Not politics, about Waterloo Station Upgrade instead

Enough about local politics, for the moment.

On our recent visit to London, I did what I always do, and that’s to take a photo, from the mezzanine balcony, of the redevelopment work at Waterloo Station.

The redevelopment has been going on for years, with my earliest photo of the work being in December 2015. Looks like the new platforms 20-24 are now in use. Looking at my photo, it appears that the pedestrian link bridge is not open at present.

There’s also much work to develop the lower level, known as the sunken Orchestra Pit, into a retail hub. Here’s my photo for you to inspect. All my previous photos and blog articles can be seen HERE.

 

Waterloo Station upgrade progressing

Yesterday was a visit to London. All went well. Train on time. Seat available. Journey to Waterloo quick and easy. That’s quite a change from years ago with the uncomfotable ‘slam door’ rolling stock.

As per usual I ventured up to the mezzanine floor at Waterloo Station to see the progress on the station upgrade.

The new platforms are now in use. The upgrade is not complete, as you can see from my photo. I did notice that there’ll be a new London Underground entrance in York Road.

Yet more on the Waterloo station redevelopment

I try to limit the number of times I write about the changes at Waterloo Station. Honestly, I do.

I hope I may be allowed to post a link to a recent article in City A. M, wich notes that there are plans, by developer LCR, to create a major £200m retail and leisure development for Time Our Group at London’s busiest station.

City A.M’s report says,

Time Out Market London will have restaurants, bars and “cultural experiences” hand picked by the British media company from across the capital. Occupying 32,500 square feet over two floors in the former Eurostar terminal, the market is expected to open in 2021.

With around 500 seats, it plans to host 17 acclaimed London chefs and restaurateurs serving all kinds of cuisines, plus three bars and a space for cultural experiences showcasing the best London talent.

On Thursday 13th December, Time Out Group announced their plans for Waterloo London, see their plans below.

A Waterloo Station upgrade report

The revised Waterloo South Western Railway timetable from December 2018 is predicated on the reopening of the old Eurostar International platforms – see HERE.

The work to bring those platforms into use has been part of my regular Waterloo Station photo reports of the ongoing work – see HERE for all the articles in descending date order.

My most recent article – HERE – surmised that the engineering works would not complete by December. I’ve not been to Waterloo station since. Therefore I’m relying on comments in the Back to the Future: (Re)lengthening and Shortening at Waterloo article in London Reconnections website.

These comments, the latest on December 11th, indicate that platforms 19, 20, 21, and 22 are in use, and that the new walkway is open, although there is ongoing work in the ‘orchestra pit’. My most recent photo opposite – click to expand..

Meanwhile, again reading in the superb London Reconnections website that the revised time table for additional, and longer trains will not apply before May 2019. There’ not mention of this fact in Network Rail websites that I can see. Apparently there is insufficent power to operate the trains. The situation is fully explained in A Good Spark is Getting Hard to Find: SWR and the December Timetable.

Waterloo Station upgrade inching towards completion

It states in Network Rail’s Waterloo Station Upgrade web page that the project extends from July 2017 to December 2018, and what they say about December 2018 is as follows,

Platforms 21–24 re-open permanently and will be included in the December 2018 timetable, with additional train services provided.

As, dear readers, you will know of my predilection of photographing the ongoing works at the station from the same vantage point on the upper concourse – see HERE if you’d like to see all my past articles on the work, which goes back to March 2016, a little earlier than Network Rail’s stated timings.

I took a photo of the works on Tuesday this week, and show it next to the one I took on November 26th. From my perspective, the work seems to be inching forward. Whether they’ll have completed all the work by the end of December, it looks to me most unlikely. [Click on images to expand – Nov 26th on left and Dec 4th on right.]

Photo Quiz No.50: Answer: Elephant sculpture at Jubilee tube concourse at Waterloo

I asked whether you knew where this sculpture of an Elephant can be seen. The answer is between the up and down escalators on the Jubilee line concourse at Waterloo station.

The elephant is the work of Kendra Haste, who specialises in animal sculpture. London Underground acquired the sculpture in the late 1990’s and Waterloo Station has been it’s home ever since.  There are reasons as to why there an Elephant at Waterloo, and Londonist has the full story in Why Is There An Elephant In Waterloo Station?

I’ll be amazed if Waterloo Station upgrade meets its deadline

Regular readers will know that I like to record the progress of the upgrade to Waterloo Station, and do so by posting a photo or two here from the same vantage point on the upper concourse at Waterloo Station.

This is from the Network Rail website on the Waterloo and South West upgrade says,

Work on the Waterloo and South West upgrade started in April 2016 when we began re-developing the former Waterloo International Terminal for domestic services. The project is expected to be complete by December 2018 and will provide the biggest package of improvements to London Waterloo since the 1930s.

I’ll be amazed if the date of December 2018 for completion is met. Take a look at the photo below, and make your judgement. To see my past articles and photos of the progress over the past few years, enter Waterloo into the search box in the top right hand corner, and they’ll be shown in date order – newest first. Click on images to expand.