King's Cross St Pancras | |
|---|---|
 Entrance on Euston Road onKing's Cross station forecourt | |
  King's Cross St Pancras Location of King's Cross St Pancras in Central London | |
| Location | King's Cross /St Pancras |
| Local authority | London Borough of Camden |
| Managed by | London Underground |
| Owner | |
| Number of platforms | 8 |
| Accessible | Yes |
| Fare zone | 1 |
| OSI | London King's Cross andLondon St Pancras Int'l |
| London Underground annual entry and exit | |
| 2020 |  18.84 million[1] |
| 2021 |  36.73 million[2] |
| 2022 | 69.94 million[3] |
| 2023 | 72.12 million[4] |
| 2024 | 77.13 million[5] |
| Key dates | |
| 10 January 1863 | Opened (Metropolitan) |
| 15 December 1906 | Opened (GNP&BR) |
| 11 May 1907 | Opened (C&SLR) |
| 1 December 1968 | Opened (Victoria line) |
| 18 November 1987 | King's Cross fire |
| Other information | |
| Coordinates | 51°31′49″N0°07′27″W / 51.5302°N 0.1241°W /51.5302; -0.1241 |
 London transport portal | |
King's Cross St Pancras (/ˈkɪŋzˈkrɒssəntˈpæŋkrəs/; also known asKing's Cross & St Pancras International) is aLondon Underground station onEuston Road in theLondon Borough of Camden,CentralLondon. It servesKing's Cross andSt Pancras main line stations inLondon fare zone 1, and is served by six lines:Circle,Hammersmith & City,Metropolitan,Northern,Piccadilly andVictoria. The station was one of the first to open on the network. As of 2024, it is the 2nd busiest station on the network for passenger entrances and exits combined.
On the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, the station is betweenEuston Square andFarringdon stations. On the Bank branch of the Northern line the station is betweenEuston andAngel stations, on the Piccadilly line it is betweenRussell Square andCaledonian Road stations, and on the Victoria line it is between Euston andHighbury & Islington stations.
The station opened in 1863 as part of theMetropolitan Railway, subsequently catering for theHammersmith & City andCircle lines. It was expanded in 1868 with the opening of theCity Widened Lines, and theNorthern andPiccadilly platforms opened in the early 20th century. During the 1930s and 1940s, the station was restructured and partially rebuilt to cater for expanded traffic. TheVictoria line connection opened in 1968. The 1987King's Cross fire that killed 31 people is one of the deadliest accidents to occur on the Underground and resulted in widespread safety improvements and changes throughout the network. The station was extensively rebuilt in the early 21st century to cater forEurostar services that moved fromWaterloo to St Pancras, reopening in 2007.
The first underground station at King's Cross was planned in 1851, during construction of the mainline station. The intention was to connect theGreat Western Railway (GWR) atPaddington with theGreat Northern Railway (GNR) at King's Cross.[6][7] The line was opened as part of the original section of theMetropolitan Railway (MR) on 10 January 1863.[8] It was reorganised in August 1868 to accommodate theCity Widened Lines which allowed GNR and Metropolitan traffic to run along the line simultaneously.[9] The same year, the Metropolitan built a link to the newly openedSt Pancras station.[10]
TheGreat Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway (GNP&BR, now part of the Piccadilly line) platforms opened with the rest of the line on 15 December 1906, while theCity & South London Railway (C&SLR, now part of the Northern line) opened on 11 May 1907.[11] In 1927, this part of the station was renamed as King's Cross for St Pancras.[12]
In 1933, the station was formally renamed King's Cross St Pancras, except for the Metropolitan line station, which continued to use the old name until 16 October 1940, when it was also renamed.[12] During this time, major rebuilding work took place, including a direct connection to St Pancras and a circular ticket hall. The main concourse opened on 18 June 1939, and the subway link to St Pancras opened two years later.[13] The total cost of the work was £260,000.[14]
The Metropolitan line platforms were closed between 16 October and 9 December 1940 due to bomb damage duringthe Blitz.[15][a] Further bomb damage to the Metropolitan line platforms occurred on 9 March 1941 when a train, the station roof, the signal box and the platforms were damaged and two railway staff were killed.[17] New sub-surface platforms had been under construction as part of the station improvements begun in the 1930s and these were opened in an unfinished condition on 14 March 1941 250 m (270 yd) to the west.[17] These were decorated with cream tiles featuring pale green edges. A subway was built between the sub-surface lines, running belowEuston Road and joining with the tube lines, making interchanging between the various lines easier.[18] The 1868 platforms later becameKing's Cross Thameslink station.[19]
The Victoria line platforms were opened on 1 December 1968 as part of the line's second phase fromHighbury & Islington toWarren Street. Unlike some other interchange stations on the line, it was not possible to put the platforms on the same level with other lines.[b] Two new escalators were constructed, connecting the Northern / Piccadilly ticket hall with an expanded concourse. A further subway and staircase connected the new platforms to this.[21]
The station was refurbished in 1986, in conjunction with several others on the tube network. The Northern and Piccadilly platforms were decorated with multi-coloured tiles featuring the letters "K" and "X" by the artistPaul Huxley.[22][23] These tiles were removed during the substantial upgrade and expansion of the station in the mid 2000s.[23]
The underground network had been at risk of fire since opening, and the limited amount of space and means of escape increased the possibility of fatalities. Following a serious fire atFinsbury Park in February 1976, staff had been trained to be alert for any possible causes of ignition or smouldering.[24]
At around 7:30 p.m. on 18 November 1987, a passenger reported a small fire on the Northern / Piccadilly up escalator and alerted staff. The incident was judged as relatively minor, and the Fire Brigade arrived at 7:43 p.m. with four pumps and a ladder. By this time, the ticket hall had filled with smoke, trains passed through the station without stopping, and passengers were being evacuated. At around 7:45 p.m., a fireball erupted from the Northern / Piccadilly escalators and set the ticket hall ablaze. The fire burned for several hours and was not properly contained until around 1:46 a.m. the following morning. It killed 31 people, including a fire officer.[24]
The fire is notable for resulting in the discovery of the then-unknown fire phenomenon of thetrench effect made the fire develop upwards and finally caused it to explode into the station.[25] As a result, fire safety procedures on the Underground were tightened, staff training was improved and wooden steps on escalators were replaced with metal ones. Smoking had already been banned on subsurface areas of the Underground in February 1985; following the King's Cross fire, it was banned throughout the entire network.[24][26] The fire caused extensive damage, particularly to the old wooden escalators where it had started. Repairs and rebuilding took over a year; the Northern line platforms and the escalators from the ticket hall to the Piccadilly line remained closed until 5 March 1989.[24][27]
In the aftermath of the fire, the Fennell Report recommended that London Underground should investigate "passenger flow and congestion in stations and take remedial action".[25] Consequently, a Parliamentary bill was tabled in 1993 to permit London Underground to improve and expand the congested station.[28]
In August 2000, work began to upgrade and expand the station in conjunction with theChannel Tunnel Rail Link project, in which St Pancras would be the new terminal forEurostar services to continental Europe.[29] The upgrade took almost 10 years to complete at a cost of £810m, doubling the capacity of the station to more than 100,000 people daily.[30] Two new ticket halls were built – the Western Ticket Hall under the forecourt of St Pancras station,[31] and the Northern Ticket Hall under the new King's Cross station concourse.[30] The existing ticket hall in front ofKing's Cross station was rebuilt and expanded. New passageways and escalators were provided to increase capacity, and ten new lifts were installed to make the station step-free.[32][33] King's Cross Thameslink station closed on 9 December 2007 after the service moved to St Pancras.[19]
On 26 May 2006, the first section of the project was completed, with the opening of the Western Ticket Hall underneath the forecourt of St Pancras station, providing access via theundercroft.[31] On 29 November 2009, the station upgrade works were completed with the opening of the Northern Ticket Hall by theMayor of London,Boris Johnson, and theMinister for London,Tessa Jowell. Jowell said that the improvements would be vital to help passenger movement during theLondon 2012 Olympics.[30]
As of 2022, thetube map has begun referring to the station asKing's Cross & St Pancras International.[34]
Following completion of the station upgrade in 2010, King's Cross St Pancras has eleven entrances and four ticket halls.[35]
The stations along the central part of the Piccadilly line, theBakerloo line and some sections of the Northern line, were financed by the American entrepreneurCharles Tyson Yerkes,[38] and known for theLeslie Green-designed red station buildings and distinctive platform tiling. Each station was designed with a unique tile pattern and colours.[39]
Like other stations on the line, theVictoria line platforms at the station have a tiled motif in the seat recesses. The design by artistTom Eckersley features a cross of crowns.[40][41]
In the 2000s upgrade,Art on the Underground commissioned the first permanent artwork to be installed on the Underground since the 1980s.[42] The stainless steel sculptures,Full Circle by artist Knut Henrik Henriksen, are located at the end of two new concourses on the Northern and Piccadilly lines.[43]
In 1991, a route for a potential Chelsea-Hackney line was safeguarded through the area.[44][45] This evolved into a proposed rail route based onCrossrail calledCrossrail 2, which would link bothEuston and King's Cross St Pancras, into the stationEuston St Pancras.[46][37] This proposed scheme would offer a second rail link between King's Cross andVictoria in addition to the Victoria line. In the 2007 safeguarded route, the next stations would beTottenham Court Road andAngel.[47]The scheme was shelved in 2020.[48]
In 2011, strategy documents byTransport for London (TfL) and supported by theLondon Borough of Camden proposed an extension of theDocklands Light Railway (DLR) Bank branch to Euston and St Pancras to help relieve the Northern line between Euston and Bank, which would offer direct connections toCanary Wharf andLondon City Airport.[49] TfL have considered a line fromBank viaCity Thameslink andHolborn to the two transport hubs but may not be developed until the full separation of the Northern line happens.[50][51][52][53]
In 2005, a business case was prepared to re-open the disusedYork Road Underground station on the Piccadilly line, to serve theKing's Cross Central development and help relieve congestion at King's Cross St Pancras.[54] York Road station closed in September 1932 and was around 600 m (660 yd) north of King's Cross St Pancras.[55]
King's Cross St Pancras station is in London fare zone 1 and has eight platforms.[56] In addition to the two mainline stations, the London Underground station is served by six lines. They are the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan, Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. On the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines, the station is between Euston Square and Farringdon. On the Bank branch of the Northern line the station is between Euston and Angel, on the Piccadilly line it is between Russell Square and Caledonian Road, and on the Victoria line it is between Euston and Highbury & Islington. The Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines share the same pair of tracks at King's Cross, but the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines each have their own platforms. In 2024, King's Cross St Pancras was the 2nd busiest station on the system, with77.13 million passengers entering and exiting the station.[2]
There is a siding north of theVictoria line platforms to enable trains fromBrixton to terminate, turn around and head back south. Additionally, there is a scissors crossover to the west of the sub-surface lines platforms so trains heading eastbound can terminate there and use the scissors crossover to head back west and there is a crossover to the south of the Piccadilly line platforms.[57]
| Preceding station | London Underground | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Euston Square towardsHammersmith | Circle line | Farringdon towardsEdgware Road via Aldgate | ||
| Hammersmith & City line | Farringdon towardsBarking | |||
| Euston Square | Metropolitan line | Farringdon towardsAldgate | ||
| Euston | Northern line Bank Branch | Angel towardsMorden | ||
| Russell Square | Piccadilly line | Caledonian Road towardsCockfosters orArnos Grove | ||
| Euston towardsBrixton | Victoria line | Highbury & Islington towardsWalthamstow Central | ||
| Proposed services | ||||
| Russell Square | Piccadilly line | York Road towardsCockfosters orArnos Grove | ||
| Abandoned plans | ||||
| Euston Square | Metropolitan line | Clerkenwell towardsWhitechapel | ||
| Former services | ||||
| Euston Square towardsHammersmith | Metropolitan line Hammersmith branch (1864–1990) | Farringdon towardsBarking | ||
| Russell Square towardsSouth Harrow | Piccadilly line (1906–1932) | York Road towardsFinsbury Park | ||
Several London bus routes serve the station.[58]
On 2 January 1885, anIrish Nationalist terrorist planted a bomb on the Metropolitan line just west of the station. There were no injuries and little damage as the bomb exploded in the tunnel rather than on any train. James Cunningham was arrested later that month and sentenced to life imprisonment with hard labour for causing the attack.[59]
On 28 May 1959, the leading car on a Northern line train derailed just after leaving King's Cross St Pancras, heading for Euston. There were no injuries.[60]
The7 July 2005 London bombings were a series of co-ordinated bomb attacks, including an explosion in a Piccadilly line train travelling between King's Cross St Pancras and Russell Square which killed 26 people.[61][62] The death toll was the highest of all the incidents, as the Piccadilly line is in a deep tube south of King's Cross and there was nowhere for the blast to escape.[61]
Notes
Citations
The objective would be to ensure that public transport users travelling from the KCC development would benefit from travelling via York Road Station rather than using King's Cross St Pancras Station. This in turn leads to the subobjective of providing congestion relief for King's Cross St Pancras Station.
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