What would you rename Stratford International to?

[Farigiraf]

A question that's been done to death, sure, but reading the recent thread about the station it seems highly unlikely that its name will ever be accurate. So what would you rename it to?
My amateur thoughts:
Stratford High Speed (similar to stations in France with 'TGV' at the end of the name)
Stratford North, potentially, although it might lead those unfamiliar with the network to think it's just a smaller local station
Stratford Gateway - as the station is London's high speed gateway to the southeast (and the name sounds quite cool).

 

[birchesgreen]

Gateway is the best of those.

 

[zwk500]

Agree Stratford North feels like a local stop. 'Gateway' suggests to me something that doesn't really line up with what the station actually does - it sounds like nobody will actually enter or exit the network at Stratford, whereas it is a destination and origin point in it's own right.
Stratford HS1/High Speed would be the most obvious choice, although I'd be tempted to call it Stratford Javelin as a nod to the Olympics and the role of the station in the service provided for them. However in the modern world the most likely source of funding would probably lead to it being called Stratford Westfield. Maybe Stratford Olympic Park would be a suitable middle ground.

 

[alholmes]

Stratford High Speed sounds too similar to Stratford High Street, which is a separate DLR station the other side of Stratford. If the HS1 station were to be renamed, that would be a problem as presumably Stratford International DLR would be renamed as well.

My suggestion, as a local and occasional user - don’t change it. We all know it as Stratford International, and we all know that international trains don’t stop there.

 

[duncombec]

Stratford (Westfield)?

Mildly amusing that Westfield shopping Centre is south of East Village, both of which appear to be to the general west of Stratford...

 

[LLivery]

Stratford Kent as it's for trains to Kent

 

[Birkonian]

Stratford White Elephant?

 

[Thirteen]

Stratford City would work since it's next door to Westfield Stratford City.

 

[bnc2018]

Stratford North, potentially, although it might lead those unfamiliar with the network to think it's just a smaller local station

Realistically - it is the smaller local station. The trains may be pointier, but they serve far fewer (and less major) destinations than Stratford proper does

 

[eastwestdivide]

Stratford White Elephant?

From an international point of view, yes, but domestically it's a lot busier than a white elephant station, loads of passengers off and on the Javelins there when I pass through.

 

[whoosh]

Stratford for International superstars ABBA as holograms.

 

[Bristol LHS]

Stratford Olympic Park, or just Olympic Park?

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Stratford City

Stratford SouthEastern

Stratford Victoria (why not continue the tradition of naming railway stations after the former Queen?)

+1 for Stratford North

 

[Gloster]

Stratford-NOT-on-Avon

 

[HST43257]

Gateway sounds cool. I can’t think of any other major contenders off the top of my head, other than perhaps renaming it to Redcar British Steel

 

[Harpo]

The first International at Stratford was nearly 60 years ago. It was always called 'The Lift', easier than 'London International Freight Terminal'.

 

[stadler]

In my opinion they really ought to just rename it to "Stratford" and merge the two stations together. They are so close that they are already almost one station. In fact the North end of Platform 11 at Stratford is almost right on top of the Stratford International platforms. At the North end of Platform 11 at Stratford you are three times closer to the Stratford International high speed platforms than you are to the Stratford main concourse area.

So i think the stations are so close that they ought to just be merged in to one "Stratford" station. At the same time they could finally renumber all of the platforms and get rid of the ridiculous mess. Stratford has the most confusing platform numbering in the UK so merging the stations and renumbering the platforms at both would probably help.

 

[zwk500]

In my opinion they really ought to just rename it to "Stratford" and merge the two stations together. They are so close that they are already almost one station. In fact the North end of Platform 11 at Stratford is almost right on top of the Stratford International platforms. At the North end of Platform 11 at Stratford you are three times closer to the Stratford International high speed platforms than you are to the Stratford main concourse area.

So i think the stations are so close that they ought to just be merged in to one "Stratford" station. At the same time they could finally renumber all of the platforms and get rid of the ridiculous mess. Stratford has the most confusing platform numbering in the UK so merging the stations and renumbering the platforms at both would probably help.

This would be quite a downgrade for passemgers IMO. The High Speed station is clearly separate and serves completely different places. Anybody being directed to 'change at Stratford' would be rather blindsided by the fact they had to walk through a shopping centre to a completely different station. This would be like merging New Street and Moor Street.
Renumbering the platforms at Stratford itself would be independent of any name change, not least because the High Speed station would just drop the 'International' suffix. I agree the platforms could be more logically numbered but it would cost so much to do so it's never going to happen.

 

[JohnElliott]

Stratford Specific (and rename the other one to Stratford General).

 

[Gloster]

Call it Stratford Johns…or maybe that should be St Pancras with its Barlow trainshed.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Stratford North would only work if the other Stratford Station also had a suffix. Just to annoy the geographical purists, how about naming both after the former railways that would have served them: so International becomes Stratford South Eastern, and Stratford becomes Stratford Great Eastern. It works for Wigan North Western after all...

But as the saying goes, if it ain't broke don't fix it... or rather, if it's only a bit broken, don't make it any worse!

 

[cle]

How about New Stratford?

It’s newer as a station and development area, it echoes the Shin- prefix in Japan used for high speed stations at Yokohama or Osaka (which this is, HS) - and can be used for further area development / marketed.

Simple too. Words like gateway and parkway are so empty (every new station is one) and over engineered.

 

[JamesRowden]

Stratford Celebration Avenue

 

[Magdalia]

Stratford Olympic Park, or just Olympic Park?

It is 12 years too late but my choice would be Stratford Olympia.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

How about New Stratford?

It’s newer as a station and development area, it echoes the Shin- prefix in Japan used for high speed stations at Yokohama or Osaka (which this is, HS) - and can be used for further area development / marketed.

Simple too. Words like gateway and parkway are so empty (every new station is one) and over engineered.

Yes I thought that too, it is I suppose literally a new part of Stratford

 

[Starmill]

It's an interesting question, I wonder if Westfield would be willing to pay enough to secure a 10 year deal to call it that? It's very distasteful but as sponsored station renamings go...

 

[Basil Jet]

In my opinion they really ought to just rename it to "Stratford" and merge the two stations together. They are so close that they are already almost one station. In fact the North end of Platform 11 at Stratford is almost right on top of the Stratford International platforms.

That's a fantastic observation. An airside footbridge from the Hitchcock Lane entrance to Stratford International to the north end of platforms 11 and 12 would be about 260 metres long. But since the same DLR trains call at both stations, they shouldn't have the same name, but be separate and joined like Hackney Downs and Hackney Central (a 170 metre connection). It must be incredibly annoying to come from Kent and need platform 11 and know that you have to get the DLR to the other station rather than walk 260 metres.

 

[cle]

Not sure if anyone else has had the pleasure of Philly airport rail station, but a single very long platform (walkable) is designated at multiple stations at each end. Nuts, but a precedent.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

If you want to be really evil, call it something like "Alton Towers" or "Legoland" just to see how many people you can confuse!

 

[MarkyT]

How about New Stratford?

It’s newer as a station and development area, it echoes the Shin- prefix in Japan used for high speed stations at Yokohama or Osaka (which this is, HS) - and can be used for further area development / marketed.

I had the same thought. There are other examples in Japan too. Sometimes the Shin prefix was already part of the town name before the new station arrived, but it usually designates the newer often high speed station. Shinkansen means 'new trunk line'.

Simple too. Words like gateway and parkway are so empty (every new station is one) and over engineered.

Parkway especially. I wouldn't mind new 'techie' descriptors such as gateway or hub, as long as they're appropriate. At Stratford the domestic station would more accurately be the 'hub'.

If you want to be really evil, call it something like "Alton Towers" or "Legoland" just to see how many people you can confuse!

Perhaps a national programme might be introduced under GBR to suffix or prefix every national rail station name with a random adjective that bears no relationship to the services actually provided nor any geographical relationship to another terminal nearby.

More sensibly, perhaps the HS terminal could be known as 'low level', or similar. The tracks & platforms are definitely lower than any at the domestic station, with even the Central line coming up for air.