Stratford International Set for Cross-Channel Trains in Budget Boost
Reports say east London station will get budget funding that could let it take one in three trains to and from France
By AXY Politics Desk ·
Key points
- Reports say Stratford International in east London will receive funding in next week’s budget, a step toward cross-Channel services.
- Sadiq Khan has pressed ministers for the upgrade, and the Evening Standard estimated the work at about £20m.
- A business rate retention zone, reportedly planned by chancellor John Healey, would let the area keep all business rates growth to pay for the station.
Stratford International station in east London is reportedly set to receive government funding in next week’s budget, a move that would put it on track to finally live up to its name. The station, which has never handled international passengers, could become a hub for cross-Channel rail services. The reports do not give a final funding figure, and no official announcement has yet been made.
London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, has been making the case to ministers for the money. He wants the station to start running international rail services, which would change what the building is used for and who uses it. Khan has framed the plan as a way to bring jobs, investment and tourism to the area, and to connect east London more directly with Europe.
Khan said: “We’ve been working closely with the government to make Stratford International truly ‘international’ for the first time – opening up new opportunities for jobs, investment and tourism, while connecting one of the UK’s fastest-growing economic centres directly to Europe.”
He added: “It’s time to unlock the full potential of this station and help write the next chapter in Stratford’s remarkable success story.”
What the reports say
Right now, the station’s trains run in a fairly narrow pattern. Only domestic routes stop at Stratford International, and those services run to and from central London and Kent. Eurostar trains pass through the station on their way to and from St Pancras, but they do not stop there.
Eurostar is the high-speed passenger service that links London with cities on the continent, including Paris and Brussels, using the Channel Tunnel under the English Channel. For a traveller in east London, the practical result is simple. A passenger who wants to board a train to Europe has to go on to St Pancras or another station with international services. Stratford is close by, but it cannot be the starting point.
The funding, if confirmed, would change that. It would allow some Europe-bound journeys to begin in east London, saving some passengers a trip across the city to reach the main international terminal.
Why the station was built this way
Stratford International opened in late 2009. It was originally designed and built with the intention of handling Eurostar trains, but that plan was never fully developed. The international section, including its platforms and a waiting area, was left mothballed. In plain terms, the space was closed off and kept in reserve rather than put to use.
The station sits close to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the site built for the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games. Since opening, Stratford International has mainly served domestic commuters and visitors to the Olympic Park and the wider Stratford area, which has grown quickly as a place to live and work. The building already has the space for a larger role. What it lacks is the equipment and facilities that international trains require.
That gap is why Khan describes the upgrade as a way to finish a job that was started years ago. Whether the cost and the benefits justify it is the question ministers will have to answer.
What the upgrade would involve
The source reports say Stratford International currently has two platforms. Welcoming international services would need a significant upgrade. The work would include a border post and security checks, along with a check-in zone, a waiting area and passenger facilities.
Those features matter because international trains need border checks before passengers board. A border post is the place where officials carry out passport and security checks, so that travellers have already cleared formalities before they get on the train. Without that space, a train from France cannot simply stop in London and let people off. Passengers heading to the continent also need somewhere to queue, check in and wait, which is why the reports mention a check-in zone and waiting area.
The Evening Standard, as cited in the source reports, put the cost of opening up the station and its mothballed international section and platforms at an estimated £20m. The same reporting said Khan’s plan was for one in three trains to and from France to stop at Stratford. The station could also become a hub for rail services from the continent to the Midlands and the north of England.
If that happened, a traveller from Europe could change trains in east London and continue to towns far from the capital, without passing through the central London terminals. Analysts who study rail often say that such connections are valuable because they spread passengers across more stations and reduce crowding at the busiest hubs. That is an outlook, not a confirmed plan. The reports do not say which services would run, which destinations they would serve, or when the first one would start.
The business rates plan and how it would be paid for
The Financial Times reported that the chancellor, John Healey, is planning to approve Khan’s proposal to create a business rate retention zone. The aim would be to help pay for the station’s redevelopment. The source reports do not say whether that approval has been agreed, so it should be treated as a plan that has been reported rather than a decision that has been announced.
Business rates are taxes paid by businesses on the non-domestic property they occupy, such as shops, offices and warehouses. Under the standard system, councils keep only part of the business rates collected in their area, and the rest goes to central government. The source reports say the usual share kept by local authorities is half.
A business rate retention zone would change that split for a defined area. The local authority would keep all of the business rates growth collected there, rather than half. That money could then be spent directly on local regeneration, such as the Stratford upgrade. In effect, the station’s funding would rise and fall with the success of nearby businesses.
For people who live and work in the area, that link matters. If businesses grow and more rates are collected, more money could be available to pay for the station. If growth is slower, the funding pot could be smaller. Councils and ministers would need to weigh that trade-off once the details are published, including how the zone would be set up and how long it would last.
Why Khan is pushing rail over Heathrow
Khan has also argued that improving Stratford International would be a better use of resources than expanding Heathrow airport by building a third runway. The source reports say he made that case recently. He pointed to the growth in international rail travel and to environmental concerns as reasons to favour rail over more airport capacity.
The debate over a third runway at Heathrow has run for many years. It involves noise for people living under flight paths, air pollution around the airport, the UK’s climate commitments and the cost of building major airport infrastructure. Rail offers a different route for many journeys. Trains between cities and countries produce far fewer emissions per passenger than short-haul flights, which is the central point of Khan’s argument.
The Stratford proposal is therefore best understood as an alternative to more air capacity, rather than a full replacement for it. Khan’s case has not yet been tested against a published, costed rail plan that sets out routes, passenger numbers and timings alongside the funding news.
What happens next
The key step is next week’s budget. If the funding is confirmed, the first questions will be how much money goes to the station, how the business rate retention zone would be set up, and what timetable the works would follow. The source reports do not yet answer those questions.
Passengers will want to know which services would start, which European destinations they would reach, and what tickets would cost. Train operators and border authorities would also need to agree arrangements before any international train could stop at Stratford. The platforms, border post and passenger facilities would then need to be built and tested.
Each of these steps could take time. The reports do not set a date for the first international train from Stratford International, so readers should treat any start date as unknown for now.
For the moment, the reported news is that a long-running request from London’s mayor appears likely to receive government backing. The station that was built with Eurostar in mind may finally be closer to serving it, although the details that will decide how it works in practice are still to come.
Questions and answers
Will Stratford International start running international trains?
The reports say the station is on track to get funding in next week’s budget, which would allow it to start international services. The reports do not set a date for the first international train or confirm which routes would run.
How much will the Stratford International upgrade cost?
The Evening Standard, as cited in the source reports, estimated the work to open up the station and its mothballed international section at about £20m. No final funding figure has been announced.
Why does Sadiq Khan want Stratford International upgraded instead of expanding Heathrow?
Khan has argued that growth in international rail travel and environmental concerns make improving Stratford International a better option than building a third runway at Heathrow. He has made that case to ministers.
What is a business rate retention zone?
It lets a local council keep all of the business rates growth collected in its area, rather than the usual half. The money can then fund local regeneration, and the reports say this is the proposed way to help pay for the station’s redevelopment.
Topics: Stratford International, Sadiq Khan, Eurostar, Cross-Channel rail, John Healey, Business rate retention, Heathrow third runway, UK budget
Sources: The Guardian Politics