Waterloo station

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London Waterloo
Location
Place	South Bank
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Coordinates	51°30′11.8″N, 0°6′48.6″W
Operations
Managed by	Network Rail
Platforms in use	19
National Rail
Station code	WAT
Annual entry/exit	62.388 million *
Transport for London
Zone	1
History
1848 1994	Opened Start of international services
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail
* based on sales of tickets in 2004/05 financial year which end or originate at this station. Disclaimer (PDF)
UK Rail Portal

London Waterloo railway station is a major railway station and transport interchange complex in London, England. It is located in the London Borough of Lambeth, near to the South Bank. The complex comprises four linked railway stations and a bus station. The whole complex is within Travelcard Zone 1.

According to the station usage figures for 2004-5 London Waterloo is the busiest station in the UK.

Contents 1 Naming 2 Waterloo mainline station 3 Waterloo International 4 Waterloo East 5 Waterloo Underground station 6 Waterloo Pier 7 Cultural references 8 External links 9 References

[edit] Naming

The station is named after the Battle of Waterloo in which Napoleon was defeated near Brussels. Somewhat ironically, it is now London's gateway for train passengers from France and Belgium. In 1998, French politician Florent Longuepée wrote to British Prime Minister Tony Blair demanding unsuccessfully that the station be renamed on the grounds that the name is insensitive to French visitors. [1] This issue will become irrelevant when Eurostar services switch to the redeveloped St Pancras station in late 2007.

[edit] Waterloo mainline station

The original mainline Waterloo Station was opened on 11 July 1848 by the London and South Western Railway (L&SWR). It was first laid out as a through station with the original (unrealised) intention of running mainline trains to the City. The station became increasingly ramshackle and cluttered as the 19th century went on. Not only was there confusion on the part of the passengers because there were three separate but very close stations named 'Waterloo' (the L&SWR station, a much smaller station built by the South Eastern Railway, now called Waterloo East and a station for the Necropolis Railway, but the complex series of junctions, signals and elevated sections on the approach to the station often caused confusion on the part of railway staff. The L&SWR's station was especially complex and rambling, and included a railway line running across the main concourse and out through an archway in the station building for (very rare) connecting services to the South Eastern's station. The complexity and confusion at Waterloo became the subject of many jokes by writers and music hall comics - the best known probably being the incident in Jerome K. Jerome's book Three Men in A Boat when no one at Waterloo knows where the train the characters need is to be found, or when it leaves or where it goes.

Finally the decision was taken to tear the whole thing down and begin again. Construction began on the new station in 1900 and continued until 1922, with the new station boasting 21 platforms and a concourse nearly 800 feet (244 m) long. However, it was badly damaged during World War II and required considerable reconstruction thereafter.

Following the privatisation of British Rail in the 1990s, ownership and management of Waterloo was transferred to Railtrack, and subsequently to Network Rail. Trains run to the south-west of England and are mostly operated by South West Trains.

The station is linked to the South Bank by an elevated walkway. It was once possible to walk directly by elevated walkways and footbridges all the way from the concourse of Waterloo to that of Charing Cross railway station on the north side of the River Thames, but the demolition of part of the Waterloo walkway and the reconstruction of the Hungerford Footbridge means that that is no longer possible.

One now-vanished curiosity of Waterloo is that it was originally the terminus for London's daily funeral express to Brookwood Cemetery. Funerary trains bearing coffins (at 2/6 each - singles, naturally) left from the 'Necropolis Station' just outside the main station. The Necropolis Station was almost completely destroyed during World War II.^[1]

Another curiosity that is now long gone is the wooden indicator boards that were used right up until the late 1970s. These rotating board were a marvel of their time - 1940s? - and endured so long simply because they were so attractive. Their black metal replacements were less mourned when replaced in 2005 with plasma screens located as a group in the main concourse and one screen by each platform. These are to be replaced between February and March 2007 with LED screens located above the platforms in the original location of the 'destination information'. Waterloo station however remains the most attractive and spacious of all London mainline stations.

There is a large four faced clock hanging in the middle of the main concourse. Meeting "under the clock at Waterloo station" was a traditional rendezvous for people planning to travel together or arriving from separate locations.^{[citation needed]}

Left luggage service is available between platforms 11 and 12. The charge per item is six pounds for 24 hours.^{[citation needed]} Waterloo has an excellent Lost Property [2] service with courteous staff and an efficient online form and contact service, with a minimal charge. Waterloo is one of two rail termini in London not to have either a direct connection, or a connection within easy walking distance, to the Circle Line (the other being London Bridge).

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		South West Trains		Vauxhall

[edit] Waterloo International

Waterloo International
Location
Place	South Bank
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Operations
Managed by	Eurostar
Platforms in use	5
Transport for London
Zone	1
History
1994 2007	Opened Planned to close
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail

Waterloo International station adjoins Waterloo mainline station and has its own two-level concourse and train shed. It is the current London terminus for Eurostar trains to Belgium and France. The station is managed by Eurostar.

It was built in the early 1990s at a cost of £130 million[3] to a design by the architects Nicholas Grimshaw & Partners. The station was widely praised for its architecture, and won a variety of awards on its opening in 1994. Its most impressive feature is a 400 m-long glass canopy consisting of 37 prismatic, three-pinned bowstring arches of varying spans, designed by Anthony Hunt Associates.

French politicians have occasionally complained that trains from Paris terminate at Waterloo, as the station is named after the 1815 battle at which Napoleon's army was defeated by the British. However, Austerlitz Station in Paris also commemorates a Napoleonic battle, that of Austerlitz in 1805. The matter will however be moot as of 14 November 2007, when the Channel Tunnel Rail Link is completed. From then, Eurostar trains will terminate at St Pancras station thus making Waterloo International redundant. It will then revert to the ownership of the Department for Transport who will determine how it is to be used in the future.

Options being considered include converting it to offices and a shopping centre or converting it for use by South West Trains for its long-distance services to Weymouth and other regional routes. This would, however, involve considerable remodelling and reconstruction of the rail approaches to the station, and while South West Trains supports in principle the use of the terminal for its own services after Eurostar has left it, the costs associated with this option are a significant deterrent. However, at the present time, Government proposals do indicate a willingness to convert these platforms. [4]

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Terminus		Eurostar		Ashford International

[edit] Waterloo East

Main article: Waterloo East railway station

Waterloo East is an adjoining station to Waterloo. It is connected via a footbridge and therefore forms as an interchange with trains to the South Coast and Kent. It is however classed as a separate station. It is operated by Southeastern.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
London Charing Cross		Southeastern		London Bridge
		Southern

[edit] Waterloo Underground station

Waterloo Underground
Location
Place	South Bank
Local authority	London Borough of Lambeth
Operations
Managed by	London Underground
Platforms in use	8
Transport for London
Zone	1
Annual entry/exit	68.427 million †
History
1898 1906 1926 1999	W&CR opened station BS&WR started Northern Line started Jubilee Line started
Transport for London List of London stations: Underground | National Rail
† Data from Transport for London [5]
London Transport Portal

Waterloo tube station is a London Underground station. It is on the Bakerloo Line between Lambeth North and Embankment, the Jubilee Line between Westminster and Southwark, the Northern Line between Kennington and Embankment, and the Waterloo & City Line leading to Bank.

The first underground station at Waterloo was opened on 8 August 1898 by the Waterloo & City Railway (W&CR) a subsidiary of the L&SWR. By doing so the W&CR, nicknamed "the Drain", achieved in a limited way the L&SWR's original plan of taking its tracks the short distance north-east into the City. The Baker Street and Waterloo Railway (BS&WR, now the Bakerloo Line) started serving Waterloo on 10 March 1906. On 13 September 1926, the extension of the Hampstead and Highgate Line (as the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line was then known) was opened from Embankment to the existing City & South London Railway station Kennington with a new station at Waterloo.

The Jubilee Line station opened on 20 November 1999 as part of the Jubilee Line Extension project. The Jubilee platforms are at the opposite end of the site from those of the Bakerloo and Northern lines, but the two ends are connected by a 140 m (460 ft) moving walkway link - one of only two on the Underground. (The other is at the Waterloo & City Line at Bank.)

Previous station		London Underground		Next station
Embankment toward Harrow & Wealdstone		Bakerloo Line		Lambeth North toward Elephant & Castle
Embankment toward Edgware, Mill Hill East or High Barnet		Northern Line		Kennington Terminus
Westminster toward Stanmore		Jubilee Line		Southwark toward Stratford
Terminus		Waterloo & City Line		Bank Terminus

[edit] Waterloo Pier

River services operate from Waterloo Pier next to the London Eye.

Preceding Pier	London River Services			Following Pier
Embankment Pier		Catamaran Cruisers		Terminus
Bankside Pier		Catamaran Cruisers
Bankside Pier		Tate to Tate		Millbank Pier
St Katharine's Pier		London Eye to Tower		Terminus
Westminster Pier		Tower and Greenwich		Tower Pier

[edit] Cultural references

• Waterloo station and the Waterloo Underground station are the setting for the classic Kinks song 'Waterloo Sunset'.
• The station is also the subject of John Schlesinger's award-winning documentary film Terminus.

[edit] External links

• Station information for Waterloo station from Network Rail
• Train times and station information for Waterloo station from National Rail (Station code: WAT)
• Train times and station information for Waterloo East from National Rail (Station code: WAE)
• London's Transport Museum Photographic Archive
  • Waterloo Underground Station Bakerloo Line entrance to station in 1925
  • Waterloo Underground Station building in 1964 after rebuild
  • Waterloo Mainline station in 1925
• Waterloo Station Central Telephone Enquiry Bureau (CTEB) History

[edit] References

1. ^ http://www.historyplace.com/specials/clarke.htm

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