PLANS REVEALED FOR WATERLOO PLATFORM EXTENSIONS
Published at 20:00 on Monday 4th April 2016
Tags: Waterloo, SWT, South West Trains, DfT, Department for Transport
How the new concourse in front of the former International platforms will look from 2018. Network Rail
Plans have been revealed that will result in significant investment at Britain’s busiest London terminus.
More than £800 million is to be invested over the next three years to increase capacity, allowing Waterloo station to cope with a forecast 40% increase in passenger journeys over the next 25 years. The majority of the station and infrastructure improvements are funded by the Department for Transport as part of Network Rail’s £40 billion Railway Upgrade Plan.
When complete, more trains than ever will arrive and leave London Waterloo every hour during the busiest times of the day, paving the way for improvements to longer distance routes into London Waterloo and long-term digital railway systems required to meet the increasing demand for the rail services projected. The investment between now and 2019 will rebuild the former Waterloo International Terminal, allowing platforms 20-24 to be brought back into use with modern facilities, new track and signalling and a layout suitable for thousands of domestic passengers.
In addition, Platforms 1-4 are to be extended to allow longer 10-car trains to run on the London suburban network. This work will take place during August 2017 and will require significant changes to the passenger timetable. The space in front of the former Eurostar terminal is to be used to create a spacious, modern and accessible station concourse.
The improvements at Waterloo will be complemented by enhancements at Vauxhall and Surbiton stations to increase capacity and improve passenger journeys. The work will also include lengthening platforms at stations on the route to Reading, at Ascot Bracknell, Camberley, Chertsey, Egham, Feltham, Martins Heron, Sunningdale, Virginia Water and Wokingham, and the introduction of the new Siemens Class 707 ‘Desiro City’ trains from mid-2017 between Waterloo and Windsor & Eton Riverside.
Work on the former Waterloo International started last month, with Platform 20 due to open in February next year for public services. Because of the track layout, Platforms 1-8 are to be closed entirely for 23 days in August 2017 to allow Platforms 1-4 to be extended to allow 10-car length units. The full work, with all 24 platforms
open to services, is due to be completed by December 2018.
