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Monday 15 Nov 2010

WATERLOO RETAIL BALCONY OFFERS MORE ROOM WITH A VIEW

Region & Route:

| Southern: Wessex

| Southern

Early plans have been unveiled for a 220 metre-long balcony at Waterloo which could help ease congestion on the main concourse, provide a wider and improved choice of retail and catering facilities and improve passenger flow around the station.

At Waterloo, Britain’s busiest station, the proposed balcony would be built along almost the full length of the concourse at first-floor level. Retail and catering facilities which are now in the middle of the concourse would be moved into 20,000 sq ft of converted former offices next to the balcony alongside new shops, restaurants and bars. This would create significantly more space to circulate at concourse level and would be one of the first steps to deliver Network Rail’s vision of providing better retail facilities at destination stations to improve the overall passenger experience.

The balcony, which would be accessible by escalators, lifts and stairs, would also improve the connection between Waterloo East and Waterloo main line stations. The plans, which are still being fully developed, would also provide the opportunity to look at options for improving passenger ticketing facilities.

Richard O’Brien, Network Rail’s route director for Wessex, said: "Passengers rely on Waterloo for 88m train journeys every year making it the busiest station in Britain. With this number of passengers the station can become very busy, particularly at peak times. By creating this new balcony we can give people more space to move around the concourse as well as providing the convenient and wide-ranging retail facilities and eateries that people want at busy mainline stations.

"Rising passenger numbers means the industry has to look hard at congestion and overcrowding, both on trains and at stations, to enable a larger number of people to make journeys by train. This investment will be an important early step in our long-term plans to boost passenger capacity at Waterloo."

Ian Johnston, customer service director at South West Trains, said: "We want to see more people choose to travel by train. As well as providing one of the most punctual train services in the country, giving customers access to high quality retail and improved catering facilities can help support growth on the rail network.

"It is crucial the scheme also ensures passengers have easy access to purchase tickets and we look forward to working with Network Rail on the detailed plans to deliver a scheme that complements the multi-million-pound investment we have made in fast ticket machines for London Waterloo and the rest of our network."

The balcony at Waterloo would be one element of Network Rail’s plans to create over 75,000 sq ft of new retail space in stations. Some 47,000 sq ft of this new space will be in London, where another station to benefit will be King’s Cross. The creation there of a striking new concourse, three times the size of the current area, will mean passengers will have access to more than 27,000 sq ft of new shops and restaurants spread over two floors.

It is the aim to complete both the Waterloo and King’s Cross schemes by spring 2012. The stations will remain open to passengers throughout the duration of the work, although access to some areas may be limited for short periods.