A TEAM of 25 British Transport Police officers is now working at a new police station opened at Ebbsfleet International rail station in Kent.

The police station, just a quarter of a mile from Ebbs-fleet, has been provided to enable officers to have quick and easy access to the 68-mile HS1 used by Eurostar trains running between London, Paris and Brussels.

Currently the line is used only by international trains, but from the end of 2009 new 140mph Class 398 trains built by Hitachi in Japan will be introduced for domestic ser-vices from stations in many parts of Kent.

Ebbsfleet International is expected to become a major hub for commuters and international passengers and will get even busier when the new trains are used to transport visitors to the Olympics site at Stratford in 2012.

The British Transport Police station was officially opened by Dyan Crowther, Network Rail route director, Midland and Continental, who unveiled a plaque to mark the occasion.

Chief superintendent Mark Newton, area commander of BT Police London North, said the new station would be strategically vital: “It is important that we have an effective presence here,” he said.

Later he told Railnews: “We are responsible for policing the Channel Tunnel Rail Link which is an international route and is a very different type of railway for us.

“The high-speed Eurostars cross national boundaries and, because of that, our police operations are much more complicated.

“We foresee Ebbsfleet International becoming a much bigger domestic hub as well, when Southeastern starts running its high-speed services from other parts of Kent to St Pancras International.

“This station has car parking for more than 6,000 cars, so with the build-up of inter-national and domestic services there has to be a police presence here.”

C/Supt Newton said there had already been a police presence at Ebbsfleet, but a proper police station had been needed to brief officers, carry out training, plan objectives and have easy access to HS1.

The 25 officers are mainly uniformed, with some detectives also working from the new building. Officers will patrol the international station concourse while others will respond to incidents reported on the line of route.

BT Police officers will also act as air observers in the Network Rail helicopter that is used to inspect the route.

So far, reported crime on the route is low, with officers sometimes travelling on trains with football fans to prevent any anti-social behaviour.

Other criminal activities can involve theft of property on board Eurostar trains, drug smuggling and illegal immigration issues.

Several BT Police officers work closely with Special Branch officers and intelligence is shared by a number of law enforcement agencies.

The Ebbsfleet station can also call on a number of specialised resources at BTP London North. These include sniffer dogs trained in identifying drugs and explosives, fast response police motorcyclists and a mobile custody suite or prisoner processing unit where people arrested can be interviewed or held in custody in one of six cells.

Chief inspector Theresa Ferguson, sector commander for stations on the line of route of HS1, said her officers could find themselves dealing with anything from cable theft and graffiti to anti-social behaviour, people carrying offensive weapons and trespassers on the line.

“We are here to deal with anything and everything,” she said.

The officer in charge at Ebbsfleet police station is inspector Stuart Downs.

Back to News