On 29 Jan, 12:52, "Andrew Heenan" wrote:

"Mizter T" wrote ...

A more intriguing question is when are Eurostar trains going
to begin stopping there? There has been some speculation in the past
that Stratford Int'l might never actually see any Eurostar trains stop
there, and passengers would be herded onto the Southeastern high-speed
trains to get to either Ebbsfleet or St. Pancras. I've pondered this
in the past, but am now of the attitude that they surely will stop
there in the future - it's just a question of when. I'm guessing the
answer lies in good part as to when the surrounding area will look
rather less like a building site.

This *very old news* suggests they do not want to stop there -

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/new...cle1082863.ece


"[Rob Holden, chief executive of LCR] said that Eurostar had yet to
make a final decision on where its trains would stop but an
announcement would be made in early summer."

No such announcement ever came, did it?


I don't recall any changes in policy since; but that does not mean there
will be none!

I suspect that both Southeastern and Eurostar will be happy with SE ferrying
folk between StP-I - Stratford - Ebbsfleet - Ashford-I, allowing Eurostar to
stop at Ebbsfleet only.

Political pressure seems to have already guaranteed a token service for
Ashford, but Stratford is so close to St. P-I, that it'll take a political
storm to add eight minutes to everyone else's journey.


It's not so much political pressure, more the demand from Docklands-
based business that I think would be significant. Eurostar from
Stratford Int'l is in a sense on a par with London City Airport (LCY)
- stopping Eurostar at Stratford makes it a rather more attractive
option compared to a somewhat disjointed journey via St. Pancras or
Ebbsfleet.

I'm not comparing the relative merits of the services offered by LCY
and Eurostar to and from Paris and Brussels - LCY only offer a handful
of direct flights a day - I'm just saying that grumbles from
businessfolk might have some influence on Eurostar's decision making.
And it's not like every train would have to stop.

I can see it from both sides of this argument, to be honest. Anyway,
we shall see how things pan out...