Tom from Las Pesqueras, Spain - if you are so concerned about UK trains, why are you commenting from Spain?

Billy, London,

I have been a visitor to Britain many times and used the trains. Compared to what we have in the U.S.
your rail service is excellent. Rail service over hear is totally pathetic joke. A train doing 70 miles per hour is "high speed".

Bruce L. Northwood, Silver Spring, USA

I don't buy this idea that the mainline trains can't get to the ex-Eurostar platforms without a flyover at Clapham Junction.

There are eight tracks from Clapham J to Waterloo (four up, four down). Mainline trains pass Clapham J towards the middle of these. On leaving Clapham J for Waterloo, they should shift two tracks left. These tracks are not heavily used and the trains that do currently use them can shift to where the Eurostar used to run. In the immediate approach to Waterloo where the tracks all fan out, the mainline trains can just fan to the far left, and there they are, on the ex-Eurostar platforms. Bingo! £100 milliion saved! No need to thank me - 10% will suffice.

I like Scott Benowitz's point that all the relevant technologies already existed in the mid-nineteenth century. Indeed, the many surviving examples of Victorian flyovers show that they were very much better at doing that then than we are now. They certainly got better value for money...

G Adamson, LONDON,

There is also a lot of country known as the South West Nigel. I used to get a coach to Victoria where I could stay nearby or at Waterloo. Where am I supposed to overnight at St Pancras? I can't find a bit of information. And it means towing my luggage all across London if I come up by coach. So much for making public transport more accessible. We're not all young and strong. F Brown

Faith Elizabeth Brown, Shepton Mallet, UK

Well Bill, I'm sorry Eurostar has become less convenient for you. Actually for me in South London, Waterloo was an easier terminus to reach too. But for the rather larger number of people from that area known as 'the North', St Pancras is an entirely more attractive proposition so I think it's a justifiable change.

Anyway it's not like St Pancras is on another planet. Actually it's only a few tube stops away.

And ending Eurostar services from Waterloo will free up badly
capacity on the choked South Eastern lines to Kent. (so you can get p to Victoria and on to St Pancras faster than ever).

Nigel, London,

This on top of the £5.8 Billion refurbishment for a saving of 20 minuets on a journey to Paris is absolutely disgraceful.

Tom, Las Pesqueras, Spain

Can someone please let me know why the Eurostar terminakl was switched from Waterloo in the first place?

Seems like it's all just a game of 'musical chairs' to keep departments busy and budgets spent.

Alex Mcgregor, Plymouth, UK

This incompetence is what you get when a country is governed by former social workers, former trades union officials, and former political party back-office workers.

With regard to Scott Benwitz's point, I would imagine that the problem is that Clapham Junction is already as its maximum possible capacity. It isn't a major destination station, but it's the main junction on some of London's busiest commuter routes. Measured by the number of trains passing through, I believe it is the busiest station in the UK, and one of the busiest in the world. That's why a flyover is needed.

Oliver Chettle, Bedford,

Isn't it time we had democracy in the UK, not just an electoral system? We should have MPs who listen to the people who vote them in, not treat them with contempt. I expect some Government Minister will get an Executive position with the company that EVENTUALLY gets its hands on this valuable railway station space.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

Which political party pulls ths strings in Westminster and how many MPs from that party commute to towns served by trains from Waterloo? It's that simple. And I have no political axe to grind since I can't cast a vote at general elections; i'm not a criminal, but I'm from somewhere on the continent.

Richard Schreuder, London,

yes, scott
they are called points (in the uk at least)
mind you, i am not surprised that the present government doesn't know about them.
spin doesn't appear in train terminology!!

grindlestheelder, London, eng

I think this is disgrace and the Transport Secretary should, Ruth Kelly should resign. Awful.

South Londoner.

Will Simpson, Southfields,

"..... we're also looking at how Waterloo can be used to expand .........."

Why not until "now" ? Businesses in the private sector cannot possibly afford underutilisation on this scale therefore they have to plan ahead .. but not in the public sector obviously. Passenger numbers we are reliably informed, on a regular basis, are increasing rapidly and that surely should have alerted Network Rail to plan Waterloo's reorganisation in 2004 NOT 2007.

Chris Whitehouse, Croydon,

Unfortunately, our present government is second rate, both in terms of its ministers, its ideas and its performance.

This is yet another example of poor thinking which pervades the PM and his cabinet.

Only this government (?) would prefer to spend £0.5 million per year for mothballing rather than using the platforms.

The only solution is a change of regime

Howard, London,

The closure of the Waterloo and Ashford stations for Eurostar is absolutely absurd. I regularly use Ashford and take the train to get there. Now I have to go to Ebbsfleet which is not served from my station so I am supposed to drive there. What sort of public transport policy is that? Eurostar say 75% of passengers who did use Ashford will now use Ebbsfleet but given we have no choice now they are admitting 25% will stop using the service all together! Of course it's even worse for the thousands of Southern and South West passengers who used to be able to go to Waterloo. How many of them will stop using the train for Paris and Brussels?
Of course the platforms at Waterloo shouldn't be left idle - they should be hosting Eurostar trains AS WELL as St Pancras. Similarly, the Ashford should still have a full service.

Bill best, Staplehurst, Kent

This is not my field of expertise in this world, but (in may laymans' observation) didn't the technologies exist back in the mid nineteenth century to re-route the tracks that certain train lines run on with relative ease, if one knows the anticipated train schedules in advance?

Scott Benowitz, Rye, New York, U.S.A.