St Pancras International

MICHELLE
THINK THEY SHOULD BOTH HAVE IT

Simon Monger, Nottingham
It's all very well saying that Eurostar shouldn't have left Waterloo, but being at St Pancras means that people from "Up North" can also make the most of links to the continent. Running from both stations would be inefficient and might cause unnecessary confusion.And I agree with you, Mark; it is a shame that they didn't plan ahead a little better.

Mark
The authorities have known for years that Eurostar was leaving Waterloo. Yet nothing has been planned. Pathetic.

alison
terrible, it was lovely having eurostar from waterloo, st pancras is a horrible area and not as charismatic

Al, London
to utilise all track there should be both southeastern and south west train services running from the station, services from waterloo to brixton and beyond could commence, and network rail could make waterloo the main station for south of london travel maybe even some first great western services to bristol and beyong, using the existing south west trains line to reading, and joining on to the gwml at reading.

Robert, London
My theory is that Eurostar caved in to Peer Pressure from our continental cousins across the channel, they moved out of Waterloo as too many bad memories were being brought to a head when travellers were welcomed to 'Waterloo'. Lets just hope nobody who has bad thoughts about bone marrow will be coming to our new state-of-the art North London Station.

Roger Clark
A strategy for efficiently re using the Eurostar Platforms should have been worked out prior to the cessation of Eurostar Trains. The volume of traffic using Waterloo makes this advisable. Where I live at WALTON ON THAMES, play was made about recent improvements in train services. In reality the off peak trains were improved, but the rush hour services were significantly degraded. A feature is that half our evening rush hour trains operate into short (8 coach) capacity platforms at Waterloo, whilst out local platforms can take 12 coaches.

PH
Why can't they run Eurostar trains from Waterloo AND St Pancras?

anominus
I think that Eurostar should have stayed at london waterloo as it is so central. or even a one a day serveice

A rail user
Why not make a link from London Waterloo to the Thameslink? That way we can provide direct connection to St Pancras.

jordan
so as my most common company i go with they will take the waterloo international space and when i hear this it is just brilliant and no more worries about waiting for the next train to come and they can fit more carts in to it so that is just excellent toi hear!.

AG, the north-west
St Pancra's will be fantastic and please don't forget - it's not all about you [people from the south-west]. You'll just have to do what we have done for years only it will be QUICKER transferring

sonia Claris
During gap year, why not have a market along the platforms during the day and art/music events in the evenings?Also...Eurostars run often but not every 3 minutes...could the line including the fast track from Ashoford not be used now for commuters?!

Anon
I would prefer St. Pancras because it has a far more better atmosphere than any other London station. It is beautiful and it has a lot of history.I would describe St. Pancras as beautiful and romantic. I love St. Pancras! The thing that is good about Waterloo is that is has a lot more attractions to offer such as the National Theatre, bfI IMAX Cinema, London Eye. Royal Festival Hall and these are top attractions in London and Waterloo is very close to these attractions.Also, you can see the Houses of Parliament, the London Eye and the River Thames from the station and that is what I think is going to be missing for many Eurostar passengers.St. Pancras is not only a station but it is also a great attraction but there are not much attractions nearby except for the British Museum.I think that the Waterloo International platforms such be used for the proposed Heathrow AirTrack because this line will also have a direct service to the airport like the Heathrow Connect and Heathrow Express runs from the Paddington branch. The SWT area is quite close to Heathrow.Also it should be used for a few SWT services to increase capacity and reduce congestion especially in the Windsor area.Just to let you know that there is NOW a direct bus service from Waterloo to St. Pancras. It's the bus route 59, operated by Arriva for London Buses.

Londster (Marylebone)
While I understand the complaints of those from South London and beyond, I rarely, if ever, heard anyone from North, West or East, declaring they would use the airports rather than travel South to Waterloo. In reverse, it's been moan, moan, moan! There are 2 local tube stations and several lines and bus routes to St Pancras. I have used Waterloo which was ok(ish) to get to early in the morning, but a nightmare to get home from if on a late night Eurostar. Maybe maintaining a route to Ashford is feasible, something for those making the decisions to consider.

Alan R.
The new high-speed line from St. Pancras and its use as the sole line for Eurostar, makes the Eurostar services vulnerable. What happens when this line is interrupted for any reason? The whole of Eurostar stops, this could last for days, even weeks. Much better to retain Waterloo as a second line for Eurostar, to avoid interruption as above, and to keep those travellers from the south happy without the need to trek across London with inadequate public transport.

Anon
We could make an express from Waterloo to Ebbsfleet which stops at Clapham Junction. The route would go via Clapham Junction, Balham, Dulwich, Peckham Rye, Brockley, Lewisham, Blackheath, Woolwich Arsenal, Abbey Wood and Dartford (but only stopping at Clapham Junction on the way). We could also make a link so that trains can run from Basingstoke and Woking to St. Pancras low level via Wimbledon, Streetham, Herne Hill, Camberwell, Elephant and Castle, Blackfriars, City Thameslink and Farringdon. I mean, come on, it's not that tricky!

Ian Church
There should be a high speed, or semi high speed, connection retained between Waterloo and Ashford for those people from the south and southeast of London. It also provides the opportunity for services from Waterloo to the north west of London, which is a poorly served area from the south of London.

PETER HAWKINS
wHY NOT REVERT BACK TO USINGTHE EUROSTAR PLATFORM FOR WINDSOR LINE SERVICES LIKE THEY USED TO BE AS THE OLD PLATFORMS 16 TO 21?

Tim (another one)
I hope that what Paul mentioned about SNCF running services into Waterloo from France is true because that would be excellent to have the two services and a choice for customers. However I don't think that SWT need more platforms at Waterloo.What Paul Jeffries said about SWT fast services is a nice idea though, perhaps SWT or another TOC (Train Operating Company) could run fast and more direct services using the empty platforms.Then again, perhaps there could be a service similar to Heathrow Connect taking passengers from Waterloo International to Ashford and onto Calais but cheaper than Eurostar. This could be a like a budget airline simply providing semi-comfy trains with a buffet or trolley service, but that would probably require some work done to allow for these trains to not get in the way of Eurostar services.The freight terminal idea is a good one too but that would probably be quite limited due to the track layouts outside of thestation.In the meantime, why not block off the ends of the platforms and follow Dans idea of making it a center for homeless people whilst the DoT works out what to do -- which they should have done *AGES* ago!!!

mr gardham
i worked on therailways in the 50sand the work load was very busy train in loop lines behind each other .waiting to get into sidings, to be shunted and re marsheled into other trains ,what ever had to be done to them, and sent on the way,hidyke iron ore train for scunthorpe crews where often on overtime because they couldnt get into the steel works etc, and the fish trains out of Grimsby, some had to be double headed, spl in the to cleethorpes skegness. black pool, in the summer with miner`s club outings from all over,yorkshire etc ,the sideings where full just to mention a few, and down south spls on all the seaside resorts extra tains on the sevices, and all full, and beeching comes along and cut out the line and rerouts some ,anybody with an ounce of matter could have done what he did , the spent billions ,and he comes along and throws it all away,built new steam engines with a short life, and rolling stock,new diesels now scrapped, yesthey can build as many stations as they like,but in the end of the day,it doesent say the trains will be longer, as we have to look at them now two, four, carrigages, when trains on long distantces. 12 ,13 16coaches, i think its 6@7 .now ,@ people still standing , i think they should just leave it as it is , and dont waste any more money, of the tax payers. the goverment should bring it back to how it was , takeing plenty of traffic, and make money to plough back into the systm instead of filling the fat cats with the money .

Bill MacLeod
I really don't understand why Waterloo couldn't have continued with slower services with Eurostar and express out of St Pancras.I also agree with comments that the DOT have had 7 years notice to think of ways of using the now redundant Waterloo iNTERNATIONAL.

Christopher Rayner
This is typical bad English planning, Im sure if you asked Deutsche Bahn would be interested in running trains into London From Germany !!! you could use the station tomorrow with no major works needed !!

laurent-françois douglas
Everytime I go in london. I used to stay close to saint pancras. from now I'll will be easer than before for me to go in my hotel. This rail station is really magic and unique in the world. However I afraid that camden and around loses quiet and intimity.

Tim
Apparently the Eurostars have already been modified so that they can no longer use the old routes through South London, which don't have overhead power supply. That completely rules out any return to Waterloo. I guess if the high speed line has to close for any reason, then the service will simply stop as there won't be an alternative route for the trains to use. It all seems rather short-sighted to me.

Gary Parsons
Having recently used Waterloo international shortly before it closed I can say two things, firstly it was a fantastic station and secondly it was slightly too small for Eurostars needs. Personnally I would like to see Waterloo domestic redone much to the standard of the International Part, then see both parts of the station intergrated together. The extra platform space then being used for maybe Airtrack to Heathrow.

John Evans
I, like others living in Hampshire will not want to trek across London using its poor transport facilities to St Pancras in order to get to Europe a few minutes faster. So Heathrow and Gatwick be prepared for an increase in air passengers and more cars because of the short sightedness of removing ALL Euro train services from Waterloo.

Rob Healy
It is not at all feasible for Eurostar to have 2 main termini in London. I also think people are forgetting the main thing about the 5 platforms at Waterloo: They are not joined to the main SWT network apart from the shared track at Vauxhall. Waterloo International was a separate station so is not possible to 'revert' to former use - it didn't have any! Anyway; I agree with the AirTrack suggestion which would involve some modifications.Not only have Eurostar abandoned Waterloo - there is also the maintenance facility at North Pole junction, Acton which is sitting empty now. Some other company could use that rather than let it go to waste!.

Jack Smith
If St Pancras can have domestic high speed services to Ebbsfleet, Ashford and beyond, then why can't there be one put in place on the SWT lines. The station was designed to take high speed trains, so why not continue with that operation. As for underneath the platforms, new shops, toilets, resturants, cafes etc should be put in place to at least keep up with the competition of what is on offer at St Pancras

Philip Arshad
i have used waterloo and although the international bit is the only good bit, the rest of the station, including access is absolutley awful. to be honest, it is embarrassing that the brits are not as good as the euros at getting their contruction right (usually due to greedy bosses and stingy spending). the platforms should be left ot be used by the public, and the rest of the station be upgraded to suit.

JAMES LEWIS Jnr
Why can't there be a Free or cheap overground train or even a bus service from Waterloo to St Pancras or Kings Cross for Eurostar passengers only. Eurostar need not have a massive base at Waterloo just a ticket office. It would help those from the South area of London get to St Pancras without having to use the tube. Also what about those very early Eurostar departures the tube is packed. It would help to have a Eurostar passenger only service.

A SWT Driver
The problem with using Waterloo International for the longer distance SWT services is the layout around Waterloo. If you want to start a Mainline train from the former Waterloo International terminal it means you have to cross the entire set of Windsor lines, it therefore causes pathing problems for trains running on those Windsor lines.So it's not so easy to use it as you think!Why not let FCC use it when it loses Moorgate? It would provide an easy way for passengers to get from South West London to North London without using the heavily congested tube!

Dan
As know one has thought of what to do with it after 13 years, the simpliest use would be. They should remove the hoarding now places infront of entrances and give the platforms to the homeless to create a cardboard city as they had in Waterloo before except where as everyone could see them in the bullring the International platforms are hidden away and so they will be hidden away from the public and in one place.

paul jeffries
working within the industry i feel the the platforms at Waterloo can be used for the services operated by SWT on thier fast services and their long distance ones ie Weymouth Exeter Portsmouth. they are all 12 car capacity and the current platforms CAN take these trains

André ( Paris France)
My French daugther, with her English husband and children are living near by Twickenham. Waterloo station was very convenient to board a suburban train to Twickenham or County Kent, not only for tourism but for business too !!! When they decided to transfer Eurostar from Waterloo to St Pancras no "deciding authority" took care of south londoners and visitors.I think that some trains could have still arrive at Waterloo station.....Even if Waterloo reminds me a defeat !!! and I will miss my drink in one of the "Bonaparte pubs" in Waterloo station....

Anon
Why not increase services on the line from Basingstoke-Exeter? After all, although the trains that use it are slower, it is actually more direct and not constricted by the 'Reading Bottleneck'. A rare short-distance Eurostar service sounds good, but failing that, why not include Waterloo in the Thameslink? A link from the far west platforms of former Waterloo International to Waterloo East, where the trains reverse at a new bay platform at London Bridge (which is having rebuilding work), before heading to Blackfriars, and St Pancras low level?

Nicky Binder
As we know in the private sector...it is profit over people. These decision makers do not understand what providing a public service means.SWT are a perfect example.We need people with vision who can understand that retaining a European rail link at Waterloo makes is cost effective and makes absolute sense for us all in London.Dare to make it happen for us all!

Jeroen Kemperman
It would've been nice if the platforms would have already been handed over now, and could be used by SWT as of December when the new timetable will go into effect.Running a few services into Waterloo still was something that Eurostar considered, but found patronage for that to be too low. I think that using the extra capacity for commuter services is more important anyway.Since the trains are going to be losing their capacity to run on third rail and the drivers will soon lose route knowledge, I don't think Waterloo will ever see a Eurostar again.It would have been nice if there was a direct tube from Waterloo to St. Pancras, but taking the Bakerloo and changing cross-platform for the Victoria at Oxford Circus is quite fast and relatively easy. There are also direct bus services between the two.At least Thameslink will provide South-London with trains straight to St. Pancras now, which does make up for the loss.

Lee Carpenter
As mentioned, surely there is logic in keeping some Eurostar services running from Waterloo. Anyone coming into Waterloo (or Waterloo East)luggage has a nightmare journey to St Pancras. It doesn't need to be a full blown service, but a few trains a day. The remainder of thge platforms could be used by SWT, especially those able to accomodate longer platforms.

Anon
The DoT should have decided on the Waterloo International platforms a long time ago because Eurostar did give 7 years notice.I think the DoT could have decided but it doesn't look that they did.Even though South West Trains is likely to get hold of these platforms, there is also the proposed Heathrow AirTrack service which is proposed to run from Waterloo, Richmond, Feltham to the new Heathrow Terminal 5.Maybe it depends on proposed services.

Daniel Paz
I think its not a very good idea at least they should keep Waterloo open they have time and money why don't they do it people got off at waterloo and sais there's the london eye and eurostar Waterloo International should open back with Eurostar!!

Rik
Why can't they run fast trains to Heathrow and Gatwick from the old Eurostar platforms at Waterloo ?

Paul
Could we have direct trains from Camberley again please?

David
I'm glad southwest trains are getting more capacity, they really need it, however it would be good if they also used a small part of the station for rail freight after all it is meant to be ‘greener’ than by road and there will be a lot of room under the station which will now not be used that could be used for storage/loading.

Jason Rule
I believe that they should run local stopping services to Paris from Waterloo (i.e. Waterloo-Ashford-Calais-Amiens-Paris) and express from St. Pancras: it would make sure that the terminal would not go to waste.Another more fanciful idea would be to run the Orient Express into Waterloo for direct service through the Chunnel to the Continent! That would upset the Victoria crowd, though...

Robert Nix
St Pancras will open up the market for north of London rail travel to the near Continent, but this will be at the expense of some business from south of the River. I cannot understand why this market is being neglected. A train (say) every three hours from Waterloo to Paris stopping at Ashford and Lille would prove popular. I guess we will not see this happen because of the high costs associated with passport and security controls. How sad. When Eurostar started, passports were checked on the train and luggage subject to random checks. I am sure passports could again be checked on the train, and I hope technology would enable luggage also to examined on the train between Waterloo and Ashford (with "suspect" luggage de-trained at Ashford). As far as I am aware, people and luggage in cars using the Channel Tunnel Shuttle trains are not subject to the airport style checks now considered obligatory with Eurostar, yet the risk is the same. The result is that Eurostar services are not reaching their full potential (by abandoning the market presented by Waterloo).

Kevin
Doesn't anyone think that £130m is a lot to spend on a station that has only been used for 13 years and is now to revert to its former use as part of the domestic Waterloo Station?

John Daly
Eurostar gave 7 years notice to vacate Waterloo. Why has the DoT waited til now to decide on its future?It only takes a couple of barriers and partitions to reconfigure at station.

Sean Rea
Wicked, sounds fantastic. South Eastern could do with some more frequent services too, on the dartford lines particularly.

Chris Rogers
I entirely agree that the old Eurostar platforms at Waterloo should be used to provide additional capacity for South West Trains. Linked with this should be major investment in signalling through much of the SW Trains network to allow trains to run at more frequent intervals (as on the Underground) and lengthening of platforms at many stations to allow use by longer trains.

Paul
I can see there is a need for Eurostar to have a larger Londaon Terminal and I am very impressed with the revamped St Pancras. However I am very dissapointed with the reduction in services from Ashford International, because for passengers from Surrey, Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Devon; it would be easier to travel by rail from Waterloo East to Ashford, than by underground from Waterloo to Kings Cross St Pancras with a change at Oxford Circus. Not very easy with luggage. Ebbsfleet is not an alternative to Ashford International, because it it only road connected to the M25. I can only hope that there is some truth in the rumour that SNCF may be interested in running services from London Waterloo & Ashford International to Lille and Paris!!