A BID by Christchurch MP Chris Chope to get the government to open up abandoned Eurostar platforms at Waterloo to ease congestion and over-crowding for commuter train passengers from the South West has hit the buffers.

Mr Chope told Parliament the five platforms left redundant by the opening of the new international high speed train terminal at St Pancras were a "shameful waste of valuable railway assets".

And in a Commons debate on updating the Railways Act, he pressed for an amendment to fast track re-opening of the platforms when they pass into government ownership in March.

The empty Waterloo platforms, some of the longest in the country, would be able to handle the longer trains needed by rail operator South West Trains to cope with growing demand for its services to London from the South Coast.

But the amendment was opposed by transport under-secretary Tom Harris and overwhelmingly defeated when put to the vote.

The minister said that while one international platform would be converted for domestic use by the end of this year, the scale of investment and engineering work needed at Waterloo, and the rolling stock required to operate longer trains, were not feasible in the short term.

Mr Chope said he was disappointed with the response.

He said: "As everyone who uses Waterloo station knows, the station is under tremendous pressure, with not enough platforms for all the services and passenger numbers close to the station's capacity.

"Amendments could be made to the structure of railway assets at Waterloo and nearby that would release the five platforms at the Waterloo international terminal for domestic services.

"Most of my constituents who commute into Waterloo had assumed that, by the time the international terminal there was closed, a clear plan would be in place for its re-utilisation."

Mr Chope added: "What depresses me is that, all these months and years on, it seems that the government have still not reached a clear conclusion."

"People are increasingly bemused by the fact that the government talk the talk about investment in railways and the need to transfer people from road to rail, yet, when they have an opportunity to invest in it and take a decision, they fail to do so. Indeed, they funk it.

"That is exactly what has happened in respect of Waterloo international terminal."