FIRST SIGNIFICANT STEP IN RE-OPENING WATERLOO INTERNATIONAL TERMINAL
- Platform 20 able to accommodate passenger services for first time in six years for contingencies
- Full timetabled service to use platform from May 2014
Waterloo’s former international terminal started to come to life today (23 October) as the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance took its first steps to re-open one of the five platforms at the facility six months ahead of schedule.
Platform 20 welcomed the first passenger train service in over six years, following a special agreement put in place between the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance and the Department for Transport.
It means Platform 20 can be used to provide extra capacity at London Waterloo, the UK’s busiest station.
Preparations are continuing to bring Platform 20 fully into use for timetabled services from May 2014. It will help accommodate the 108 additional carriages which will be introduced from this winter to provide extra capacity for around 23,000 peak time passengers every day.
Six months ahead of its full opening, Platform 20 can be used when needed to relieve congestion at the station during times of disruption. Previously, there has been no spare capacity at Waterloo station. During disruption, the station can become heavily congested with trains arriving every minute at peak travelling times. Now Platform 20 will provide extra flexibility at the station and mean that passenger disruption will be minimised.
Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance, said: “This is the first step in our plan to provide extra capacity to and from the UK’s busiest station by re-opening the former Waterloo International Terminal and delivering additional carriages on our busiest routes.
“Over the coming months, we’ll be completing our driver training programme and ensuring that all of our trains are ready for the full re-opening of Platform 20 in May 2014. In the lead up to that, we have worked with the Department for Transport to successfully secure approval six months ahead of the full opening to help provide an improved service for our passengers.
"We operate one of the busiest commuter rail networks in Europe. Inevitably, due to the large volume of trains we run, there are times when our services are disrupted and Waterloo station becomes extremely congested. With nearly 95 million people passing through Waterloo station alone every year, having access to an additional, spare platform will allow us to help customers by reducing delays and providing greater flexibility to recover when things do go wrong.
“This is a great example of the innovative working by the Alliance to deliver significant improvements for passengers.”
Under the new arrangements agreed with the Department for Transport and London & Continental, who have retained ownership of the former international terminal, from today (23 October) train services will be able to use Platform 20 during times of disruption. The contractual agreement with the Department for Transport will start officially from May 2014 when timetabled train services will start using Platform 20 on a permanent basis.
Rail Minister Baroness Kramer said: "This is great news for the thousands of commuters who use services in and out of Waterloo. Those of us who frequently use South West Trains will be delighted that the former Eurostar platform can at last be used to improve domestic journeys.
"Our railways are carrying record numbers of passengers on record numbers of journeys. The Government wants to see increased capacity and improved services for passengers, which is why we are investing billions to upgrade our rail network and making sure we have the transport system we need to compete in the global economic race."
Proposals to bring the remaining four platforms of the Waterloo International Terminal back into use have been developed by the Alliance in response to the Department for Transport’s rail investment strategy. It offers a way of future-proofing one of the country’s key commuter networks.
Mr Shoveller continued: "We’re continuing to work with the Department for Transport on significant proposals to re-open the remaining four international platforms and extend platforms 1-4 at Waterloo. These plans will greatly improve the infrastructure across our network, which 210 million passengers a year depend on, and it will ensure that we can continue to support economic growth."
Ends
Notes to Editors
- Platform 20 and the 108 additional carriages are being introduced following agreements reached between DfT and SWT that were announced by the Secretary of State in December 2011 (Phase 1 - 60 additional carriages from the Ex-Gatwick fleet of Class 460s are being combined with SSWT’s existing fleet of 30 x 4-car class 458s to make a fleet of 36 x 5-car 458/5s) and May 2012 (Phase 2 - a fleet of 24 x 2-car Class 456 units cascaded from Southern). This included the contractual commitment to bring platform 20 back into operational use by May 2014.
- The South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance has introduced a number of measures to reduce delays and improve performance. These measures have helped to reduce the amount of delay caused by significant incidents by more than 15% from the start of the Alliance in April 2012.
About the South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance
The South West Trains-Network Rail Alliance was formed on 29 April 2012 with the aim of delivering an improved service for passengers with faster, more customer-focused decision-making. It is also a step towards delivering a more efficient and cost effective railway for the long term.
A single joint management team now look after train services and infrastructure across the South West Trains / Wessex route.
The Alliance is the first of its kind in the UK.
Train services operated by the Alliance are some of the busiest commuter train services in the UK. Over 2,000 passenger and freight services run on the network every day and the route covers 643 miles of track, with 1375 sets of points and 4394 signals.
