Eurostar to close Waterloo terminal?

Eurostar is reportedly considering closing its Waterloo terminal when the high-speed rail line to St Pancras opens in 2007 – a move critics say will play into the hands of airlines. The Times reports that despite promises to keep Waterloo open and run hourly services to Paris and Brussels, directors of the company now believe it could be too expensive to keep two terminals running in London. Despite a 20 per cent increase in passenger numbers last year, the newspaper reports, they are still only running at a third of the 20 million originally predicted for 2004. If the closure goes ahead, The Times suggests, passengers living in the south of London would find the service much less convenient as they would have to find their way to St Pancras or Ashford in order to cross the Channel. Tim Nicholson, chairman of the Rail Passengers for Southern England, reportedly said: “They may stop using the service altogether if they have to heave their suitcases across London to St Pancras. Eurostar must understand they are running a service for passengers.” A spokesman for Eurostar reportedly countered: “If we kept Waterloo open we would have to pay for two crew bases, two catering outfits and all the operating costs of running two terminals. We will be talking to current Waterloo users but we suspect the majority of our passengers come from outside the Waterloo catchment area and therefore will find it convenient to go to St Pancras.” Report by Tim Gillett, News From Abroad