leaving only the domestic Southeastern trains serving the station. Critics derided the station as a white elephant. By the time Southeastern was serving the station, the Transport Secretary Lord Adonis was urged by Sir Robin Wales, former Mayor of Newham, and Peter Miller, Westfield Stratford City's CEO, to order Eurostar to stop at the station. John Burton, development director of Westfield's Stratford City mall, said domestic services were a "poor substitute" for Eurostar: "International commuters are essential in order to realise the vision of a major metropolitan centre for east London. Direct international services will be a key part of the legacy of the Olympics." Miller and local politicians including former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone warned that international services would be vital for the success of the Stratford City scheme and the regeneration of East London. London Assembly member Andrew Boff has suggested that rail operators considering running international trains should be forced to stop at Stratford International as part of their High Speed 1 line access. Eurostar did not agree to stop at the station during the 2012 London Olympics. There are several other potential operators that may use the station for international services including Deutsche Bahn's London-Frankfurt service which was proposed in 2010, however was then abandoned. Access and interchange Access to the station was, at design stage, to be via a new link road to Waterden Road, which linked in turn to the A12 at Lea Interchange and south to Carpenters Road. This link road was constructed and a new signal junction installed on Waterden Road but never opened. However, these roads were stopped up in mid-2007 to enable the construction of the Olympic Park. When opened it was located adjacent to the construction sites of both the London Olympic Park and Westfield Stratford City shopping centre which prevented pedestrian access; during local redevelopment work a temporary bus service linked Stratford International to nearby Stratford. The DLR station opened on 31 August 2011, and Westfield Stratford City on 13 September 2011. The bus service ran until 20 September. References External links Docklands Light Railway stations in the London Borough of Newham Railway stations in the London Borough of Newham Railway stations opened by Network Rail Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2009 Railway stations served by Southeastern Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Stratford, London