Network Rail is targeting the major London termini in a bid to radically overhaul the capital”s stations before the 2012 Olympics and has revealed that British Land will be its Euston partner.
In line with a slew of recent rail investment announcements, the company has promised a significant amount of investment to improve both operational and aesthetic aspects of landmark stations such as Euston, Cannon Street, Victoria and Waterloo.
As any of London”s daily millions of travellers and Euston”s annual 55m in particular, knows, some of the termini have seen little improvement since their heyday in the late 1960s, but Network Rail is aiming to present a softer ” and more commercial - image to its passengers.
The latter point may strike some as irksome ” witness the row of retail outlets now present in Waterloo”s glorious curve ” but Network Rail is adamant that the bills have to be paid. ”There are commercial development opportunities with Euston and we have sourced British Land to exploit the site and receive a funding stream to invest in passenger facilities,” a Network Rail spokesman told ABTN.
Pressed as to numbers, the spokesman remained coy but confirmed that ”the figures talked about of around ”1bn ($1.98bn), with a quarter of that for passenger facilities and the rest commercial,” [are about right].
”This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform a landmark station, so it is not a decision we made lightly,” said Network Rail deputy chief executive, Iain Coucher.
Now that the Euston deal has been agreed in principal, attention will also turn to other major stations such as Cannon Street, London Bridge, Blackfriars, Waterloo et al, but a long planning process has to be adhered to.
”The Euston timescale is to finalise the legal side, which could take six to nine months and then go through the planning process,” said the Network Rail spokesman, adding: ”We are hoping not to be a Terminal 5 but there will be significant building going on in London before the 2012 Olympics.
Network Rail also allayed fears that Eurostar”s autumn move from Waterloo to St Pancras would result in the central London site being turned into a sole commercial venture. ”Waterloo”s international platforms will no longer be used, so the Department for Transport has said that it would like them to be used for domestic services,” the spokesman said.
”More domestic use will need more intensive infrastructure work and we would like to take Waterloo”s concourse down to street level.”