Stratford International Railway Station

Stratford International is a railway station in East London which opened in 2009. Despite its name, the station has never received a Eurostar service. Originally built to handle international trains from Europe, it was envisioned that the ill-fated Regional Eurostar services would call at Startford before departing to the continent. However, when the Regional Eurostar plans fell through, Stratford International was left without a purpose and critics declared the station a white elephant.

The station finally opened in 2009 after laying dormant for several years. However, these new services were domestic trains to Kent operated by SouthEastern, not the international services which were originally planned.

Despite being situated on HS1, Eurostar currently has no plans to call at the station. Some of the reasons given include the cancellation of Regional Eurostar services, as well as St Pancras International's close proximity to Stratford, with Rob Holden noting "stopping a high-speed train seven minutes out of St Pancras is less than ideal."

Around 2012, there was some discussion about using the station for international services during the 2012 Olympic Games which was being held in Stratford. Eurostar trains would have ferried passengers to the games from Europe, providing a vital link to the massive sporting event.

Given that the Olympic Games in London have now passed and the Regional Eurostar project has been largely forgotten, it is now very unlikely that the station will see an international service operated by Eurostar. However, another operator such as Deutsche Bahn might use the station one day, although this is also incredibly unlikely due to Brexit.