Stratford International to get £20m upgrade for Eurostar-style services

A £20 million upgrade could finally put international trains into Stratford International, the east London station that has carried the name since 2009 without ever hosting a cross-Channel service. Reports say next week's budget will include funding for the works, which would open up the mothballed international section of the station — platforms and waiting area included.

London mayor Sadiq Khan has lobbied ministers for the money, and he's framing it as more than a transport fix. Khan said: "We've been working closely with the government to make Stratford International truly 'international' for the first time – opening up new opportunities for jobs, investment and tourism, while connecting one of the UK's fastest-growing economic centres directly to Europe."

He didn't stop there. "It's time to unlock the full potential of this station and help write the next chapter in Stratford's remarkable success story," Khan said.

Why a 16-year-old 'international' station never went international

The station, sitting close to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, opened in late 2009. It was designed and built to handle Eurostar trains, but that ambition was never fully developed. Today only domestic routes to and from central London and Kent stop there, even though Eurostar trains physically pass through the station en route to and from St Pancras.

The fix isn't cosmetic. The station needs a significant upgrade from its current two platforms: a border post, security checks, a check-in zone, a waiting area and passenger facilities. The estimated bill, according to the Standard, is £20 million — modest by rail-infrastructure standards, roughly what a single mile of major new trackwork can cost.

Khan's plan, as reported, is for one in three trains to and from France to call at Stratford. The station could also become a hub for rail services running from the continent to the Midlands and the north of England.

The mayor has also made a strategic case against airport expansion. He recently argued that growth in international rail travel and environmental concerns made improving Stratford International a better bet than expanding Heathrow with a third runway.

How the deal gets funded

The chancellor, John Healey, is reportedly planning to greenlight Khan's proposal for a business rate retention zone, according to the Financial Times. These zones let local authorities keep all of the business rates growth collected in their area, rather than the standard half, and channel it directly into local regeneration — in this case, the station's redevelopment.

What does this change for operators and passengers?

For rail operators, it creates a second London international gateway just as competition on the cross-Channel route heats up for the first time since the tunnel opened.

Virgin plans to launch rail services from London to the continent in 2030, and the rail regulator has already granted it access to the track and to Eurostar's nearby Temple Mills depot. A Virgin Group spokesperson said the operator was "looking forward to exploring additional stops, including Stratford International", adding that the company had been "actively engaging with stakeholders to explore future expansion" beyond its initial launch plans.

Gemini Trains, chaired by the Labour peer Tony Berkeley, wants to run trains to France, Belgium and Germany and has said it wants Stratford as its London hub. It hasn't yet been granted depot and track access — a reminder that ambition at Stratford still depends on regulators, not just budget lines.

For passengers, the practical payoff is a direct link from one of the UK's fastest-growing economic centres to Europe, without the trek to St Pancras. If the budget confirms the funding, the question shifts from whether Stratford International will earn its name to which operator gets there first.