A

new £25m balcony that features ten new retail outlets has opened at Waterloo

Station’s main concourse in time for the Olympic Games.



The new balcony, opened on 17 July,is designed to reduce congestion on

the concoursefor 300,000 daily passengers and improve access to and from

Waterloo East.



BAM in the London region has completed the new 220 metre balcony - the longest

at any British rail on time for the Olympic Games, when it estimated the

station will have more than 1,000,000 extra visitors.



The rejuvenation of Waterloo Station is part of Network Rail’s on-going

programme of investment in key stations across the country to provide more

space, reduce congestion and improve the facilities for passengers..



This has been achieved by installing escalators and repositioning retail

outlets previously located in the middle of the main concourse onto the

balcony. With new escalators and lifts, installed earlier in May, Waterloo

station now has step-free access to Waterloo East.

The new balcony will provide passengers with a wider choice of places to eat

and shop with an extra 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space.



David Biggs, director of property at Network Rail, comments: 'We are dedicated

to improving the facilities, layout and retail experiences for millions of

commuters nationwide through various station expansion projects within

Britain’s major cities. The Waterloo balcony project forms part of our wider

retail strategy to create ‘destination’ stations for both rail passengers and

non-travelling customers. It also provides a crucial, sustainable source of

income for the station, which can be reinvested directly into the rail network

to continuously improve our services to passengers.'

Tim Shoveller, Managing Director of the Network Rail/South West Trains alliance

said: 'Waterloo, as many of our customers know, is a very busy station. We have

over 90m passengers passing through every year and there is 30% growth

predicted by 2030. Our challenge is to deliver extra capacity so our passengers

can get the rail services they rely on.

'We needed to find a radical solution to improve the space and facilities at

Waterloo. The opening of the balcony, with the removal of retail units from the

concourse, crucially reduces congestion while still providing the facilities

expected at a modern station. Passengers will now find it easier to get to and

from their trains.'

Waterloo station is one of the UK's major transport hubs connecting London to

popular destinations such as Bournemouth, Poole, Southampton, Portsmouth,

Reading and Windsor. Click here to view image.























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