Kings Cross renaissance

The new Kings Cross concourse

The functional success of Lewis Cubitt's great King's Cross Station, one of London’s landmark rail termini, was never in doubt but since the bomb damage of WWII and the “temporary” concourse built in the 60’s it has looked very tired. Indeed I wrote in “The Great Circle Line Journey” in 2008;

“Compared to the refurbished St. Pancras next door, King’s Cross looks tired and sad with very inadequate passenger facilities. Planning permission for the temporary forecourt building expired some time ago and this is also due for redevelopment. The fine train shed roof is dark and dirty, a fact emphasised by the stunning refurbishment of the Barlow shed next door – hopefully this jewel of railway architecture will receive the TLC it deserves so it can be fully appreciated again.”

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2008/01/great-circle-line-journey.html 

Indeed the whole area has seemed stubbornly resistant to improvement with the fine Victorian terraces and squares in front of the station housing cheap boarding houses and the area having a seedy reputation with an undercurrent of petty crime, drug dealing and prostitution. However the transformation of Kings Cross has gained critical mass with the reincarnation of St. Pancras as the Eurostar Terminal to Paris, Brussels and beyond. Now the final piece of the jigsaw is in place as the new concourse at one of the UK's best-known railway stations is officially opened. The £550 million work at King's Cross in London represents the biggest transformation in its 160-year history. The shell-shaped glass and steel building will open to the public from next Monday and will provide three times the space of the current station concourse. Taken in conjunction with the refurbished Tube station the new Kings Cross will offer the millions of passengers who use it a far better experience.

The extended Kings Cross Tube station

There will be better facilities, new links with the Tube, better links to St Pancras station, more shops and restaurants, larger destination boards and clearer station announcements. Transport Secretary Justine Greening, London Mayor Boris Johnson and Network Rail (NR) chief executive Sir David Higgins were among the bigwigs at the opening ceremony.

From Monday, passengers leaving on trains from King's Cross will need to enter the station from the new building on the western side of the Grade I listed station. There are entrances to the concourse direct from the Tube and for pedestrians from Euston Road, Pancras Road and via new arcades on the ground floor of the Great Northern Hotel.

 The new structure by architect John McAslan is many-faceted to connect what are in effect seven transport hubs which form Kings Cross / St Pancras. Its overriding focus has been the critical demands of the ever-increasing crowds moving between the various components of the King’s Cross area — between St Pancras and King’s Cross, between the suburban train sheds of platforms 9-11 and the Underground station, between platforms 0-8 and everywhere else. There are 100,000 people moving between these places at peak times of the day, and to handle them a new concourse was needed for people to circulate, wait and move on.

The existing 1970s building in Euston Road which currently serves both arriving and departing passengers will cater only for arrivals until its demolition begins after the London Paralympic Games. The area will have been transformed into a new public open space by September 2013. Ian Fry, NR's programme director for the new station, said: "I'm sure that regular users of the current station will be very pleased with the new concourse when it opens."

The wonderfully restored Midland Grand Hotel @ St. Pancras

Not everything will change at Kings Cross. Platform 9 3/4 still serves the famous Hogwart's Express but not many people seem able to find it! However, in the film 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', St Pancras stands for King's Cross Station - the Gothic building fits in better with the magical story than functional King's Cross!

For the inspiring story of the renewal of St. Pancras next door see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2007/11/st-pancras-reborn.html

For the re-opening of the wondrous Midland Grand Hotel in front of St. Pancras see;

http://daithaic.blogspot.com/2011/02/st-pancras-reborn-part-ii.html

Platform 9 3/4 @ Kings Cross