Ebbsfleet International

Four possible international station sites were shortlisted during 1993, these being promoted in a report published in January of the following year:

• Ebbsfleet, Kent

• Nashenden, Kent

  • This was the location of a farm. It resided to the south of the Medway, on the opposite side of the M2 to Borstal

• Rainham, Essex

• Stratford, East London

Ebbsfleet and Rainham were considered as park-and-ride stations for the M25, whilst Nashenden was seen as a parkway station for the M2. Nashenden was swiftly ruled out: it was an isolated site lacking any local support or promotion for a station to be there, and had no private sector. Ebbsfleet was preferred over Rainham, because it had a greater number of major trunk roads within its environs, and although Stratford had a multitude of existing domestic railway links, the government deemed that the financial case for an international station at this site had yet to be made. The location of the London international terminus was also changed: St Pancras was to be converted for use. At the time, this undeniably spectacular station operated on a relaxed timetable, especially compared with its much busier Kings Cross and Euston neighbours. St Pancras had originally received overhead wires during a 1980 to 1982 modernisation programme for electric services to Bedford, but such trains then became part of the ''Thameslink'' operation from 1988 onwards, leaving the huge terminus with much under-utilised capacity. By October 1994, as the proposals stood, Ebbsfleet was in, Nashenden and Rainham were out, and Stratford was outlined as possible if a strong commercial case could be made for it by the locality's Newham Council. When the ‘’Channel Tunnel Rail Link’’ (CTRL) Hybrid Bill was submitted to Parliament on 23rd November 1994, however, it included a clause which stated that planning permission should be granted for a long concrete ‘’open box’’ at Stratford. Therefore, this would safeguard the future of an international station: if it was not built with the CTRL, the infrastructure was in place to accommodate it at a later date. The Government proposed that their decision on whether to give Stratford International the green light would be announced in March 1995, but this itself was delayed until the following year.

During 1995, Parliament considered the Bill. In the meantime, Regional Planning Guidance was published, this promoting the ‘’Thames Gateway’’ for regeneration, Ebbsfleet International station being central to it. Four consortia had been invited by the Government to compete with each other, bidding for the contract to build and operate the CTRL. These were as follows:

By September 1995, the above list had been narrowed down by the Government: Eurorail and London & Continental Railways were still in the frame. The final announcement was made by the then Secretary of State for Transport, Sir George Young, on 29th February 1996. At 10:00 that morning, during a press conference at Waterloo station, it was announced that London & Continental Railways (L&CR) had been selected as the preferred CTRL bidder. In its bid, L&CR had proposed amalgamated international and domestic stations at both Ebbsfleet and Stratford, the former becoming part of the ‘’Thames Gateway’’ scheme, and the latter being integral to the regeneration of East London. The ‘’Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act’’ was successfully passed through Parliament in December 1996.

The Ebbsfleet proposals had been fully developed for a while, and the criteria made for interesting reading. The whole project in North West Kent was known as the ‘’Ebbsfleet Development’’, which comprised an area of 174 hectares: this expanse was allocated for the station complex, business units, and housing. 790,000 m² of the land was to receive buildings upon it, with anything between 300,000 m² and 500,000 m² of area being taken up by business units. Furthermore, between 220,000 m² and 370,000 m² of area was to be reserved for housing, 1850 and 3200 new homes being created respectively. Estimations, although somewhat broad, suggested that anything between 13,600 and 28,600 new jobs could be created as a result of the development. In hindsight, the date parameters for the project were also quite optimistic; construction work in the general Ebbsfleet area was scheduled to begin during mid-1997, with a planned completion for business and housing development of 2001. Erecting the actual structure of the station was to begin in 2001, with a look to completion at the end of 2002. As far as the area regeneration was concerned, the March 1999 opening of Bluewater had set the ball rolling.

28th November 2007

The 960-foot long island platform on the ''domestic'' spur is equipped with a 505-foot long W-shaped

canopy, built to the same design as those found on the ''low-level'' platforms. In the background, on

the far right, can be seen the island's lift shaft. In the foreground is the taxi exit road. David Glasspool

The station concourse is decidedly light and airy, but when viewed, was particularly quiet. On the right

is a full-size mock-up of the ''Javelin'' driving trailer, which was formerly on display at Ashford. Arrival

and departure boards flank the station clock. The ticket office can just be seen left of centre, whilst in

the background can be seen hoardings covering potential space for retail units. David Glasspool

A north-eastward view across the spacious concourse shows, in the background, the subway entrance

pictured in the first photograph. Self-service ticket machines are present in the gap on the left, behind

the poster board. David Glasspool

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