Ebbsfleet International Railway Station
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Ebbsfleet International railway station is in
Ebbsfleet Valley Ebbsfleet Valley is a new town and redevelopment area in Kent, South East England, and part of the Thames Gateway, southwest of Gravesend. Development is coordinated by the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation. It is named after the valley of t ...
,
Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...
, east of
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, near
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
to the east. The station, part of the
Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...
urban regeneration Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of bligh ...
project, is on the High Speed 1 rail line, south-west of
Northfleet railway station Northfleet railway station serves the town of Northfleet in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is down the line from . Train services are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. The ticket office located on platform 2, on the 'do ...
, off the A2 trunk road, from its junction with the
M25 motorway The M25 or London Orbital Motorway is a major road encircling most of Greater London. The motorway is one of the most important roads in the UK and one of the busiest. Margaret Thatcher opened the final section in 1986, making the M25 the lon ...
. It served as a primary park-and-rail service for the London 2012 Olympics. Ebbsfleet International is owned by HS1 Ltd, which operates the High Speed 1 railway and St Pancras railway station, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International.


Name

The name Ebbsfleet dates from the seventeenth-century. The station is partly inspired by the name of Ebbsfleet in Thanet, to the east.


History


Opening

The £180m station opened to Eurostar passengers on 19 November 2007, five days after the rest of HS1. This was because the security and ticketing equipment had to be transferred from and reinstalled at the station. The first daily service was the 05:38 service to Paris, arriving at its destination 132 minutes later. Serving the
Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...
, the station had an initial service of seven weekday trains to Paris and five to Brussels. A 2,500-space car park was provided. A formal opening ceremony in the presence of Dame
Kelly Holmes Dame Kelly Holmes (born 19 April 1970) is a retired British middle distance athlete. Holmes specialised in the 800 metres and 1,500 metres events and won gold medals for both distances at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. She set British ...
took place on 29 January 2008. Residents of Ashford complained that the service at was downgraded to compensate for the stop at Ebbsfleet and that it made more sense for them now to use
Eurotunnel Shuttle Eurotunnel Le Shuttle (sometimes shortened to Le Shuttle or The Shuttle) is a railway shuttle service between Coquelles (near Calais) in Pas-de-Calais, France and Cheriton, Kent, Cheriton (near Folkestone) in Kent, United Kingdom. It conveys ro ...
services.


Naming

"Ebbsfleet International Station" was the name originally proposed for the station, but "Dartford International Station" was later proposed at the urging of
Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
, who felt that
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
was a name with greater national recognition. Opposition to Eurostar's ‘Dartford International’ proposal came from
Gravesham Borough Council Gravesham ( ) is a local government district with borough status in north-west Kent, England. Its administrative centre and largest town is Gravesend, which was known as ''Gravesham'' in ancient times. Gravesham was formed on 1 April 1974 by ...
, whose administrative centre at
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
is just two miles () away (even though Ebbsfleet International is in the borough of Dartford and therefore outside Gravesham council's authority);
Southfleet Southfleet is a small village and civil parish in the borough of Dartford in Kent, England. The village is located three miles southwest of Gravesend, while the parish includes within its boundaries the hamlets of Betsham and Westwood. Southfle ...
Parish Council; and
Swanscombe and Greenhithe Swanscombe and Greenhithe is a civil parish in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England. Swanscombe and Greenhithe is a recent renaming of the ancient parish of Swanscombe, covering Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It includes much of the Ebbsfleet Vall ...
Town Council, both in the Borough of Dartford. The similarity of its name to that of
Dartford railway station Dartford railway station serves the town of Dartford in Kent, England. It is down the line from . Train services from the station are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. Southeastern also manages the station. Dartford is a major interchan ...
, away, was also of concern.


Javelin

The Olympic Javelin or Javelin was a
high-speed train High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
shuttle service operated by Southeastern over High Speed 1 during the
2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...
and Paralympics. The service ran for the duration of both games, between St Pancras International station and this station, via Stratford International station, which is close to the
Olympic Park An Olympic Park is a sports campus for hosting the Olympic Games. Typically it contains the Olympic Stadium and the International Broadcast Centre. It may also contain the Olympic Village or some of the other sports venues, such as the aquatics ...
. During the Summer Olympics a service of eight trains an hour ran between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, calling at Stratford, replacing the usual East Kent highspeed service. Two of these were extended to Ashford and one to Faversham. Between 11pm and 1am the service between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet was increased to twelve per hour.


Eurostar suspension (2020-)

In September 2020, Eurostar announced that due to the ongoing
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
and subsequent collapse in ticket revenue (down by 90%), both Ebbsfleet and Ashford International stations would not be served by Eurostar services until at least 2022. In September 2021, Eurostar confirmed that services would not resume until 2023, despite complaints by local politicians that this was "bad for Kent". Eurostar stated that they will resume services when commercially sensible to do so, as they will initially "focus on destinations where demand is highest". A further update in August 2022 confirmed that Eurostar may not resume serving the station (along with Ashford) until at least 2025.


Layout

On High Speed 1 there are avoiding lines in each direction and four platforms, two serving international Eurostar services and two the Southeastern High-speed services. Southeastern services travelling between London and the
North Kent Line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main Li ...
use a junction to the north of the station and are served by another pair of platforms that curve away to the east. Ticket barriers control access to all platforms. A disused bridge can be seen to the south of the station. This is believed to have been put in place in preparation for the Ebbsfleet Garden City housing development, however, was never needed.


Access and facilities

This station has bilingual signage, both in French and
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
. It is one of the relatively few stations in England to have bilingual signage, others being
Wallsend Wallsend is a town in North Tyneside, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of Segedunum. This f ...
(Latin),
Southall Southall () is a large suburban county of West London, England, part of the London Borough of Ealing and is one of its seven major towns. It is situated west of Charing Cross and had a population of 69,857 as of 2011. It is generally divided ...
( Punjabi),
Hereford Hereford () is a cathedral city, civil parish and the county town of Herefordshire, England. It lies on the River Wye, approximately east of the border with Wales, south-west of Worcester and north-west of Gloucester. With a population ...
(Welsh),
Whitechapel Whitechapel is a district in East London and the future administrative centre of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a part of the East End of London, east of Charing Cross. Part of the historic county of Middlesex, the area formed ...
(Bengali), St Pancras and Ashford International (French).


Parking

The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) Act allows a total of 9,000 car parking spaces to be constructed, with an initial 6,000 built. The car parks are in a number of areas around the station - north of the North Kent Line, between the North Kent Line and High Speed 1, south of the High Speed 1 and south west of the station building.


Buses and coaches

The station is served by Fastrack buses operated by , which connect it to
Dartford Dartford is the principal town in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, England. It is located south-east of Central London and is situated adjacent to the London Borough of Bexley to its west. To its north, across the Thames estuary, is Thurrock in ...
, Bluewater,
Greenhithe Greenhithe is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is located east of Dartford and west of Gravesend. Area In the past, Greenhithe's waterfront on the estuary of the ri ...
,
Swanscombe Swanscombe Help:IPA/English, /ˈswɒnzkəm/ is a village in the Borough of Dartford in Kent, England, and the civil parish of Swanscombe and Greenhithe. It is 4.4 miles west of Gravesend and 4.8 miles east of Dartford. History Prehistory B ...
and
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
. Despite being in close proximity to the station, Northfleet has no bus connection to the station.


Taxis

There is a taxi rank directly outside the station entrance/exit. Car rental services for both leisure and business are located in the concourse. The interchange facilities lie at either end of the main
station box A station box is a term in the construction industry: It describes a box-like underground structure for a transportation system, for example a metro or tube station. Station boxes are built in two methods – "top-down" or "bottom-up". In the "bot ...
- taxis, buses and set down at the northern end (to also serve the NKL platforms) and coaches to the south of the station box. It was formerly planned that
Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...
would terminate at a separate station between Northfleet and
Ebbsfleet International Ebbsfleet International railway station is in Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, east of London, England, near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. The station, part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration pr ...
but under the current plan,
Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...
further west will be the eastern terminus. However, a
Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway ...
extension from
Abbey Wood Abbey Wood is an area in south east London, England, straddling the border between the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley. It is located east of Charing Cross. Toponymy The area takes its name from Lesnes Abbey Woo ...
to
Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the Bank (geography), south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Ro ...
(
Hoo Junction Hoo Junction is a rail yard on the North Kent Line, near the village of Higham, Kent and Shorne Marshes, operated by DB Schenker. It is between Gravesend and Higham stations, at the junction with the freight-only single-track Hoo branch to ...
) remains safeguarded.


Pedestrian access

Northfleet railway station Northfleet railway station serves the town of Northfleet in the Borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. It is down the line from . Train services are operated by Southeastern and Thameslink. The ticket office located on platform 2, on the 'do ...
is approximately 400 metres to the north-east, although the walking distance between the two stations is significantly longer, approximately 2 km if roadside footpaths are followed. There is a shorter walking route (approximately 1,000 metres) through the car park to the north of Ebbsfleet station, but there are no footpaths provided and this way is obstructed by the car park access barriers. There are no specific pedestrian or cycle route signs for Ebbsfleet station on any of the possible routes between the stations. Gravesham Council acknowledges that the existing provision is inadequate, although it is a complex planning issue to resolve as whilst Northfleet is in Gravesham, Ebbsfleet station is just over the border in the
Borough of Dartford The Borough of Dartford is a local government district in the north-west of the county of Kent, England. Its council is based in the town of Dartford. It is part of the contiguous London urban area. It borders the borough of Gravesham to the ea ...
, and there are many other stakeholders involved.


Services


Domestic Services


Service History

On 29 June 2009, Southeastern started a weekday preview service between and
Ebbsfleet International Ebbsfleet International railway station is in Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent, east of London, England, near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. The station, part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration pr ...
, extending to during peak hours. On 7 September the service was enhanced by a few services to
Ramsgate Ramsgate is a seaside resort, seaside town in the district of Thanet District, Thanet in east Kent, England. It was one of the great English seaside towns of the 19th century. In 2001 it had a population of about 40,000. In 2011, according to t ...
via or
Dover Dover () is a town and major ferry port in Kent, South East England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies south-east of Canterbury and east of Maidstone ...
. A regular service began on 13 December 2009. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour was: * 4 tph to
London St Pancras International St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...
* 2 tph to * 1 tph to via * 1 tph to Additional trains, in peak hours only, serve , via the Medway towns, and .


Current Services

All domestic services at Ebbsfleet International are operated by
Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...
using
EMUs Emus may refer to: * Emu The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the g ...
. The typical off-peak service in trains per hour is: * 3 tph to
London St Pancras International St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It i ...
* 1 tph to via and * 1 tph to Ramsgate via * 1 tph to via Additional services call at the station during the peak hours. There are also 4 peak hour services to and from .


International Services

Since the opening of Ebbsfleet station in 2007, Eurostar has transferred a number of trips from Ashford to the newer station. Ashford International has a wider variety of destinations such as Calais, Lille, Brussels, Disneyland Paris, the French Alps, Paris, Lyon, Avignon and Marseille, but with fewer services to them. In contrast, Ebbsfleet International has services to only the core destinations (Paris, Brussels and Lille) and the Disneyland Paris service, but with much more frequent services. It is not permitted to use Eurostar services for domestic journeys in the UK. Since the station's opening, Eurostar has withheld passenger usage statistics for international services, citing commercial confidentiality. As of May 2019, the typical
Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
services was: * 6 trains per day to
Paris Gare du Nord Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
* 6 trains per day to Brussels-South, via Lille Europe (some via Ashford International additionally) * 4 trains per week to Marne-la-Vallee - Chessy for
Disneyland Paris Disneyland Paris is an entertainment resort in Chessy, France, east of Paris. It encompasses two theme parks, resort hotels, Disney Nature Resorts, a shopping, dining and entertainment complex, and a golf course. Disneyland Park is the origin ...
via Ashford International and Lille Europe. Eurostar services have been suspended since March 31st 2020.


Gallery

File:Ebbsfleet3709.JPG, Departures (Note: this had the old Eurostar logo) File:Ebbsfleet3716.JPG, The track towards the Medway Viaduct. File:Ebbsfleet3726.JPG, Details of the track, looking west, showing descending link from the
North Kent Line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main Li ...
. File:Ebbsfleet3734.JPG, Showing the North Kent link line with a 12 car unit on the
North Kent Line The North Kent Line is a railway line which branches off the South East Main Line at St Johns junction west of Lewisham station in Greater London and runs to Rochester Bridge Junction near Strood, Medway where it links to the Chatham Main Li ...
approaching the junction.


Notes


References


External links


Ebbsfleet International station

Always touch out project details

BBC picture gallery


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070531025220/http://www.ebbsfleetgateway.com/ Ebbsfleet Gateway
HS1 Javelin Trains
{{TSGN and SE Stations, High Speed=y, FCC None=y, SN None=y Railway stations in Kent Transport in the Borough of Dartford DfT Category B stations Railway stations opened by Network Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2007 Railway stations served by Southeastern Railway stations in Great Britain served by Eurostar UK railway stations with juxtaposed controls