London Waterloo station

Waterloo National Rail
London Waterloo
Aerial view from the south, showing Waterloo station, Waterloo, Hungerford Bridges and the London Eye
Waterloo is located in Central London
Waterloo
Waterloo
Location of Waterloo in Central London
LocationLambeth
Local authorityLondon Borough of Lambeth
Managed byNetwork Rail
Station code(s)WAT
DfT categoryA
Number of platforms24
AccessibleYes[1]
Fare zone1
OSIWaterloo London Underground
Waterloo East National Rail
Embankment London Underground
Festival Pier London River Services
London Eye Pier London River Services[2]
Cycle parkingYes – external opposite exit 3
Toilet facilitiesYes
National Rail annual entry and exit
2019–20Decrease 86.904 million[3]
– interchange Decrease 6.310 million[3]
2020–21Decrease 12.215 million[3]
– interchange Decrease 1.375 million[3]
2021–22Increase 41.426 million[3]
– interchange Increase 3.532 million[3]
2022–23Increase 57.790 million[3]
– interchange Increase 4.664 million[3]
2023–24Increase 62.525 million[3]
– interchange Increase 5.010 million[3]
Railway companies
Original companyLondon and South Western Railway
Pre-groupingLondon and South Western Railway
Post-groupingSouthern Railway
Key dates
11 July 1848[4]Opened
21 March 1922Rebuilt
14 November 1994 –
13 November 2007
Eurostar terminal
Other information
External links
Coordinates51°30′11″N 0°06′48″W / 51.5031°N 0.1132°W / 51.5031; -0.1132
London transport portal

Waterloo station (/ˌwɔːtərˈl/),[5][6] also known as London Waterloo, is a major London terminus on the National Rail network in the United Kingdom, in the Waterloo area of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is connected to a London Underground station of the same name and is adjacent to Waterloo East station on the South Eastern Main Line. The station is the terminus of the South West Main Line to Weymouth via Southampton, the West of England main line to Exeter via Salisbury, the Portsmouth Direct line to Portsmouth Harbour which connects with ferry services to the Isle of Wight, and several commuter services around west and south-west London, Surrey, Hampshire and Berkshire.

The station was opened in 1848 by the London and South Western Railway, and it replaced the earlier Nine Elms as it was closer to the West End. It was never designed to be a terminus, as the original intention was to continue the line towards the City of London, and consequently the station developed in a haphazard fashion, leading to difficulty finding the correct platform. The station was rebuilt in the early 20th century, opening in 1922, and included the Victory Arch over the main entrance, which commemorated World War I. Waterloo was the last London terminus to provide steam-powered services, which ended in 1967. The station was the London terminus for Eurostar international trains from 1994 until 2007, when they were transferred to St. Pancras.

Waterloo is the third busiest station in the UK, and was formerly the busiest railway station in the UK, handling 57.8 million passengers in the year to March 2023.[7] It is also the UK's largest station in terms of floor space and has the greatest number of platforms.

  1. ^ "London and South East" (PDF). National Rail. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 March 2009.
  2. ^ "Out of Station Interchanges" (XLSX). Transport for London. 16 June 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Estimates of station usage". Rail statistics. Office of Rail Regulation. Please note: Some methodology may vary year on year.
  4. ^ Jackson 1984, p. 215.
  5. ^ "Definition of 'Waterloo'". www.collinsdictionary.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Definition of Waterloo noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary". www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Estimates of station usage". Office of Rail and Road Data Portal. Archived from the original on 2 February 2024.

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