London Waterloo retail - what's going on?

[dorsetdesiro]

Interesting! If Caseys was only found in BR stations then disappeared during privatisation then was it state owned? If so, possibly positive sort of nationalisation in Britain that everyone could enjoy - if the burgers were so good - if the other state owned companies were disappointments to their customers at the time

 

[Jimini]

Was Casey Jones something like a British Wendys? I can only remember Wimpys before these were converted to Burger King in the late 80s & early 90s

There are a few Wimpy outlets still dotted about -- Loughton and Twickenham spring immediately to mind. Cracking burgers!

 

[FuzzyDuck]

There are a few Wimpy outlets still dotted about -- Loughton and Twickenham spring immediately to mind. Cracking burgers!

One in Basingstoke too.

I passed through Waterloo Sunday night and briefly considered using McDonalds...then I saw the queue and didn't bother.

 

[C96]

I have always thought the exits around Waterloo are a mess. Very difficult to navigate.

I don’t know why they don’t make more of encouraging passengers from the more southerly platforms heading towards South Bank out under the clock and onto Cab Road well in advance of the Victory Steps.

The Victory Steps feel like the de facto main entrance but they are not good for the purpose, too steep for many.

I would personally reconfigure the Cab Road area where all the bike racks are, make it the de facto main exit, the main entrance for step free and then sort out properly the absolute mess of obstructions on the approach in general. There seems to be a lot of wasted potentially valuable circulation space on Cab Road in general.

As for the walkway in the sky, most of these experiments didn’t work. This one might have been better because the station is elevated, as is the Hungerford Bridge so you were linking 2 elevated things together.

I feel the problem with that is whilst the exit is big, the pathway after is mediocre and can get crowded with buses and people coming the other way.

 

[dorsetdesiro]

Does anyone think travellators are more reliable or convenient than lifts? Manchester Piccadilly and other stations have them.

I understand those in the ex-Int'l platforms, at Waterloo, would have been removed to make room for the retail units in the new shopping arcade below.

It could be quite convenient when getting off the train to head down to the underground from the platforms by avoiding the main concourse but there are only stairs down also there could be some unlucky times when the lifts are found to be broken - happened to me at Woking when I had to lug a massive suitcase up the stairs.

The redeveloped area of the ex-Int'l station where it meets the main concourse - there is a large ramp up to the platforms but only stairs down to the new arcade, no escalators or travellators. I would have thought there would have been a ramp down there built as well?

A broken or inactive travellator in many cases can be safe to use by acting as a ramp whereas a broken lift would be unusable & closed off or it stops working when you are inside it and can't get out!

 

[simonw]

Casey Jones Burger Bar

British Burger Bar chain popular during the 80's. These outlets were only found in Mainline train stations such as Euston, Kings Cross, Waterloo...

www.doyouremember.co.uk

Although little did they know both Casey and Jones would be used in Alien films. Casey being the headless doll in Alien 2 that Newt carried, and Jones the cat from the original film

Well I assume it was named after

Casey Jones - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And the possibly the TV series of the same

 

[dorsetdesiro]

Well I assume it was named after

Casey Jones - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

And the possibly the TV series of the same

Thanks! I assumed it was a made-up Welsh female name like a British take on Wendys ha ha

 

[AndrewP]

The reason Casey Jones vanished was that Compass who purchased Travellers Fare were formerly owned by Grand Metropolitan who bought Pillsbury (as in the dough boy at the end of Ghostbusters) who also owned Burger King and they did their best to expand the brand including buying Wimpy including converting most branches and selling the rest and eventually the brand.

The Burger King at Waterloo was (and may well still be) the busiest in Europe

 

[yorksrob]

There are a few Wimpy outlets still dotted about -- Loughton and Twickenham spring immediately to mind. Cracking burgers!

Excellent puddings as well !

 

[43096]

Does anyone think travellators are more reliable or convenient than lifts? Manchester Piccadilly and other stations have them.

I understand those in the ex-Int'l platforms, at Waterloo, would have been removed to make room for the retail units in the new shopping arcade below.

It could be quite convenient when getting off the train to head down to the underground from the platforms by avoiding the main concourse but there are only stairs down also there could be some unlucky times when the lifts are found to be broken - happened to me at Woking when I had to lug a massive suitcase up the stairs.

The redeveloped area of the ex-Int'l station where it meets the main concourse - there is a large ramp up to the platforms but only stairs down to the new arcade, no escalators or travellators. I would have thought there would have been a ramp down there built as well?

There are escalators down from part way along the platforms on P20-24.

 

[fgwrich]

Does anyone think travellators are more reliable or convenient than lifts? Manchester Piccadilly and other stations have them.

I understand those in the ex-Int'l platforms, at Waterloo, would have been removed to make room for the retail units in the new shopping arcade below.

It could be quite convenient when getting off the train to head down to the underground from the platforms by avoiding the main concourse but there are only stairs down also there could be some unlucky times when the lifts are found to be broken - happened to me at Woking when I had to lug a massive suitcase up the stairs.

The redeveloped area of the ex-Int'l station where it meets the main concourse - there is a large ramp up to the platforms but only stairs down to the new arcade, no escalators or travellators. I would have thought there would have been a ramp down there built as well?

A broken or inactive travellator in many cases can be safe to use by acting as a ramp whereas a broken lift would be unusable & closed off or it stops working when you are inside it and can't get out!

There are escalators down from part way along the platforms on P20-24.

Indeed, down from the platforms to the ticketed area and barriers, and down from in front of the barriers to the underground passageways to the Bakerloo & Northern Line ticket hall.

 

[Wolfie]

There are a few Wimpy outlets still dotted about -- Loughton and Twickenham spring immediately to mind. Cracking burgers!

Grays too.

 

[thomalex]

It seems there's also going to be an external element to this, although whether they are waiting for the demolition of the adjacent Elizabeth House before this part opens I'm not sure.

 

[nlogax]

It seems there's also going to be an external element to this, although whether they are waiting for the demolition of the adjacent Elizabeth House before this part opens I'm not sure.

Don't think that's feasible, as I read it demolition of the entire Elizabeth House complex is going to take a few years. The Sidings will open shortly and there will inevitably be a bunch of hoardings directly opposite on the new Waterloo Curve walkway.

 

[swt_passenger]

Does anyone think travellators are more reliable or convenient than lifts? Manchester Piccadilly and other stations have them.

I understand those in the ex-Int'l platforms, at Waterloo, would have been removed to make room for the retail units in the new shopping arcade below.

It could be quite convenient when getting off the train to head down to the underground from the platforms by avoiding the main concourse but there are only stairs down also there could be some unlucky times when the lifts are found to be broken - happened to me at Woking when I had to lug a massive suitcase up the stairs.

The redeveloped area of the ex-Int'l station where it meets the main concourse - there is a large ramp up to the platforms but only stairs down to the new arcade, no escalators or travellators. I would have thought there would have been a ramp down there built as well?

A broken or inactive travellator in many cases can be safe to use by acting as a ramp whereas a broken lift would be unusable & closed off or it stops working when you are inside it and can't get out!

The former international travelators, (just like at St Pancras), operated one way only in a security area, switched for arrival or departure as necessary, and were removed and replaced by dual escalators early in the rebuild. Like a lot of features of the international station they would have been completely unsuitable for a normal high frequency commuter station.

 

[py_megapixel]

There are a few Wimpy outlets still dotted about -- Loughton and Twickenham spring immediately to mind. Cracking burgers!

Grays too.

I think there might be one in Littlehampton also.

Perhaps not enough space for electronic kiosks as that McDs branch at Waterloo is more like a "food court counter" than an actual restaurant?

There are wall-mounted versions of the self service kiosks which are used on food courts and similar where there's not enough space for the free-standing units. The one at Victoria has them.

 

[Goldfish62]

I noticed yesterday that a large "The Sidings" sign has gone up in the orchestra pit, so presumably can't be long until it opens.
I also noted that the large M&S won't be reopening until 2023!

 

[Goldfish62]

Bit of an update.

"Pure" has now closed, leaving just the small M&S and Starbucks on the back wall of the concourse.

Meanwhile the Sidings has now opened, initially just with the enormous Brewdog and Kiehl's. Costa and WH Smith are due shortly, plus Sainsbury's in the former Eurostar ticket office.

One entrance to the Brewdog and also the entire top floor of the Sidings are directly accessible via the escalators and and gateline directly accessible from P20-24. Unfortunately these remain restricted, with access only possible from the Sidings to P20-24 during the off-peak. To get from P20-24 to The Sidings outside the peaks is still via the main concourse.

The new station toilets in the "orchestra pit" which opened briefly in late 2019 and then closed in early 2020 "due to Covid" remain closed (due to Covid???).

 

[swr444]

Bit of an update.

"Pure" has now closed, leaving just the small M&S and Starbucks on the back wall of the concourse.

Meanwhile the Sidings has now opened, initially just with the enormous Brewdog and Kiehl's. Costa and WH Smith are due shortly, plus Sainsbury's in the former Eurostar ticket office.

One entrance to the Brewdog and also the entire top floor of the Sidings are directly accessible via the escalators and and gateline directly accessible from P20-24. Unfortunately these remain restricted, with access only possible from the Sidings to P20-24 during the off-peak. To get from P20-24 to The Sidings outside the peaks is still via the main concourse.

The new station toilets in the "orchestra pit" which opened briefly in late 2019 and then closed in early 2020 "due to Covid" remain closed (due to Covid???).

WHSmith is open. All entrances are now open all day, including the peak time platform stairs to the underground which also have access to the sidings. Toilets are closed due to a problem, not because of Covid.

 

[TEW]

The WHSmith is open but it's in such an odd location at present that I wonder if anybody would find and use it.

 

[Kite159]

I wonder how popular that new Sainsburys will be, compared to the existing one located outside the station on Waterloo Road, next to a Tesco express.

 

[swr444]

The WHSmith is open but it's in such an odd location at present that I wonder if anybody would find and use it.

It really is, I’m surprised anyone would want to open there tbh

I wonder how popular that new Sainsburys will be, compared to the existing one located outside the station on Waterloo Road, next to a Tesco express.

Depends what the prices will be like compared to the out of station one? I guess once the sidings is fully we will know

 

[Goldfish62]

WHSmith is open. All entrances are now open all day, including the peak time platform stairs to the underground which also have access to the sidings. Toilets are closed due to a problem, not because of Covid.

On P23/24 this afternoon the up escalator was working, but the down escalator was cordoned off with the usual notice stating that it was only open during peak hours.

The WHSmith is open but it's in such an odd location at present that I wonder if anybody would find and use it.

Where exactly is it?

 

[swr444]

On P23/24 this afternoon the up escalator was working, but the down escalator was cordoned off with the usual notice stating that it was only open during peak hours.


Where exactly is it?

escalator is broken on 23/24, they've probably just put whatever they could in front of it!

WHSmith is by the entrance between platform 1-19 "peak time" subway entrance's to the underground and the sidings.

 

[Goldfish62]

WHSmith is by the entrance between platform 1-19 "peak time" subway entrance's to the underground and the sidings.

I'll have a look on Thursday!

 

[KGX]

Even pre covid The Sidings seems like overkill on station retail.

 

[Goldfish62]

Even pre covid The Sidings seems like overkill on station retail.

It's not station retail as such. It's a leisure and retail complex that utilises vacant space that happens to be under the existing station. It's the same concept as the shopping arcade accessed from Victoria Station.

 

[nlogax]

I was there on Saturday and had a look around. Although already familiar with the plans and layout, I hadn't really considered how literally out of sight / out of mind this project could be to a huge amount of commuters and leisure travellers. You really have to be looking for it. It'll be interesting to check in and see how the retail space performs in coming years.

 

[swt_passenger]

It's not station retail as such. It's a leisure and retail complex that utilises vacant space that happens to be under the existing station. It's the same concept as the shopping arcade accessed from Victoria Station.

I always thought it’ll probably only become much more useful for the public once the full re-development of the Elizabeth House site on York Rd is complete. Reasoning being that’s when the area between the former International station and York Rd becomes more public open space than “back of house” and car park access.

 

[K.o.R]

The McDonalds at Waterloo must be one of he few that still don't have self order kiosks. The bigger M&S is the shop I use the most at Waterloo.

They also don't accept app orders (at least, last time I checked).