Stratford International Railway Station

mrsmollyc

15 Dec 2025

High-speed trains with good connections

4

4

Date of visit: September 2025

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair

Overall Rating

Good

Stratford International is a small National Rail station where Southeastern trains stop. Just a short walk from the station is a DLR station which is also called Stratford International. The station has entrances on either end of the building and has toilets, a WHSmith, a Sixt office, a station reception, ticket machines and a ticket office. There are always members of staff available including some that are there to help passengers who require assistance, like myself. Platforms 2 and 3 are where trains stop. There is a small lift that travels from street level down to platform level. Before the lift, there are a few ticket barriers, including one wider one. If you require assistance, such as a ramp or assistance finding your way out of the station it’s best if this is pre-booked via the Passenger Assistance app. Interesting fact: Despite the name, there are currently no international train services that stop at this station. It was originally planned to be a stop for Eurostar services as it’s on the High Speed 1 line, which is where the name originated. That didn’t ever happen, but you may see a Eurostar train pass through while you’re waiting for a Southeastern train!

Disabled Access In and Around

Good

Both entrances have automatic sliding doors leading into the main building and the flooring is very smooth. There is a station reception which is quite small and is through a manual door. It has a lowered counter as well as a standing height counter. There are some ticket machines available as well as a manned ticket counter. It was shuttered closed when I was there but I could see that it had a lowered counter as well as a standing height counter. There are two other businesses based inside the building, a WHSmith and a Sixt car rental office. These both had step-free entrances. Assistance staff are usually located opposite the ticket barriers and are wearing a uniform with some light blue parts on it. They are always very helpful and will show you to the platform. There is a small number of ticket barriers, including one wider barrier. There are lifts to each of the platforms, and the buttons are tactile and have Braille on them. Inside the lift there is a grab rail and an additional alarm button closer to the floor. The platforms are at a lower level than the street and have smooth, concrete flooring. There is a yellow painted line and tactile paving to highlight the edge of the platforms. There are digital signs which show when the next train will be arriving and there are also announcements over a tannoy when a train is due. The station website says it has a hearing loop available for these announcements. A ramp is available for anyone who needs step-free access to the trains. The assistance staff are able to help you with this. Additionally, there is some seating available on the platforms as well as some cover if there is bad weather.

Accessible facilities: Lift to all areas, Step-free entrance, Seating at regular intervals, Step-free access to most areas

Parking & Transport

Excellent

I travelled to this place by walk or wheel

Just across the road from the National Rail building is the DLR Stratford International Station. Stratford International is the end of the DLR line so it doesn’t continue any further north. The services available are to Woolwich Arsenal and all the stops in between. Stratford station is a short walk from Stratford International. The easiest route is through the Lower Ground level of Westfield Stratford City shopping centre. It's about 530 metres between the two stations if you go through the shopping centre. This route doesn’t have any steps or lifts until you reach the stations. There are two sets of bus stops close to this station, both bearing the same name as the station. Stops D and E are approximately 50 metres from the station and from here you can get the 97 bus. Stops C and F are approximately 140 metres from the station and the buses you can get from these stops are the 308, 339 and N205. There are some spots nearby where taxis are able to pick-up and set-down. The closest parking options are: - Stratford International Car Park: this is a paid car park, and is an official Park Mark Safer Parking facility. This is an accreditation by the British Transport Police, which means it has been vetted by them and has measures in place to make it safer to park in. It offers both accessible parking bays and electric charging points and is open 24/7. There is a height restriction of 2 metres. - Westfield Stratford City car parks: there are three car parks attached to the shopping centre and all of them have accessible parking bays. There are also some parent and child bays and electric charging points in some locations too. These car parks are also paid and open 24/7. There is a height restriction of 2.2 metres for these car parks.

Accessible facilities: Drop-off or pick up point

Accessible Toilets

Good

The toilets are located at the end closest to Westfield shopping centre and did have an accessible toilet. The toilet was accessed with a RADAR key and opened outwards. On the inside, the door had a fixed, horizontal grab rail to make it easier to close, with a mid-level coat hook. The handle pushed upwards to lock the door and it was a long handle that could be operated with an elbow or fist, for example. The toilet was fairly small. There was a very limited amount of space for a right-side transfer. There wasn’t anything in the transfer space, but it was very narrow. There was a hard plastic back rest to provide support and a grab rail, which could be raised and lowered, was on the right-hand side (as you looked at the toilet). Beside that grab rail was a fixed, vertical grab rail that was mounted to the back wall. Left of the adjustable grab rail was also the flush, which had a fairly long handle. On the opposite side of the toilet was a fixed, horizontal grab rail which was mounted below the toilet roll dispenser. In front of the toilet was a small sink. This had a single tap which was manually operated (no automatic sensors). The tap had a fairly long lever which twisted to control the temperature and raised and lowered to control the flow of water. Above the sink was a manual soap dispenser and a fixed, vertical grab rail was mounted on either side of the sink. To the left of the sink was an automatic hand dryer and there was a bin above it. The hand dryer was a very small opening so it was a bit hard to fully dry my hands. Opposite the sink was a large, full-length mirror mounted to the wall. The emergency red cord was almost hanging freely. It had been tucked behind one of the grab rails but would have still been able to function in an emergency. I still pulled it free so it was hanging straight to the floor, and also attached a Euan’s Guide Safer Toilets card.

Facilities: Accessible toilet

Staff

Excellent

I have mainly interacted with the assistance staff when I’ve travelled via this station. They are always really helpful, prompt and communicate well. On one occasion, the staff assisted me onto an earlier train when I arrived ahead of schedule which I really appreciated. When I’ve been arriving at this station on a train, I’ve always been met promptly with a ramp to get off the train.