Ebbsfleet International railway station

Ebbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 miles (16 kilometres) outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. The station is part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration, a project of national priority. It stands on the High Speed 1 rail line, around 400 metres (440 yards) south-west of Northfleet railway station and the Stonebridge Road area of Northfleet. The station lies off the A2 trunk road, about 5 mi (8 km) from its junction with the M25 motorway. During the London 2012 Olympics, it served as a primary park-and-rail service as it is very close to the M25 motorway, allowing easy access for over 10 million commuters.

Ebbsfleet International
Location
Place	Ebbsfleet Valley, Kent
Local authority	Borough of Dartford
Grid reference	TQ613741
Operations
Station code	EBD
Managed by	Network Rail
Owned by	London and Continental Railways
Number of platforms	International - 2 Domestic - 4 6 Total
DfT category	B
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	1.474 million
– Interchange	51,974
2015/16	1.674 million
– Interchange	55,100
2016/17	1.846 million
– Interchange	55,335
2017/18	1.962 million
– Interchange	57,476
2018/19	2.107 million
– Interchange	57,296
History
Key dates	Opened 19 November 2007 (19 November 2007)
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Ebbsfleet International from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

Ebbsfleet International is owned by HS1 Ltd, which acquired a 30-year concession to own and operate the High Speed 1 railway and the stations St Pancras railway station, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International.

Origin of the name

The name Ebbsfleet is an artificial creation of seventeenth-century antiquaries, partly inspired by the name of Ebbsfleet in Thanet, 75 km (47 mi) to the east.[1]

History

Opening

The station opened to the public on 19 November 2007 for people travelling on Eurostar, later than St Pancras International because the security equipment was transferred from Waterloo International. The station was formally opened to Eurostar and dedicated in a ceremony by Dame Kelly Holmes on 29 January 2008.[2]

Naming

"Ebbsfleet International Station" was the name originally proposed for the station, but "Dartford International Station" was later proposed at the urging of Eurostar, who felt that Dartford was a name with greater national recognition. Opposition to Eurostar's ‘Dartford International’ proposal came from Gravesham Borough Council, whose administrative centre at Gravesend is just two miles (3.2 km) away (even though Ebbsfleet International is in the borough of Dartford and therefore outside Gravesham council's authority); Southfleet Parish Council; and Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town Council, both in the Borough of Dartford.[3] The similarity of its name to that of Dartford railway station, 6 mi (10 km) away, was also of concern.

Javelin Shuttle

The Olympic Javelin[4] or Javelin[5][6] was a high-speed train shuttle service operated by Southeastern over High Speed 1 during the 2012 Summer Olympics 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.[7] 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.[8]

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 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.

Access and facilities

This station has bilingual signage, both in French and English. It is one of the relatively few stations in England to have bilingual signage, others being Wallsend (Latin), Southall (Punjabi), Hereford (Welsh), 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,[9] 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 Arriva Southern Counties, which connect it to Dartford, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Gravesend. Despite being in close proximity to the station, Northfleet has no bus connection to the station.[10]

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 - 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 would terminate at a separate station between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet International but under the current plan, Abbey Wood further west will be the eastern terminus. However, a Crossrail extension from Abbey Wood to Gravesend (Hoo Junction) remains safeguarded.

Pedestrian access

Northfleet railway station 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,[11] 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, and there are many other stakeholders involved.

Services

Eurostar services
h:mm 0:00 London St Pancras 0:14 Ebbsfleet International 0:29 Ashford International 0:31 British portal Channel Tunnel UK France border 0:51 French portal 0:55 Calais-Fréthun 1:22 Lille-Europe France Belgium border 2:01 Brussels-South Belgium Netherlands border 3:01 Rotterdam Centraal 3:41 Amsterdam Centraal 2:16 Paris-Nord 2:40 Marne-la-Vallée–Chessy Seasonal and extended services 4:41 Lyon-Part-Dieu 5:49 Avignon TGV 6:27 Marseille-Saint-Charles   7:12 Moûtiers 7:30 Aime-La Plagne (set down only) 7:51 Bourg-Saint-Maurice
Fastest timetabled journeys from London St Pancras

International platform 1

As of the Summer 2014 timetable, there are up to five Eurostar services to Paris on weekdays, four on Saturdays and three on Sundays. Most of these services run non-stop from Ebbsfleet to Paris, though a few also stop at Ashford en route. There are four trains to Brussels on weekdays, three on Saturdays and two on Sundays. All Brussels services call at Lille and some also call at Calais.[12] There is also a single round trip service on most days to Marne-la-Vallée for the Disneyland Paris resort, which also calls at Ashford and Lille (in the France-bound direction only).[13]

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.

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. Whereas Ebbsfleet International, serves only the core destinations (Paris and Brussels and Lille) and the Disneyland Paris service, but with much more frequent services.

On 29 June 2009 Southeastern started a weekday preview service between St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International, extending to Ashford International during peak hours.[14] On 7 September the service was enhanced by a few services to Ramsgate via Canterbury West or Dover.[15] A regular service began on 13 December 2009.[16]

The typical off-peak service was:[16]

• 4 trains per hour to St Pancras International, taking 17 minutes;[16]
• 2 trains per hour to Faversham;
• 1 train per hour to Margate via Ashford International and Canterbury West;
• 1 train per hour to Dover Priory via Ashford International, Folkestone West and Folkestone Central.[16]

Additional trains, in peak hours only, serve Maidstone West, Broadstairs via the Medway towns, and Sandwich.

Since 2 January 2015 the off peak service is:

• 4 trains per hour to St Pancras International, taking 17 minutes;[16]
• 2 trains per hour to Faversham with 1 continuing to Ashford via Ramsgate and Dover;
• 1 train per hour to Margate via Ashford International and Canterbury West;
• 1 train per hour to Dover Priory via Ashford International, Folkestone Central continuing to Gravesend via Ramsgate and Faversham.[16]

The Eurostar services as of May 2019:

• 6 trains per day to Paris Gare du Nord
• 6 trains per day to Brussels-South, via Lille Europe (some via Ashford International additionally)
• 1 train per day to Marne-la-Vallee - Chessy for Disneyland Paris via Ashford International and Lille Europe.

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Stratford International		Southeastern High Speed 1		Gravesend
				Ashford International
	International services
London St Pancras International		Eurostar High Speed 1 London-Paris		Ashford International
				Paris-Gare du Nord
London St Pancras International		Eurostar High Speed 1 London-Disneyland		Ashford International
London St Pancras International		Eurostar High Speed 1 London-Brussels		Ashford International
				Calais-Fréthun
				Lille-Europe

Gallery

• 
  Departures (Note: this had the old Eurostar logo)
• 
  The track towards the Medway Viaduct.
• 
  Details of the track, looking west, showing descending link from the North Kent Line.
• 
  Showing the North Kent link line with a 12 car unit on the North Kent Line approaching the junction.

References

1. Keith Briggs, The two Ebbsfleets in Kent. Journal of the English Place-Name Society 44, 5–9
2. "Dame Kelly opens 2012 'gateway'". BBC News. 29 January 2008. Retrieved 24 January 2014.
3. "Row over Euro-link station name". BBC News. 29 October 2004.
4. "£20m bullet trains to serve Olympic Park". Olympic Delivery Authority. 28 October 2004. Archived from the original on 4 April 2012. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
5. "Japanese bullet train on display". BBC News. 2 October 2007. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
6. "Our plans: Getting ready". Olympic Delivery Authority. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
7. Transport Plan for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games – first edition (PDF). Olympic Delivery Authority. p. 64. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 October 2008. Retrieved 13 December 2008.
8. Southeastern. "Olympics timetable High Speed". Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 4 April 2012.
9. Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 Section 9 4b
10. "Fastrack A/B Map" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 November 2008. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
11. Gravesham Borough Council Report to Joint Transportation Board: Northfleet – Ebbsfleet station pedestrian links.,(see pages 65-69)
12. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 September 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
13. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 August 2014.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
14. "Preview Timetable" (PDF). web.archive.org. 6 August 2009. Archived from the original (pdf) on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
15. "High Speed Services to St Pancras International" (PDF). web.archive. org. Southeastern Railways. 7 October 2009. Archived from the original (pdf) on 7 October 2009. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
16. "Southeastern Highspeed: 13 December 2009 timetable" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 December 2009. Retrieved 13 December 2009.

External links

• Train times and station information for Ebbsfleet International railway station from National Rail
• Ebbsfleet International station
• Always touch out project details
• BBC picture gallery
• Kent Rail page on the station and related works on CTRL phase 2
• Ebbsfleet Gateway
• HS1 Javelin Trains