Waterloo Freight Hub: Enabling zero-emission freight underneath Waterloo Station

Unused space underneath Waterloo station is being repurposed as a freight hub in a pilot scheme with the Cross River Partnership

The Challenge

Up to 1 billion parcels will be delivered each year by 2030 in London, and road transport emissions account for 25% of London’s overall emissions and around 20% of air pollutants. This industry, goods transport or freight, offers a huge challenge for meeting our net zero goals and opportunities to find innovative and local solutions.

Since the Eurostar service at Waterloo Station was discontinued in 2007 to move to St Pancreas, the station's under-croft has been unused. The 100,000 to 200,000 square feet of space that used to be for storage and logistics for the passenger trains now sits mostly empty and ready for development.

A feasibility study, “On Track for Sustainable Logistics,” examined the opportunities for rail freight in London in June 2022. Waterloo Station was identified as an optimal location. After identifying a specific location in the undercroft, Cross River Partnership (opens in a new window) (CRP) commissioned another study through its Impact on Urban Health (opens in a new window) funded Clean Air Freight programme. It set out the location’s capacity for rail freight support by a micro-distribution hub. From this, the Waterloo Freight Hub pilot was created.

The Waterloo Freight Hub project supports our Climate Action Plan (opens in a new window) goal of achieving zero direct emissions from freight, delivery, and trade by 2030.

We aim to reach this goal by working with our business community to develop and deliver freight consolidation solutions, decarbonise vehicle fleets, and increase the uptake of zero-carbon delivery solutions such as cargo bikes.

This project also helps Lambeth implement the actions of our Air Quality Action Plan (opens in a new window). In it, we aim to reduce the air quality impacts felt by pollutants by adopting the more stringent World Health Organisation air quality targets for pollutants in the borough. This directly addresses the socially and environmentally unjust impacts of air quality on our communities and reduces the impact of road transport.

Action Taken

The Waterloo Freight Hub is a pioneering project transforming underutilised space in the undercroft of Waterloo Station into a one-of-a-kind freight hub that could deliver significant environmental, social, and economic benefits across London.

The project will begin with a 6-month road-fed trial, which will see logistics operator Delivery Mates (opens in a new window) transporting parcels into the undercroft of Waterloo Station by van before sorting and delivering across London to residents and businesses by 10 electrically assisted cargo bikes. This will ensure more Londoners receive deliveries by zero-tailpipe emission vehicles, helping to reduce congestion and improve productivity, air quality and the health of Londoners moving around the city.

Defra funds the Waterloo Freight Hub Trial through CRP’s Smarter Greener (opens in a new window) Logistics (opens in a new window) programme. The trial is delivered in collaboration with partners, including Network Rail (opens in a new window), the Department for Transport (opens in a new window), and London and Continental Railways (opens in a new window). 

Next Steps

Trial learnings will support the delivery of a longer-term, much larger Multi-Modal Waterloo Freight Hub. The rail network is unique in transporting huge loads of goods at a fraction of the cost of road transport, particularly into dense urban centres, where vital train station infrastructure is at the heart of our cities, including London.

Waterloo could act as a crucial nexus of freight across London and the southeast of the UK, with middle-mile deliveries into Waterloo Station made by road, rail, and river to support the decarbonisation of freight transport across the UK. This would boost green jobs, productivity, and air quality and make London a safer and more sustainable city.

Quotes from Partner Organisations

Councillor Rezina Chowdhury, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air, Lambeth Council, said:

“We are making remarkable progress on our commitment to meet Net Zero by 2030 and clean up the toxic air in Lambeth. The Waterloo Freight Hub is another huge stride on that journey and one that will help drive clean economic growth and new jobs in Waterloo and beyond.”

Ross Phillips, Sustainable Transport Manager, Cross River Partnership, said:

“Cross River Partnership is extremely pleased to be working with so many partners to launch the Waterloo Freight Hub 6-month Trial. This has been a truly collaborative process between many public and private stakeholders, and we hope it can help to demonstrate the long-term potential for transforming the way that freight comes into, and is delivered across, London. We can look forward to less congested streets, smaller / quieter and non-polluting vehicles, as well as deliveries via rail at a fraction of the cost of road transport.”

Mike Putnam, Network Rail Acting Chair, said:

“Network Rail are excited to be part of an innovative approach to utilising facilities at Waterloo Station and hope that it can demonstrate the potential to trial zero-tailpipe emission infrastructure and future rail freight opportunities at the Waterloo Freight Hub. These trials are crucial to supporting Network Rail in its commitment to achieve Net Zero by 2050. This 6-month trial will ensure that Network Rail are taking an evidence-based approach to delivering environmental sustainability projects and ensuring that we share best-practice from this innovative project across London.”

Kevin Savage, Chief Operating Officer, Delivery Mates, said:

“We are hugely proud to be working with all the partners on this exciting project. The Waterloo Freight Hub will provide an exciting opportunity to engage further with the rail sector whilst further strengthening Delivery Mates’ capability to deliver sustainable logistics to customers, residents and local retailers. We look forward to playing a part in reducing congestion, removing emissions and creating a safer delivery environment for all stakeholders within Lambeth and across all of London.”