Stratford International station

Stratford International is a National Rail station in Stratford and a separate Docklands Light Railway (DLR) station nearby, located in East Village in London. Despite its name, no international services stop at the station; plans for it to be served by Eurostar trains never came to fruition. The National Rail platforms are served by Southeastern trains on the High Speed 1 route originating at London St Pancras International (which is served by Eurostar). On the DLR, it is a terminus – one of seven end-of-the-line termini – for local services via Canning Town and London City Airport.

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Stratford International
A view of the station with a Eurostar train on the through line. Domestic platforms are in the middle.
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(s)	SFA
Number of platforms	6 (4 National Rail- 2 in public use,[1] 2 DLR)
Accessible	Yes
Fare zone	2 and 3 (DLR services only; special fares apply on National Rail)
DLR annual boardings and alightings
2019	3.931 million[2]
2020	2.284 million[3]
2021	2.624 million[4]
2022	3.890 million[5]
2023	4.440 million[6]
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20	2.884 million[7]
2020–21	0.741 million[7]
2021–22	1.949 million[7]
2022–23	2.517 million[7]
2023–24	2.543 million[7]
– interchange	0.150 million[7]
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
External links	Departures Facilities
Coordinates	51.5448°N 0.0086°W / 51.5448; -0.0086
London transport portal

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Construction of the National Rail station was completed in 2006, but it only opened in 2009 to serve Southeastern services on HS1.^[8][9] 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 located just 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.^[10]: 154 It is located near the centre of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, adjacent to the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre.

The station is on the High Speed 1 railway between London St Pancras International 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 a construction site until mid-2012.^[11]

The tracks descend into a 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. 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.

35 metres (114 ft 10 in) beyond the eastern portals, the tunnels pass just underneath the Central line tunnels curving north from Stratford. The bottom invert of each Central line tunnel is only 4.3 metres (14 ft 1 in) and 8.0 metres (26 ft 3 in) above the high-speed running tunnels.^{[10]: 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.^[12] Construction work began on the station in July 2001.^[13] Construction of the station was completed in 2006, with the station opening in 2009.^[9]

Similar in design to Ebbsfleet International, the station was designed by architect Mark Fisher, working under Alastair Lansley – the chief architect on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project. Fisher described the station as "a big, generous light-filled bridge of steel and glass crossing the tracks and spanning the box".^[14] Internal finishings of the station were designed by Jestico + Whiles.^[15]

London Bus routes 97, 108, 308, 339 and night route N205 serve the station.

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.^[21] 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.^[21] Critics derided the station as a white elephant.^[22]

By the time Southeastern was serving the station, the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis was urged by Sir Robin Wales, former Mayor of Newham, and Peter Miller, Westfield Stratford City's CEO, to order Eurostar to stop at the station.^[23] 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."^[22]

Miller and local politicians including former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone warned that international services would be vital for the success of the Stratford City scheme and the regeneration of East London.^[21][23] 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.^[24] Eurostar did not agree to stop at the station during the 2012 London Olympics.^[25]

There are several other potential operators that may use the station for international services. In 2010 Deutsche Bahn proposed a London-Frankfurt service,^[26] but this was later abandoned.

v t e Stratford stations
Legend
Stratford International DLR via Canning Town High Speed 1 HL Stratford North London line West Anglia Main Line Great Eastern Main Line Elizabeth line Central line DLR via Poplar Jubilee line LL DLR via Canning Town Stratford Market depot Stratford High Street
Source[27]

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.^{[citation needed]}

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,^[28] and Westfield Stratford City on 13 September 2011.^[29] The bus service ran until 20 September.^[30]