Ebbsfleet International railway station
Ebbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the borough of Dartford, Kent, just outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is situated between Swanscombe in Dartford Borough and Northfleet in Gravesham. It is near the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. It is sited on High Speed 1, just 450 yards east of Northfleet railway station.
[edit] Opening
The station opened to the public on 19 November 2007, later than St. Pancras because the security equipment was transported from Waterloo. The station was formally opened and dedicated in a ceremony by Dame Kelly Holmes on January 29 2008.[1]
[edit] Layout
Two platforms on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) serve Eurostar and two platforms will serve high speed domestic services. There are also fast avoiding lines in each direction. Future domestic services will use the junction to the north of the station of the North Kent Line. The junction line rises and passes over the Continental-bound lines to form a grade separated junction, which has its own island platform with another two faces. The present North Kent Line Station is 450 yds to the East Northfleet railway station on the North Kent Line. Visible from Ebbsfleet International, at about 450 yds, the walking distance is somewhat longer, as there is no direct connection between the two. The replacement North Kent Line Station is only 60 yds away and connected by a covered walkway. The station has sufficient space for up to 9000 parking spaces, but it was estimated that with full rail services 6000 spaces would be an initial provision, with the final 3000 spaces furthest from the station (and which would require shuttle bussing) being developed last. The station design includes taxi, bus and coach interchange facilities as well as "kiss and ride" kerbspace. The station is served from a new junction on the A2 trunk road. The road connection from the A2 varies in standard from a 4 lane dual carriageway to a 2-lane single carriageway past the station, a result of a decision by Union Rail (North) to minimise costs and only provide the capacity for station-only traffic and not for the forecast traffic flows which may use the link.
[edit] Services
Ebbsfleet International Station is served by Eurostar, with up to four trains per hour in peak time between Ebbsfleet, Paris and Brussels. From December 2009 it will also have high-speed domestic services on Southeastern linking London and Kent, with a 15 minute journey time to St Pancras. It was formerly planned that Crossrail would terminate at the station, but under the current plan, Abbey Wood further west will be the eastern terminus.
There will be 9,000 car park spaces across six car parks with 3,000 spaces available for domestic commuters. The station is served by National Express coach services running between London and Dover, and by Fastrack buses operated by Arriva, which connect it to Dartford, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Gravesend.[2]
Taxis are located at a Taxi rank directly outside the station entrance/exit.
The opening of Ebbsfleet International continues to generate considerable controversy, located on a greenfield site, and dependent almost entirely on road access - principally via the M25, one of Europe's most congested roads. The French describe such terminals as 'Beetroot Stations' on account of the crops grown in the fields surrounding them. At the time of Ebbsfleet's opening, the other international station in Kent, Ashford, suffered a drastic reduction in services to Paris, and lost all through services to Brussels. In contrast to Ebbsfleet, Ashford is a junction for five different railway lines serving destinations throughout Kent and along the Sussex Coast. Eurostar has been accused of acting like an airline wannabe[who?] by failing to integrate its services into the national rail network and ignoring a cross-party campaign encompassing MPs, MEPs, local government and rail user groups urging it to reconsider its downgrading of Ashford. In response to this, the company belatedly agreed a deal with the local train operator South Eastern permitting free travel by rail both to Ashford and to local stations near Ebbsfleet.
The start of domestic high speed services in 2009 serving Ebbsfleet will make the station slightly more accessible, but these services will be premium fare, and there are no plans to divert the North Kent line closer to the station. Thus it will remain difficult for potential customers in West Kent and South East London to access it easily by public transport.
[edit] Naming
"Ebbsfleet International Station" was the name originally proposed for the station, but ‘Dartford International Station’ was later proposed at the urging of Eurostar, who felt that Dartford was a name with greater national recognition. This caused uproar in nearby Gravesham where councillors felt that the name would not boost the fortunes of their borough (the "other half" of Kent Thameside). Opposition to Eurostar’s ‘Dartford International’ proposal also came from Southfleet Parish Council and Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town Council - ironically both in Dartford Borough. Though the station is in Dartford Borough, it is geographically well inside the Gravesend urban envelope. In fact it is just 2 miles from Gravesend town centre and Gravesham Borough’s western boundary runs adjacent to the station's southern and eastern perimeters).[3] Also the similarity of its name to that of Dartford's existing station was of concern - being some 6 miles away. The station is now named as originally proposed - Ebbsfleet International (as shown on this signpost on the A2).
[edit] Gallery
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Details of the track, looking west, showing descending link from the North Kent Line.
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Showing the North Kent link line with a 12 car unit on the North Kent Line approaching the junction.
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[edit] Services
[edit] External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: [edit] References
- ^ Kelly Holmes opens Eurostar’s Ebbsfleet station | New Consumer
- ^ Fastrack A/B Map
- ^ "Row over Euro-link station name", BBC News, 29 October 2004.
Coordinates: 51°26′34.94″N, 0°19′15.18″E
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