Ebbsfleet International railway station

Ebbsfleet International railway station is a railway station in Ebbsfleet Valley, in the Borough of Dartford, Kent, 10 mi outside the eastern boundary of Greater London, England. It is near Dartford and the Bluewater shopping centre to the west and Gravesend to the east. Ebbsfleet International station is a part of the Thames Gateway urban regeneration, a project of national priority. It is sited on the High Speed 1 rail line, around 400 m south-west of Northfleet railway station and the Stonebridge Road area of Northfleet. The station lies off the A2 trunk road, about 5 mi from its junction with the M25 motorway. During the London 2012 Olympics Ebbsfleet International served as a primary park-and-rail service as it is situated on the edge of the M25 motorway, which allows easy access for over 10 million commuters.

Ebbsfleet International is owned by HS1 Ltd. HS1 Ltd acquired a 30 year concession to own and operate the High Speed 1 railway and the stations: St Pancras International, Stratford International, Ebbsfleet International and Ashford International.

Origin of the name
The name Ebbsfleet is an artificial creation of seventeenth-century antiquaries, partly inspired by the name of Ebbsfleet in Thanet, 75 km to the east.

Opening
The station opened to the public on 19 November 2007, later than St. Pancras International because the security equipment was transferred from Waterloo. The station was formally opened and dedicated in a ceremony by Dame Kelly Holmes on 29 January 2008.

Naming
"Ebbsfleet International Station" was the name originally proposed for the station, but "Dartford International Station" was later proposed at the urging of Eurostar, who felt that Dartford was a name with greater national recognition. Opposition to Eurostar’s ‘Dartford International’ proposal came from Gravesham Borough Council, whose administrative centre at Gravesend is just two miles (2 mi) away (even though Ebbsfleet International is in the borough of Dartford and therefore outside of Gravesham council's authority); Southfleet Parish Council; and Swanscombe and Greenhithe Town Council, both in the Borough of Dartford. The similarity of its name to that of Dartford railway station, 6 mi away, was also of concern.

Javelin Shuttle
The Olympic Javelin or Javelin was a high-speed train shuttle service operated by Southeastern over High Speed 1 during the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The service ran for the duration of both games, between St Pancras International station and this station, via Stratford International station, which is close to the Olympic Park. During the Summer Olympics a service of eight trains an hour ran between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, calling at Stratford, replacing the usual East Kent highspeed service. Two of these were extended to Ashford and one to Faversham. Between 11pm and 1am the service between St Pancras and Ebbsfleet was increased to twelve per hour.

Layout
On High Speed 1 there are avoiding lines in each direction and four platforms, two serving international Eurostar services and two the Southeastern Highspeed services. Southeastern services travelling between London and the North Kent Line use a junction to the north of the station and are served by another pair of platforms that curve away to the east.

Facilities
The Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) Act allows a total of 9,000 car parking spaces to be constructed, with an initial 6,000 built. The car parks are in a number of areas around the station - north of the North Kent Line, between the North Kent Line and High Speed 1, south of the High Speed 1 and south west of the station building. The station is served by National Express coach services running between London and Dover, and by Fastrack buses operated by Arriva, which connect it to Dartford, Bluewater, Greenhithe, Swanscombe and Gravesend. Taxis are located at a Taxi rank directly outside the station entrance/exit. Car rental services for both leisure and business are located in the concourse. The interchange facilities lie at either end of the main station box - taxis, buses and set down at the northern end (to also serve the NKL platforms) and coaches to the south of the station box. It was formerly planned that Crossrail would terminate at a separate station between Northfleet and Ebbsfleet International but under the current plan, Abbey Wood further west will be the eastern terminus. However, a Crossrail extension from Abbey Wood to Gravesend (Hoo Junction) remains safeguarded.

Ticket barriers control access to all platforms.

Pedestrian Access
Northfleet railway station is approximately 400 metres to the north-east, although the walking distance between the two stations is significantly longer, approximately 2000 metres if roadside footpaths are followed. There is a shorter walking route (approximately 1000 metres) through the car park to the north of Ebbsfleet station, but there are no footpaths provided and this way is obstructed by the car park access barriers. There are no specific pedestrian or cycle route signs for Ebbsfleet station on any of the possible routes between the stations. Gravesham Council acknowledges that the existing provision is inadequate, although it is a complex planning issue to resolve as whilst Northfleet is in Gravesham, Ebbsfleet station is just over the border in the Borough of Dartford, and there are many other stakeholders involved.

Services
Daily there are six (seven on Fridays) Eurostar services to Paris, and three to Brussels, and the same number arriving from the continent. It is not permitted to use Eurostar services for domestic journeys in the UK.

On 29 June 2009 Southeastern started a weekday preview service between St Pancras International and Ebbsfleet International, extending to Ashford International during peak hours. On 7 September the service was enhanced with a few services to Ramsgate via Canterbury West or Dover. A regular service commenced on 13 December 2009.

Ebbsfleet International is unique in the United Kingdom in that it is the only station in the entire country that is only served by high-speed services, a distinction it shares with Limburg Süd, the only station in the whole of Germany that is only served by high-speed services.

The typical off-peak service is:

A number of peak hour trains serve Maidstone West, Broadstairs via the Medway towns and Sandwich.
 * 4 trains per hour to St Pancras International, taking 17 minutes;
 * 2 trains per hour to Faversham;
 * 1 train per hour to Margate via Ashford International and Canterbury West;
 * 1 train per hour to Dover Priory via Ashford International, Folkestone West and Folkestone Central.