Stratford International station

Stratford International National Rail Docklands Light Railway
National Rail station entrance
Stratford International
Location of Stratford International in Greater London
Location Stratford (HS1)/East Village (DLR)
Local authority London Borough of Newham
Managed by Network Rail (High Speed) for HS1 Ltd
Docklands Light Railway
Owner London and Continental Railways
Transport for London
Station code SFA
Number of platforms 6 (4 National Rail,[1] 2 DLR)
Accessible Yes
Fare zone 2 (2/3 boundary on DLR only; special fares apply on National Rail))
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2012 1.644 million[2]
2013 Decrease 1.246 million[3]
2014 Increase 1.784 million[3]
2015 Increase 2.551 million[3]
2016 Increase 3.195 million[4]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2012–13 Increase 0.958 million[5]
– interchange  3,353[5]
2013–14 Decrease 0.928 million[5]
2014–15 Increase 1.075 million[5]
2015–16 Increase 1.632 million[5]
– interchange   12[5]
2016–17 Increase 2.136 million[5]
Railway companies
Original company London and Continental Railways
Key dates
30 November 2009 (30 November 2009) Opened (National Rail)
31 August 2011 Opened (DLR)
Other information
Lists of stations
External links
WGS84 51°32′41″N 0°00′31″W / 51.5448°N 0.0086°W / 51.5448; -0.0086Coordinates: 51°32′41″N 0°00′31″W / 51.5448°N 0.0086°W / 51.5448; -0.0086
London transport portal
UK Railways portal

Stratford International is the name of a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate, but nearby, Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station located in East Village in London and within the Greater London metropolitan area. Despite the station's name, no international services call there. The National Rail platforms are, however, served by domestic Southeastern trains on the High Speed 1 route originating at St. Pancras, with interchange to Eurostar trains (which are international) at either Ebbsfleet or Ashford. On the DLR it is a terminus – one of 7 end of the line termini – for local services via Canning Town.

Construction of the National Rail station was completed in 2006 but it only opened in 2009, for Southeastern services on HS1.[6][7] In 2011 an extension of the DLR was opened to connect Stratford International to the wider London public transport network and to the main Stratford station to the south. The DLR station is physically separate and across the road from the HS1 station. Oyster cards and contactless payment cards are valid for travel to and from Stratford International, with the DLR station in Travelcard zone 2/3, but special fares apply at the HS1 station.

The four-platform HS1 station is built within "Stratford Box", a 1.1-kilometre (0.7 mi) concrete-sided cutting, meaning the station is located below ground level.[8]:154 It is located near the centre of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, adjacent to the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.

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.[9]

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 main line 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.[8]: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.[10] 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

National Rail

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.[11]

The typical off-peak service will be:

  • 4tph (trains per hour) to St Pancras International (taking 7 minutes)
  • 2tph to Faversham with 1 continuing to Ashford via Ramsgate and Dover
  • 1tph to Margate via Ashford International and Canterbury West
  • 1tph to Dover Priory via Ashford International[11] continuing to Gravesend via Ramsgate and Faversham.

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.[12] To enable the domestic services to stop at platforms previously designed for Eurostar trains the platforms had to be raised.[13]

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. Its opening was originally planned for July 2010, but was delayed to 31 August 2011.[14]

Bus services

London Buses routes 97, 108, 308 and 339 and night route 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.[15] 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.[15] Critics derided the station as a white elephant.[16]

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.[17] 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."[16]

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.[15][17] 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.[18] However, Eurostar could not stop during the 2012 London Olympics[19] because of the high frequency of the Javelin service.[20]

There are several other potential operators that may use the station for International services including Deutsche Bahn's proposed London-Frankfurt service[21] and the "Transmanche Metro" project to Calais via local stations.[22]

Access and interchange

Stratford railway stations
 Stratford International
Docklands Light Railway
DLR via Canning Town
National Rail
High Speed 1
HL
Stratford
London Overground
North London line
National Rail
West Anglia Main Line
National Rail
Great Eastern Main Line
Crossrail
Great Eastern Main Line
Central line (London Underground)
Central line
Docklands Light Railway
DLR via Poplar
Jubilee Line
Jubilee line
LL
Docklands Light Railway
DLR via Canning Town
Docklands Light Railway
 Stratford High Street

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,[23] and Westfield Stratford City on 13 September 2011.[24] The bus service ran until 20 September.[25]

References

  1. ↑ "Extra trains for Westfield Stratford City opening" (Press release). Southeastern. 6 September 2011. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  2. ↑ Transport for London (12 February 2013). "Freedom of Information DLR usage 1213". Transport for London. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 "Up-to-date DLR entry/exit statistics for each station" (XLSX). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Passenger Numbers - Docklands Light Railway Limited" (XLSX (after downloading zip)). What Do They Know. Transport for London. 8 June 2017. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Station usage estimates". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  6. ↑ "High speed". Southeastern.
  7. ↑ Webster, Ben (21 April 2006). "Ghost train station that cost £210m". The Times. Retrieved 20 July 2006.
  8. 1 2 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.
  9. ↑ "Eurostar unveils Ebbsfleet International Station as new high-speed gateway to continental Europe". eurostar.com. 12 September 2006. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  10. ↑ SI 2001/1451 The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (Stratford Station and Subsidiary Works) Order 2001 (No. 1451) at the Statute Law Database
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Southeastern: High Speed timetable" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.
  12. ↑ Southeastern. "Olympics timetable High Speed". Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  13. ↑ Tom Edwards. "Stratford platforms raised to host Javelin trains". Retrieved 4 February 2013.
  14. ↑ "Docklands Light Railway extension marks one year to go to the London 2012 Paralympic Games". Retrieved 31 August 2011.
  15. 1 2 3 Webster, Ben (21 April 2006). "Ghost train station that cost £210m". The Times. London.
  16. 1 2 Stratford needs Eurostar, warns boss of Olympic mall Evening Standard. Ross Lydall, 9 September 2010
  17. 1 2 Make Eurostar stop at Stratford International, ministers urged Evening Standard. Rob Lydall 17 February 2010
  18. ↑ News from Andrew Boff: Stratford International is white elephant, says Boff Greater London Authority, Andrew Boff 26 May 2010
  19. ↑ Eurostar 'will not stop' at Stratford International BBC Accessed 25 May 2010
  20. ↑ 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
  21. ↑ Jameson, Angela (10 March 2010). "Deutsche Bahn may run London to Frankfurt service". The Times. London. Retrieved 2 April 2010.
  22. ↑ "Commuter trains from Calais to Kent 'could be running before 2012 Olympics', claims French mayor". Daily Mail. 5 February 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2010.
  23. ↑ "Docklands Light Railway opens to Stratford International". Railway Gazette International. 31 August 2011.
  24. ↑ "Westfield Group Press Release". Westfield UK. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
  25. ↑ Stratford International details, nationalrail.co.uk, accessed 14 September 2011 archive
Preceding station   DLR   Following station
TerminusDocklands Light Railway
National Rail
London St. Pancras International   Southeastern
High Speed 1		   Ebbsfleet International
    Ashford International

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