Stratford International Station And The New Bridge

The bridge shortens the walking distance between Stratford International and Stratford Regional Stations by 200m, allowing spectators visiting the Olimpic Park to get between the stations more easily and improving the connection with the new Stratford City development. A new entrance has been put in at Stratford International Station, ahead of the station opening for high-speed domestic services in December 2009. A 36m bridge made of glass panels was lifted into place above the domestic service railway lines to form the new entrance and exit. During the Games the Javelin® service will run on the High Speed 1 line, shuttling 25,000 spectators per hour from St. Pancras International into the heart of the Olimpic Park in just seven minutes. The bridge was jointly funded by the Olimpic Delivery Authority (ODA), Department for Transport, and High Speed 1, the line that runs through the station between St. Pancras International and mainland Europe. A new high-speed domestic service from Ebbsfleet in Kent to St. Pancras International will start using this line in December. ODA Transport Director Hugh Sumner said: ‘This bridge is crucial to ensuring that the flow of pedestrians on and off the trains in and out of the Olimpic Park is kept as smooth as possible, congestion is kept to a minimum and we reduce the distance that spectators will have to walk.’