR services only)
National Rail annual entry and exit
2009–10	69,436
- interchange	16
30 November 2009 (30 November 2009)	Opened (Southeastern)
31 August 2011	Opened (DLR)
Lists of stations	DLR · Underground · National Rail · Tramlink
External links	Departures • Layout
	Facilities • Buses

Stratford International station is a main line railway and Docklands Light Railway station located in Stratford in the London Borough of Newham in northeast London, United Kingdom. The station opened on 30 November 2009 for Southeastern services on High Speed 1, although the station building was completed in April 2006.

It is located adjacent to the construction site of the London Olympic Park and the recently 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. 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.

Background

The station is on the High Speed 1 railway between St. Pancras and Ebbsfleet International. Much of the surrounding land is currently a construction site as it lies just inside the eastern boundary of the London Olympic Park, which is being built for the 2012 Summer Olympics.

High Speed 1 station concourse

It is situated about 400 yards (370 m) from nearby Stratford Regional, which is a major Transport for London and commuter rail hub. The station has four platforms (two outer and two on the central island), and is bisected by a single-track inclined viaduct rising to the east along the length of the island platforms.

This is used by empty Eurostar trains to leave the station trench to reach the depot at Temple Mills. Fast tracks run between each pair of platforms. The tracks descend into tunnel at both ends of the station (the station platforms are at a higher level than the tunnels) and the outer (international) platforms have a noticeable dip at the east end. There is a waiting room on the island platforms, but not on the outer platforms.

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.

Services

Domestic high-speed services

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

• 4tph (trains per hour) to St Pancras International (taking 7 minutes)
• 2tph to Faversham
• 1tph to Margate via Ashford International and Canterbury West
• 1tph to Dover Priory via Ashford International

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

During the 2012 Olympic Games, a service of eight trains an hour is planned between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, calling at Stratford, replacing the highspeed 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.

DLR station soon after opening in 2011

Docklands Light Railway

The Docklands Light Railway extension to Stratford International consists of a short new line from Stratford International to Stratford Regional 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. Orginally planned to open in July 2010 this was delayed to 31 August 2011.

Stratford stations
Legend DLR Stratford Int'l   HS1 Stratford Regional (high level)  NLL HL  Lea Valley Lines HL  GEML HL  Central line HL  DLR via Poplar Stratford Regional (low level) Stratford High Street (ex-Stratford Market) DLR via Canning Town Jubilee line

Bus services

London Buses route 97, London Buses route 241, London Buses route 339 and London Buses route D8 bus routes serve Stratford City Bus Station, adjacent to the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. It is planned that London buses route W14 join them after the 2012 games as part of a wide provision of bus services through the Olympic Park.

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. However at the station's opening Eurostar did not wish to stop its trains at the station due to low demand and increased journey time, and critics hailed the station as a white elephant. 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.

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. 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.”

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. 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.

Eurostar will review stopping at this station after the 2012 London Olympics but cannot stop during the games due to the high frequency of the Javelin service. There are a number of other potential operators that may use the station for International services including Deutsche Bahn's proposed London-Frankfurt service and the "Transmanche Metro" project to Calais via local stations.

Access and interchange

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.^{[citation needed]}

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 Regional. The DLR station opened on 31 August 2011, and Westfield Stratford City on 13 September 2011. The bus service ran until 20 September.

References

Preceding station		DLR		Following station
Terminus		Docklands Light Railway		Stratford towards Beckton or Woolwich Arsenal
National Rail
St. Pancras International		Southeastern High Speed 1		Ebbsfleet International, Gravesend or Ashford International
	Future services
Old Oak Common		TBA High Speed 2		Ebbsfleet International