Eurostar trains should start stopping at the existing Stratford International station to boost the economy of East London, a senior Labour MP claimed today despite fears the area could be overrun by rail passengers mixing with football fans and shoppers.
Sir Stephen Timms insisted there was a growing case for international services to call at the stop given the intensifying pressure on the current terminus of St Pancras.
But critics fear the plan could cause chaos in an already-congested area where fans attending games at West Ham United’s London Stadium and shoppers at Westfield already have to vie for space with commuters passing through on several rail lines.
Sir Stephen, who has represented East Ham since 1994, wants to revive proposals that he first made in the 1980s when chairman of Newham planning committee.
Stratford International was opened in 2009 but has never been used by Eurostar and only serves Southeastern trains on the High Speed 1 route to Kent. The Docklands Light Railway also stops at a station of the same name located across the road.
Now, Sir Stephen wants Eurostar trains to leave St Pancras and stop at Stratford on their way to Kent then onto the continent – and the reverse on inbound services.
Eurostar currently runs from St Pancras to Lille and then onto Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam via Rotterdam. It previously stopped at Ebbsfleet and Ashford, and has never stopped at Stratford
Stratford International station opened to rail services in 2009 but has never hosted Eurostar
Stratford International station is connected to Stratford station by the Docklands Light Railway, with both hubs used by football fans heading to West Ham United’s London Stadium
Huge crowds by the Jubilee line platforms at Stratford station following a strike in June 2022
An aerial view of Stratford International station, with the HS1 line running through the centre
London Assembly Member Keith Prince, the City Hall Conservative group’s transport spokesman, told MailOnline: ‘We welcome the proposal to reroute the Eurostar into St Pancras via Stratford International as an opportunity to bring investment into East London.
‘People are right to raise concerns about overcrowding at St Pancras, and this decision would help to address that.
‘However we want Ministers to be certain that there is a business case for Eurostar to adopt this route, and to ensure that this proposal doesn’t negatively impact or overcrowd public transport and local services in Stratford purely as a means of outsourcing the issue from St Pancras.’
London TravelWatch called for any plans to consider pressure on the local area, saying: ‘We welcome any improvements to Eurostar services provided the necessary and sufficient infrastructure is in place to accommodate them.’
Sir Stephen believes a Eurostar stop at Stratford International would help the area more attractive for firms along with Westfield and the 2012 Olympics which have already helped regenerate it.
He told The Standard: ‘It would be another very significant boost to employment and prosperity in east London. I’m quite sure we would get more investment and companies coming.’
The MP also said the change would help with overcrowding at St Pancras and get more people to travel by rail to the continent instead of flying.
Stratford International station was opened in 2009 but has never been used by Eurostar
Stratford International had 2.5million entries and exits between April 2022 and March 2023
Stratford International was busy during London 2012 (pictured after the opening ceremony)
An artist’s impression of Stratford International station, produced for the bid for London 2012
Local Green Party councillor Danny Keeling agreed that it was an ‘excellent idea’ and pointed out that there was space at Stratford International between the concourse and the entrance to put in a customs area.
They told MailOnline: ‘It’d be a brilliant alternative to people getting short haul flights to get straight to the city, but it’s important to remember that Stratford station specifically is very overpopulated and to the point of dangerous.
‘It’s one of the busiest stations now. If we have a matchday or even if we just have rush hour with the Central line and Elizabeth line coming in at the same time, the platforms get overrun – and they’ve already had to put in place one-way systems.
‘I’m positive towards it for the reduction of short haul-flights but there would have to be a mass infrastructure project to connect Stratford to Stratford International – but I believe that could definitely be done.
Commuters wait to board a train on a busy platform at Stratford station in November 2022
Eurostar trains are parked at the Temple Mills maintenance depot in Stratford in June 2022
‘Stratford station already – even if this does not happen – needs a mass boost in the amount of footfall it can take, and platform widening, which is going to cost a fortune. But investment in trains not planes is the way forward anyway.’
And Michael Solomon Williams, from the Campaign for Better Transport, said: ‘In a climate emergency, rail should be the first choice for international travel but to compete with flying, our international rail link must be expanded.
‘Stratford International has been passenger-ready since 2009, frequent international trains from Stratford would ease pressure on St Pancras and boost services so more people can experience the joy of international rail travel.’
A spokeswoman for London Mayor Sadiq Khan declined to comment.
Eurostar currently runs services from St Pancras to Lille non-stop and then onto Paris, Brussels or Amsterdam via Rotterdam.
The cross-Channel operator also has connecting Eurostar services from Brussels to Dortmund via Cologne and Dusseldorf; and the so-called ‘Snow Train’ from Lille to Bourg-Saint-Maurice in winter.
Sir Stephen Timms, the Labour MP for East Ham, said there was a growing case for international Eurostar services to call at Stratford International in East London
Overcrowding at London St Pancras in December last year after Eurostar services were cancelled because of flooding in a tunnel under the River Thames
Passengers queue at the entrance to Eurostar at London St Pancras station last December
But Eurostar trains have not stopped at Ashford or Ebbsfleet in Kent since the pandemic began in March 2020, and there is also a separate campaign in the county to bring back services to these stations.
Stratford International is located just seven minutes from St Pancras by train on existing Southeastern serices, and a new Eurostar stop would require new immigration desks to be set up and significant ongoing costs for immigration staff.
However, much of the infrastructure is already in place given previous plans for Eurostar were for Stratford to have been a London stop for trains heading north of the capital to other areas.
But because these links do not exist, there has been little appetite for a Eurostar stop at Stratford.
And a Eurostar spokeswoman told MailOnline today: ‘We have no plans to go to Stratford International. This news hasn’t come from us and isn’t something that we’re looking into’.
Eurostar also said it has no plans in the 2024/25 year for its trains to stop in Kent.
Commuters on board a packed Jubilee line train at Stratford station in December 2021
Stratford International also has a Docklands Light Railway station of the same name, located across the road from the station used by Southeastern’s High Speed 1 services to Kent
Stratford International was completed at a cost of £210million, one year before Eurostar trains started terminating at St Pancras in 2007 – having previously gone to and from London Waterloo since 1994.
But the ceremony to mark Stratford International’s opening in April 2006 was overshadowed by an admission that international trains might never use it – and it was suggested at the time that it could be ‘Britain’s biggest transport white elephant’.
London and Continental Railways, which built the station, said it was supposed to have been a London stop for Eurostar services from northern England.
Trains were intended to start in Manchester or Leeds and travel around the edge of Central London towards the Channel Tunnel via Stratford.
But these plans were torpedoed by the rapid growth of budget airlines linking northern cities with Europe, offering a significantly faster and cheaper journey.
Commuters board a crowded Elizabeth line train at Stratford station in November 2022
Then-Mayor Ken Livingstone said at the time of Stratford International opening that it was ‘crucial for the regeneration of East London that an appropriate number of Eurostar trains stop at Stratford’.
The nearby Stratford station – which is connected to Stratford International via DLR – is Britain’s sixth busiest station with 44.1million entries and exits between April 2022 and March 2023, according to the last Office of Rail and Road data.
Stratford International meanwhile had 2.5million entries and exits over the same period – about 6 per cent of Stratford’s total.
Stratford station – which became Britain’s busiest station during lockdown in the year to March 2021 – is a key transport interchange, served by c2c, Greater Anglia and London Overground services in addition to the Central line, Jubilee line and DLR.
The Elizabeth line also now stops at Stratford, which has prompted suggestions that passengers going on onward international journeys may find it easier to connect at Stratford International than St Pancras.
Busy scenes at Stratford station in March 2022 during a strike by members of the RMT union
But concerns that Stratford is very overcrowded and poorly laid out have led to proposals for a major redevelopment of the station and its surrounding area.
The Department for Transport (DfT) believes the decision on which stations to operate to is a commercial and operational one for Eurostar, given it is the only international operator.
But Ministers also say they recognise the importance of smooth passenger flows for international rail services, given a new e-borders system for the European Union is coming in on November 10.
The Entry/Exit System (EES) will see Eurostar passengers from the UK have to use electronic kiosks before checking in for London departures.
Eurostar revealed in May that passengers must use machines at St Pancras to register their passport, facial image and fingerprints, and answer four questions about their trip.
Huge crowds by the Jubilee line platforms at Stratford station following a strike in June 2022
Eurostar is spending £8.5million overhauling border facilities at St Pancras, but is not intending to change its current guidance that customers should arrive up to 90 minutes before their train’s departure time.
After a passenger has used a kiosk, checked in, and passed through security and UK exit checks, they will still need their EES registration to be completed by French border officers, who will scan their fingerprints again.
EES will apply to people from non-EU countries such as the UK entering the EU. Once a person is registered, they will not need to have their fingerprints scanned for subsequent trips in the following three years.
Those passengers will still need to use a kiosk, but can pass through French border checks via electronic gates rather than be dealt with by an officer.
Eurostar hopes the removal of the need to stamp all UK passports on every trip means the border process could be quicker under EES.
The Government has said it is a priority to support solutions to address the potential impact of the EES as much as possible.
The DfT is understood to be working closely with the Home Office, HS1 Ltd and Eurostar to prepare for the implementation of EES and support contingency planning at St Pancras to ensure the continued smooth flow of passengers.
