Waterloo Railway Station

Waterloo Station: perennial renovations, a chaotic clash between throngs of commuters and the disorientation of escalators, travellators and bifurcated points of entry and exit. In other words, it’s not everybody’d favourite transport hub. But you have to excuse it– it’s the largest train station in Great Britain and I remember back in 2006, when the only quick sandwich could be sourced from a (heavily raided) M&S or a dubious Whistlestop. Since then, the station’s concourse has been utterly transformed and now caters to a wide range of culinary, commercial and coffee needs.
Given it’s prime location– only minutes away from the Southbank Centre, the London Eye and The Old (and Young) Vic, Waterloo is a place where tourists and Londoners come together to survive the urban jungle.
Putting this aside, Waterloo Station has something else– a romantic quality, if you will. Think Abba, think The Kinks– they venerated it in song. And, for me, there is something beautiful about meeting someone under one of London’s most famous rendezvous points: the four faced clock, hanging over the main station floor, made by Gents of Leicester and thought to date back to the 1920s. It’s a beautiful horological feat to behold.
Here, couples meet and saunter away, arm-​in-​arm, to see a show, have a dinner or merely stroll along the Thames. In fact, it was one of the first places I met my partner of almost 7 years– and we still meet here to this day. ‘Meet me at Waterloo’ is tacitly understood to mean ‘stand underneath the clock and I’ll spot you.‘
So, despite its somewhat anarchic surroundings of travellers and cancellations, I suspect that the clock at Waterloo Station is still one of the most romantic spots in London. Everyone should meet their sweetheart here at least once– there’s something very whimsical about asking someone to meet you underneath the clock at Waterloo, even for me after all these years.

Waterloo Station is huge. It’s a London Icon that is in many many films.
It is so huge, that there are many entrances/​exits to Waterloo station and many entrances/​exits to the underground and some of them are not labeled.
There is a clock in the middle of the station which is a good place to meet people. I’ve been meeting people under the clock for half my life.
There are shops and places to eat both inside and nearby outside.
It also has some un-​used platforms. For about 5 years the Eurostar started from this station but it doesn’t anymore.

I use this station every day to get to work. What I do like about the station though is the shops. It’s very easy to pass by Boots and get any toiletries I’m running low on on my way home and I like being able to browse in Lush for anything that takes my fancy and get some quick crafts supplies and gifts from Paperchase.
It’s also a good station to kill time as you can shop, have a coffee or a drink at the pub above it while waiting for your train or your friends who may be late (let’s face it… that happens more than we like).
Another great thing for me is that the station also has some pretty cool seasonal décor, like the raptors from Jurassic World and the giant poppies for Remembrance Day so there’s some pretty great selfie opportunities too.

London Waterloo is quite a nice, more modern station in London, in a reasonable, central location, with quick access to the likes of Westminster through both tube and walking, and I would compare it to be one of the nicer train stations in London, definitely beating London Euston.
Waterloo seems to be quite a large station, having a considerable number of places to eat and drink, compared to Euston, which makes me wonder, why long distance trains can’t go from here, as it seems that would make it a lot better, with big names such as Starbucks, Mcdonalds, Wasabi and Carluccio’s, all having stores here, which may not at Euston. I think this station is a far better place to spend your time, compared to Euston, especially because they is more eating places, rather than fast food, hence with more places to sit in, without being forced to stay outside or in cramped, busy, small stores.
Boots, Lush and WHsmith are some of the shops that Waterloo has, it does have a reasonable selection for a train station, with the restaurants and fast-​food /​coffee outlets sweetening the deal, that little bit more.
Waterloo also has tube connections, which means you can get off your train and get on the tube and vice-​versa, the station seems to be accessible to a good level as well, also beating Euston and their underground station.
They seems to be quite a lot of police around Waterloo, as with Euston and other busy London stations, which I feel is good as it makes you feel safer, and it is someone you can rely to on advice or finding somewhere, and the officers I spoken to did seem friendly and willing to help.
In my opinion, Waterloo is one of the better stations in London, especially when considering the facilities, however it does lack something compared to stations like Euston, a nicer-​outside part, most stations such as Piccadilly and Euston have this, but here it is very old, busy and not a place you want to even stay there for minutes, and certain entrances are also not very nice, and a little old. which surprises me a little compared to the main part of the station. I still feel 3 stars is fair as this is a great station to spend some time at before your train, mainly due to the facilities for food and drink, with places like Wasabi, Cabin and Carluccio’s, where you can have more of a meal, rather than get grab and go food from the likes of Mcdonald’s (Also available)

I used this station to catch trains to the South-​East, to Wimbledon, Windsor, Chessington etc. It has a massive concourse, and I always wonder if they give you enough time to get to your platforms, as the display only shows the platforms a few moments before the train departs, giving so little time to get through the barriers and get on the trains. I pity those who are old and disabled, who cannot reach their platforms quickly, or have trouble with their tickets at the barriers.
There is a massive clock hanging in the middle of the concourse and often used for a meeting place, «meet under the clock»!
And why does it always seem to be surrounded by building works and boardings. Been like that for years.

The «Yay, I’m a fan!» caption for a four star rating doesn’t really justify why I rate Waterloo a four star.
1) I am NOT A FAN of Waterloo mostly because I am not a fan of travelling underground or even getting on public transport but I have to.
What does justify the rating for Waterloo is that it is well connected to various parts of London with the Bakerloo line heading to the West End, Northern Line going, well, North, Jubilee line heading South/​South East and Waterloo and City line, a one stop tube only going back and forth from Bank to Waterloo, connecting the city to Waterloo.
Apart from the tube services, Waterloo also offers overground trains to other areas out of London all the way up to Reading, Windsor and Eton Riverside and other counties on the South West Train not to mention the South East train towards Kent and other regions out East of London.
Waterloo Station may also be a good place to get stuck if you have forgotten to get a gift for a friend or family member as their are dainty stores around the station. It also has a lot of coffee shops, sandwich bars and well, bars where an alcoholic beverage will definitely help the stress which comes from dodging people during rush hour!
Waterloo is also quite central to famous sites like London Eye, House of Parliament and is a few minutes walk away from Southbank which offers a range of entertainment from food to drinks or just the great view of London by the river.
Why I don’t really like Waterloo? It is so BUSY! So busy that I can get stomped on due to how short I am and would be mistaken for an ant (if people can see me walk by).

Very busy station… Just not sure why it is so dirty and disorganised! The staff is always rude and unfriendly. Considering this is a tourist hotspot I would have expected better training… The station was recently refreshed but already looks dirty!
Yes it is well connected and located but could have been much better!

Over the many years I have travelled through this station it has moved with the times and always very busy (even @ 10.30pm) with people going home from late working or just out on the town.
Shops have been improved and there’s lots of Café type shops there to get your morning fix of caffeine and Croissant! currently (June 2015) the station concourse is promoting Jurrasic Park film with Dinosaurs you can pose with (see photos). I tend to travel from Waterloo East station which is a few minutes walk up the large escalators central to the station which leads you up to a balcony area which again has another Coffee place.

Personally I like Waterloo Station as is big and plenty of overground and underground trains to get to many different places. There is also plenty of cabs and bike parking around Waterloo. There is also some pubs/​cafes and nice shops in Waterloo from clothes shops to toiletry shops (Lush). At present (early June) they have a dinosaur prop in the station to celebrate the release of the new Jurassic Park film that is coming out.

A big and busy station that has a stadium feel during rush hour.
A choice of Costa, Pret and even Starbucks for your coffee needs.
Plenty of tube lines and cabs as well as bicycle parking.

Waterloo Station is the main hub for South West Trains for journeys down to the South Coast and South West England
The station has undergone quite a bit of building work over recent years and they have added shops, bars and restaurants on a new Mezzanine level above the main concourse
Always busy but especially so in morning and evening peak week periods
Open return Waterloo to Bournemouth £37.55, using a Network Railcard

Waterloo Station is very much a means for getting from A to B. Unlike some stations, it’s not somewhere I would want to wait around too long, as it’s not the most inviting place.
There are number of places to eat & drink as well as various shops too.
All in all, it does what it says on the tin.

Ugh. I’m here way too often. The station is great, though, with multiple coffee shops, WH Smiths, etc., many ticket machines and both a ticket counter and information booth. It is served well by a few underground lines and is well situated in the city. No complaints about this station except the distance I have to walk underground to get to my tube line.

Waterloo is the main connection point from where I live to central London, and it is really handy! It is pretty overwhelmingly big the first few times you visit, but you soon get used to it if you visit regularly. At certain times it is scarily busy, but I still find it a good place to meet friends before going over to Southbank (generally we meet under the big clock in the main hall, opposite the train platforms).
There is quite an odd mix of shops at Waterloo, including Accesorize, Lush, Burger King, Marks & Sparks, Pret… Probably something for every occasion. And there are trains to many many places, as well as the underground, and good bus links too — a great transport hub! And South Bank is one of my favourite places, so I have been to Waterloo many a time and it holds a place in my heart :)

I never cease to be amazed at what an orderly culture London is, and no better place to experience that than the trains and tubes in rush hour. Surprisingly Waterloo is easy to navigate and clean. Wish some of the stations back home take notice!

Waterloo Station continues to evolve. In the past couple of years, a veranda shopping centre has opened up a wealth of shopping and dining opportunities for travellers. There’s a state of the art video billboard, improved train departure information boards and many more self service ticket machines. There are more changes on the horizon too with the old Eurostar terminal being converted (at last!) into much needed extra platform space and I daresay yet more retail developments. Plus a revamped Marks & Spencers is being constructed. An impressive railway station.

Greatest train station in the world! I’ve been here 6 times, and I live in Florida! I love the wide open design it is absolutely beautiful. You have to pay for the bathrooms like many places in Europe, but they are always clean. The whole station is generally clean. If you are looking for healthy food choices, definitely try Marks and Spencers. It’s great to have healthy food choices in a train station.

Weird to review a railway station– but I’m a Waterloo fan. It’s been sort of rubbish in the past but they’ve FINALLY finished renovating the upstairs bit so now it’s great!
If you’re early for a train I recommend bypassing the busy downstairs stuff (Starbucks, WH Smith, M&S) and popping upstairs for Paperchase, Hotel Chocolat and Benugo for a drink or a quick window shop.
This is my favourite station because it’s not too big or too small, I get lost in St Pancras and I’m bored in Marylebone– Waterloo is a great size. Plus if you’re picking up tourists it’s close to South Bank and the London Eye.
OH and if you’re going to grab a burger go down the escalator to Mc Donald’s because the Burger King here is really expensive.

There’s something I do like about Waterloo. Could it be the Krispy Kreme, or the shops upstairs, or the fact that Its my last stop before heading home.
I do love how quickly people are moving about and running by, great for people watching. and for gettting to where you need to go.

This train station should surrender to crappiness! Holy Napoleon, I thought some of the stations in NYC were bad, but this was really bad.
I had to switch from Southeaster to South West trains here and the connection was long and climby and there was construction everywhere. The station is being worked on, so hopefully it will be nicer in the future because this is a major interchange and you can get just about anywhere from here.
In short:
A– Awful logistics
B– Birds, as in nasty pigeons, everywhere
B– Broken, many of the floor tiles
A– Agonizing, what waiting for a train is like
That spells ABBA * (you had to know where this was going)
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*
— memo to group members, you need more heel on your boots!