In the late 20th century, the area around the station became known for its seedy and downmarket character, and was used as a backdrop for several films as a result. A major redevelopment was undertaken in the 21st century, including restoration of the original roof, and the station became well known for its association with theHarry Potter books and films, particularly the fictionalPlatform9+3⁄4.
King's Cross can be spelled both with and without anapostrophe.King's Cross is used in signage at theNetwork Rail andLondon Underground stations, on theTube map and on the official Network Rail webpage.[6]Kings Cross is used on theNational Rail website.[7] The apostrophe rarely featured on early Underground maps, but has been consistently used on them since 1951.[8]Kings X,Kings + andLondon KX are abbreviations used in space-limited contexts. The National Railstation code isKGX.[9]
The station currently has 11 platforms, numbered 0 to 10 from east to west. Platforms 9 and 10 are short platforms and separated from platforms 0 to 8. Until 2021 there were 12 platforms, numbered 0 to 11 from east to west, but following extensive track remodelling, platform 10 was taken out of use, with platform 11 being relabelled 10.[10]
The area ofKing's Cross was previously a village known as Battle Bridge which was an ancient crossing of theRiver Fleet, originally known as Broad Ford, later Bradford Bridge. The river flowed along what is now the west side of Pancras Road until it was rerouted underground in 1825.[11] The name "Battle Bridge" is linked to tradition that this was the site of a major battle between the Romans and theCeltic BritishIceni tribe led byBoudica. According to folklore, King's Cross is the site of Boudica's final battle and some sources say she is buried under one of the platforms.[12] Platforms 9 and 10 have been suggested as possible sites.[12][13] Boudica's ghost is also reported to haunt passages under the station, around platforms 8–10.[14]
King's Cross station was built in 1851–52 as the London terminus of theGreat Northern Railway (GNR), and was the fifth London terminal to be constructed.[15] It replaced a temporary station next toMaiden Lane (nowYork Way) that had been quickly constructed with the line's arrival in London in 1850,[16] and had opened on 7 August 1850.[17]
The station took its name from theKing's Cross building, a monument toKing George IV that stood in the area and was demolished in 1845.[18] Construction was on the site of asmallpox hospital.
Plans for the station were made in December 1848 under the direction ofGeorge Turnbull, resident engineer for constructing the first 20 miles (32 km) of the Great Northern Railway out of London.[19][20] The station's detailed design was byLewis Cubitt, the brother ofThomas Cubitt (the architect ofBloomsbury,Belgravia andOsborne House), and SirWilliam Cubitt (who was chief engineer of theCrystal Palace built in 1851, and consulting engineer to theGreat Northern andSouth Eastern Railways). The design comprised two great archedtrain sheds, with a brick structure at the south end designed to reflect the arches behind.[21] Its main feature was a 112-foot (34 m) high clock tower that held treble, tenor and bass bells, the last of these weighing 1 ton 9 cwt (1.47 tonnes).[22] In size, it was inspired by the 200 yards (180 m) longMoscow Riding Academy of 1825,[23] leading to its built length of 268 yards (245 m).[15][a] A turret clock exhibited byE. J. Dent & Co. at the Great Exhibition of 1851 (awarded a Council Medal) was later associated with the station’s timekeeping arrangements.[24][25]
Plan of King's Cross in 1888. Originally, there was only one arrival and one departure platform.
The station, the biggest in England at that time, opened on 14 October 1852.[15] Originally it had one arrival and one departure platform (today's platforms 1 and 8), and the space between was used for carriage sidings.[16] The platforms have been reconfigured several times. They were numbered 1 to 8 in 1972.[26] In 2010 and 2021 the station was reconfigured again and now has 11 platforms numbered 0 – 10.[27] Suburban traffic quickly grew with the opening of stations atHornsey in 1850,Holloway Road in 1856,Wood Green in 1859 and Seven Sisters Road (nowFinsbury Park) in 1861.Midland Railway services toLeicester viaHitchin andBedford began running from King's Cross on 1 February 1858.[28] More platforms were added in 1862: No. 2 was full-length, but No. 3 was stepped into the northern end of the station.[29] In 1866, a connection was made via theMetropolitan Railway to theLondon, Chatham and Dover Railway atFarringdon, with goods and passenger services to South London viaHerne Hill.[30] A separate suburban station to the west of the main building, housing platforms 9–11 as of 1972[update] and known initially as "Kings Cross Main Line (Local) Station", opened in August 1875. A platform, later numbered platform 16, was opened on the connection to theMetropolitan Railway on 1 February 1878; previously, trains had had to reverse into the main station.[31] Two platforms (now 5 and 6) were opened on 18 December 1893 to cater for increased traffic demands. An iron footbridge was built halfway down the train shed to connect all the platforms.[32] By 1880, half the traffic at King's Cross was suburban.[33]
A significant bottleneck in the early years of operations was at Gas Works tunnel underneath theRegent's Canal immediately to the north of the station, which was built with a singleup track and a singledown track. Commercial traffic was further impeded by having to cross over on-level running lines to reach the goods yard.[30] Grade separation of goods traffic was achieved by constructing the skew bridge that opened in August 1877, and the second and third Gas Works tunnels opened in 1878 and 1892 respectively.[34]
On 15 September 1881, a light engine and a coal train collided near the mouth of theCopenhagen Tunnel north of the station because of a signalman's error. One person was killed and another was severely injured.[35] Bad weather contributed to occasional flooding in the tunnels. One such incident in July 1901 suspended all traffic from the station for more than four hours, which happened at no other London terminus.[36]
King's Cross sustained no damage duringWorld War I even though large amounts of high explosives were carried to the station in passenger trains during the war. When possible, trains were parked in tunnels in the event of enemy aircraft overhead.[37]
Kings Cross came into the ownership of theLondon and North Eastern Railway (LNER) following theRailways Act 1921. The LNER made improvements to various amenities, including toilets and dressing rooms underneath what is now platform 8.[38] The lines through the Gas Works tunnels were remodelled between 1922 and 1924 and improved signalling made it easier to manage the increasing number of local trains.[39]
A number of famous trains have been associated with King's Cross, such as theFlying Scotsman service to Edinburgh.[40] TheGresley A3 and later streamlinedA4 Pacific steam locomotives handled express services from the 1930s until 1966.[41] The most famous of these wasMallard, which holds the world speed record for steam locomotives at 126 miles per hour (203 km/h), set in 1938.[42]
King's Cross handled large numbers of troops alongside civilian traffic duringWorld War II. Engine shortages meant that up to 2,000 people had to be accommodated on each train. In the early hours of Sunday 11 May 1941, two 1,000 pounds (450 kg) bombs fell on the, then, platform 10 at the west side of the station, damaging a newspaper train in that platform and destroying the general offices, booking hall and a bar, and bringing down a large section of roof. Twelve people were killed.[43]
On 4 February 1945, a passenger train to Leeds and Bradford stalled inGasworks Tunnel, ran back and wasderailed in the station. Two people were killed and 25 were injured. Services were not fully restored until 23 February.[44][45]
Train headed by aClass 55 'Deltic' locomotive at King's Cross platform 5 in 1978. These were the principal express locomotives on the East Coast Main Line in the 1960s and 1970s.
Followingnationalisation on 1 January 1948, King's Cross came under the management ofBritish Railways'Eastern Region. Diesel services were introduced during the 1950s when steam was being phased out. All main line services were converted to diesel by June 1963.[43] Platform numbers were reorganised in 1972, to run consecutively from 1 (east) to 14 (west). The track layout was simplified in the 1970s by reusing an old flyover for freight near the Copenhagen Tunnels at Holloway, and reducing the number of running lines through the Gas Works tunnels from six to four. At the same time, electrification started with the installation of a 25 kV overhead line to cater for suburban services as part of theGreat Northern Suburban Electrification project.[46] The works were completed on 3 April 1977, and electric services began running from King's Cross toHertford,Welwyn Garden City andRoyston.[47][48]
The construction of theVictoria line and its interchange at King's Cross was seen by British Rail as an opportunity to modernise the station.[49] A single-storey extension containing the main passenger concourse and ticket office, designed in-house, was built at the front of the station in 1972. Although intended to be temporary, it was still standing 40 years later, obscuring theGrade I-listed façade of the original station.[50] Before the extension was built, the façade was hidden behind a small terrace of shops. The extension was demolished in late 2012,[51] revealing theLewis Cubitt architecture. In its place, the 75,000-square-foot (7,000 m2) King's Cross Square was created, and opened to the public on 26 September 2013.[52]
On 10 September 1973, aProvisional IRA bombexploded in the booking hall at 12.24 p.m., causing extensive damage and injuring six people, some seriously. The 3 lb (1.4 kg) device was thrown without warning by a youth who escaped into the crowd and was not caught.[53]
King's Cross was a London terminus forInterCity 125 high speed services, along withPaddington. By 1982, almost all long-distance trains leaving King's Cross were 125s. The service proved to be popular, and the station saw regular queues across the concourse to board departing trains.[54]
TheKing's Cross fire in 1987 started in the machine room for a wooden escalator between the main line station and theLondon Underground station'sPiccadilly line platforms. The escalator burned and much of the tube station caught fire, killing 31 people, with smoke spreading to the main line station.[55]
In 1987, British Rail proposed building a new station with four platforms for international trains through theChannel Tunnel, and four forThameslink trains under King's Cross. After six years of design work, the plans were abandoned, and the international terminal was constructed at St Pancras.[33]
British Rail completed electrification of the East Coast Main Line toLeeds andEdinburgh between 1985 and 1991, and electricInterCity 225 rolling stock was introduced to work express services. These began service between King's Cross and Leeds on 2 October 1989, and to Edinburgh on 8 July 1991.[56][57]
Before privatisation, the King's Cross area had a reputation for run-down buildings and prostitution in front of the main entrance. There was a major clean-up during the 1990s and the station's atmosphere was much improved by the end of the decade.[33]
GNER successfully re-bid for the franchise in 2005, but surrendered it in the following year.[59]National Express East Coast took over the franchise in late 2007 after an interim period when trains ran under a management contract.[60] In 2009, it was announced that National Express was no longer willing to finance the East Coast subsidiary, and the franchise was taken back into public ownership and handed over toEast Coast in November.[61] In March 2015 the franchise was re-privatised and taken over byVirgin Trains East Coast.[62] In November 2017, Transport SecretaryChris Grayling announced the early termination of the East Coast franchise in 2020, three years ahead of schedule, following losses on the route by the operator. The current provider of ECML services isLondon North Eastern Railway.[63][64]
King's Cross following refurbishment in 2012. The steel structure of the roof, engineered byArup, has been described as being "like some kind of reverse waterfall, a white steel grid that swoops up from the ground and cascades over your head".[65]
The £500 million restoration plan announced byNetwork Rail in 2005 was approved byCamden London Borough Council in 2007.[66] It involved restoring and reglazing the original arched train shed roof and removing the 1972 extension at the front of the station and replacing it with an open-air plaza.[65][67]
The new semi-circular departures concourse opened to the public in March 2012.[68][69] Situated to the west of the station behind the Great Northern Hotel, it was designed byJohn McAslan and built byTaylor Woodrow Construction, part ofVinci.[70] It caters for much-increased passenger flows and provides greater integration between the intercity, suburban and underground sections of the station. The architect claimed that the roof is the longest single-span station structure in Europe and the semi-circular structure has a radius of 59 yards (54 m) and more than 2,000 triangular roof panels, half of which are glass.[65]
Land between and behind Kings Cross and St Pancras stations is being redeveloped asKing's Cross Central with around 2,000 new homes, 5,000,000 sq ft (464,500 m2) of offices and new roads.[71] In the restoration, refurbished offices have opened on the east side of the station to replace ones lost on the west side, and a new platform, numbered 0, opened underneath them on 20 May 2010.[72] Diesel trains cannot normally use this platform for environmental reasons.[73] The restoration project was awarded aEuropean Union Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award in 2013.[74][75]
In January 2018, it was announced that half the station would close for 3 months from January to March 2020 for remodelling work to the station and its approach, expected to cost £237 million. This includes rationalisation of the tracks, reopening the third tunnel to the approach of the station and closure of platform 10.[79][80] In June 2021, Network Rail released a time lapse video showing the completion of the works.[81]
There have been many passenger train accidents at King's Cross over the years. The most serious were theKing's Cross railway accident on 4 February 1945 which killed two people and injured 25[44][45] and a collision inGasworks Tunnel on 15 September 1881 which killed one person and seriously injured another.[35] The most recent was on 17 September 2015 when a passenger train collided with thebuffer stops, injuring fourteen people.[82][83] There have also been a number of accidents which killed or injured railway employees.[84]
On 5 November 1979,Martin Allen was seen saying goodbye to his friends at King's Cross. He set off in the direction of the Piccadilly line platform, but he was never seen again.[85] The station is also whereAndrew Gosden was last seen before going missing on 14 September 2007. He had caught a train there fromDoncaster under controversial and unexplained circumstances.[86]
Class 105 at Kings Cross, York Road station on the last day of diesel services to Moorgate
From 1863, part of King's Cross was an intermediate station. On the extreme east of the site, King's Cross York Road station was served by suburban trains fromFinsbury Park before they followed the sharply curved and steeply graded York Road Tunnel to join theCity Widened Lines toFarringdon,Barbican andMoorgate. In the other direction, trains from Moorgate came off the Widened Lines via the Hotel Curve,[28] to platform 16 (latterly renumbered 14) which rose to the main line level. Services to and from Moorgate were diverted via theNorthern City Line from November 1976. The station remained in occasional use until it was completely closed on 5 March 1977.[87]
The Great Northern Cemetery Station was built just to the east of the northern portal to Gasworks Tunnel, to connect the city toNew Southgate Cemetery. It opened in 1861 but was never profitable as it only ran for 7 miles (11 km) and closed two years later.[88]
The station hosts services on inter-city routes to theEast of England, Yorkshire,North East England and eastern and northern Scotland, connecting to major cities and towns such as Cambridge, Peterborough, Hull, Doncaster, Leeds, Bradford, York, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Inverness. Since June 2018, these major routes have been under government control, taking over from Stagecoach and Virgin.[89]
London North Eastern Railway operates high speed inter-city services along the East Coast Main Line.[90] The standard off-peak service pattern is as follows:
Govia Thameslink Railway operates outer-suburban services to North London, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and West Norfolk under theirThameslink andGreat Northern brands.[91][92]
2tph toLetchworth Garden City, with 1tph extending toCambridge. These call at principal stations to Potter Bar and Hatfield, then all stations thence to Letchworth Garden City and Cambridge.
2tph to Cambridge (express services) extended toEly orKings Lynn (alternating). These run non-stop as far as Cambridge.
At weekday peak times, 2tph run toPeterborough viaStevenage (express services). The company also serves Peterborough once per hour on a Sunday, calling at all stations north of Stevenage. At all other times, travellers wishing to access those stations need to change at Finsbury Park or use the nearby low-level station at St Pancras International.
Hull Trains operates five inter-city services per weekday to Hull and two per weekday to Beverley,[93] via the East Coast Main Line. Unlike other train companies inFirstGroup, Hull Trains operates under anopen-access arrangement and is not a franchised TOC.[94]
On Monday–Friday, there are four trains per day to Bradford Interchange (of which two will call at Pontefract Monkhill) and five trains per day to Sunderland.
Lumo, another FirstGroup open access operator, operates five services per day toEdinburgh viaNewcastle andMorpeth. Two of the daily services also call to pick up passengers atStevenage.[98]
Entrance to the tube station from the main concourse
King's Cross station shares a London Underground station with neighbouring St Pancras station. King's Cross St Pancras tube station is served by more lines than any other station on the London Underground. In 2024, King's Cross St Pancras was the 2nd busiest station on the system, with77.13 million passengers entering and exiting the station.[99] It is inLondon fare zone 1 and caters for both King's Cross and the neighbouringSt Pancras railway station.
The station is mentioned in Chapter 2 ofE.M. Forster's 1910 novelHowards End, where it suggests "infinity" to the eldest Schlegel daughter, Margaret, and contrasted with the "facile splendours" of St. Pancras.[106] In the ReverendWilbert Awdry's 1957 children's bookThe Eight Famous Engines,Gordon the Big Engine undertakes a journey to London, hoping to reach King's Cross, but ends up at St Pancras instead.[107]
In the 1994 children's bookThe Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson. Platform 13 of King's Cross Station in London has been closed for years. Changes to the platform always result in failure for mysterious reasons. The reason is that the platform hides a gump, described as an "opening that opens once every nine years for nine days". The gump leads to the Island, a wonderful mythical paradise filled with both normal and magical creatures.
Tourists atPlatform9+3⁄4 in the western departures concourse
King's Cross features in theHarry Potter books, byJ. K. Rowling, as the starting point of theHogwarts Express. The train uses a secretPlatform9+3⁄4 accessed through the brick wall barrier between platforms 9 and 10.[108] In fact, platforms 9 and 10 are in a separate building from the main station and are separated by two intervening tracks.[109] Instead, the brick roof-support arches between platforms 4 and 5 were redressed by the film crew and used to represent a brick wall that does not exist between the real platforms 9 and 10.[110]
By 2003, a sign marking Platform 9 3/4 was put up at the station,[111][112][113] with a trolley fixed to the wall added by the year 2005.[114][115] The location of the trolley moved after renovations, and aHarry Potter-themed shop opened nearby in 2012.[116][117][118] Because of the temporary buildings obscuring the façade of the real King's Cross station until 2012, the Harry Potter films showed St. Pancras in exterior station shots instead.[119]
The station, its surrounding streets and the railway approach feature prominently in the 1955Ealing comedy filmThe Ladykillers.[123] In the story, a gang robs a security van near the station after planning in a house overlooking the railway. An establishing shot in the film gives and excellent view of platforms 0 and 1 on the east side of the station.[124] When they fall out, members of the gang are dropped into passing goods wagons from the parapet of theCopenhagen Tunnel north of the station.[125]
The 1986 crime drama filmMona Lisa is set around King's Cross. At the time, the downmarket and seedy area surrounding the station, coupled withurban decay, made it an ideal location. Subsequent early 1990stabloid coverage of crime and prostitution around King's Cross referred back to the film.[126]
Pet Shop Boys released a song titled "King's Cross" on the 1987 albumActually and the station was extensively filmed in for the group's 1988 feature filmIt Couldn't Happen Here. The band's singerNeil Tennant said that the station was a recognisable landmark coming into London, attempting to find opportunities away from the high unemployment areas of Northeast England at the time. The song was primarily about "hopes being dashed" and "an epic nightmare".[127] The group subsequently asked filmmakerDerek Jarman to direct a background video for "King's Cross" for their 1989 tour, which featured a black and white sequence of juddery camera movements around the local area.[128] Despite the song's reference to "dead and wounded on either side", it was actually released a few monthsbefore theKing's Cross fire.
King's Cross station is a square on the BritishMonopoly board. The other three stations in the game areMarylebone,Fenchurch Street andLiverpool Street, and all four were LNER termini at the time the game was being designed for the British market in the mid-1930s.[129]
^Badsey-Ellis, Antony (November 2008)."The Underground and the apostrophe"(PDF).Underground News. London Underground Railway Society. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved21 February 2014.
^Walter H Godfrey; W McB. Marcham, eds. (1952).Survey of London: Battle Bridge Estate. Vol. 24, the Parish of St Pancras Part 4: King's Cross Neighbourhood. London: London County Council. pp. 102–113. Retrieved27 January 2017.
^Page 87 ofGeorge Turnbull, C.E. 437-page memoirs published privately 1893, scanned copy held in the British Library, London on compact disk since 2007.
Wolmar, Christian (2004).The Subterranean Railway: How the London Underground Was Built and How It Changed the City Forever. Atlantic Books.ISBN1-84354-023-1.