London Waterloo station
Waterloo station (/ˌwɔːtərˈluː/), also known as London Waterloo, is a central 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.
| Waterloo | |
|---|---|
| London Waterloo | |
Aerial view from the south, showing Waterloo station, Waterloo and Hungerford Bridges and the London Eye | |
Waterloo Location of Waterloo in Central London | |
| Location | Lambeth |
| Local authority | London Borough of Lambeth |
| Managed by | Network Rail |
| Station code | WAT |
| DfT category | A |
| Number of platforms | 24 |
| Accessible | Yes |
| Fare zone | 1 |
| OSI | Waterloo Waterloo East Embankment Festival Pier London Eye Pier |
| Cycle parking | Yes – external opposite exit 3 |
| Toilet facilities | Yes |
| National Rail annual entry and exit | |
| 2018–19 | 94.193 million |
| – interchange | 6.506 million |
| 2019–20 | 86.904 million |
| – interchange | 6.310 million |
| 2020–21 | 12.215 million |
| – interchange | 1.375 million |
| 2021–22 | 41.426 million |
| – interchange | 3.532 million |
| 2022–23 | 57.790 million |
| – interchange | 4.664 million |
| Railway companies | |
| Original company | London and South Western Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and South Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | Southern Railway |
| Key dates | |
| 11 July 1848 | Opened |
| 21 March 1922 | Rebuilt |
| 14 November 1994 – 13 November 2007 | Eurostar terminal |
| Other information | |
| External links | |
| WGS84 | 51.5031°N 0.1132°W |
| London transport portal | |
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 was formerly the busiest railway station in the UK, handling 41 million passengers in the year to March 2022. It is also the UK's largest station in terms of floor space and has the greatest number of platforms.