London St. Pancras Highspeed has signed a letter of intent with Eurostar to mark the beginning of steps to expand capacity at St. Pancras International.
The announcement comes following an independent study commissioned in late 2024 that explored how the station could evolve to meet ever-expanding passenger growth.
A detailed deign and feasibility study is set to be delivered by architecture practice Hawkins/Brown, which will allow the two companies to assess how best to reimagine the station to accommodate more passengers, as well as streamline operations.
Simon Lejeune, Chief Safety and Stations Officer at Eurostar, said:We’re proud to be working with London St. Pancras Highspeed and HawkinsBrown to reimagine our space for the future and offer an even better customer experience. Eurostar is the green gateway to Europe, already welcoming up to 45,000 customers a day at St Pancras with demand growing.
As we plan to expand our fleet from the early 2030s and increase services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and now Germany and Switzerland, this project will play a vital role in enabling that growth and continuing our seamless and unique customer experience.
The letter of intent between both London St. Pancras Highspeed and Eurostar agrees upon collaboration on three distinct phases:
Phase One will see the review of short term improvements within the station’s current footprint, including the optimisation of both security and border crossing processes to deliver an increase of 2,700 passengers per hour in within the next three to four years.
Phase Two will involve the improvement of the international area, as well as its connection to the main concourse, which will aid in passenger flow and customer experience. This is expected to be complete by 2028.
Finally, Phase Three will see a further exploration of long-term opportunities to drive growth and further enhance capacity in the 2030’s, with a specific focus on the relocation of the upstairs arrivals flow.
Known for its work on Straford International; Hawkins/Brown has been contracted to both design and deliver a new ground floor layout for the international zone, doubling the station’s current capacity, which currently sees 2,000 passengers per hour and is expected to grow to nearly 5,000 per hour following the completion of Phase Two.
Andrew Davies, Partner & Transport & Infrastructure lead at HawkinsBrown said:We are very excited to be leading a hand-picked multi-disciplinary team to unlock this constrained site and enable millions of people to enjoy affordable, high-speed, and sustainable journeys to and from Europe.
Our challenge is to create a welcoming new landmark for London, with minimal disruption to the travelling public in the process.
The work is planned to be achieve through remodelling and redefining existing spaces and processes, avoiding the need for significant structural changes.
The plans have been announced following research commissioned by London St. Pancras Highspeed earlier this year discovered that demand for sustainable travel to Europe is set to triple by 2040, an increase from 11 million to 35 million passengers per year.
Eurostar recently announced plans to extend services from London to include both Geneva and Frankfurt.
Richard Thorp, Chief Operating Officer at London St. Pancras Highspeed, said:We’re delighted to be working with Eurostar to expand capacity at St. Pancras International. With growing passenger demand for international train travel, it is important that St. Pancras International station is future-proofed and optimised to accommodate this.
With a shared ambition and collaborative approach, we can ensure our iconic station is ready to support this demand, and we’re looking forward to getting started on a new era of connectivity between London and Europe.
