King’s Cross
Of all London’s grand terminals, King’s Cross is the one I am most familiar with. I used to live in Stevenage, and London-bound services from that suburban Hertfordshire town ran into King’s Cross. The station is the London terminal of the important East Coast Mainline, one of the busiest in the country, and as a result, King’s Cross is also a busy station.
Built in 1852 by the Great Northern Railway, the station grew throughout the remainder of the 19th Century, as local services grew in frequency and destination. Whereas neighbouring St Pancras represented a very gothic style, King’s Cross was a more under-stated demonstration of Victorian elegance. It developed in a robust manner for many years, and once under British Rail’s control, a ‘temporary’ facade was built whilst the Victoria Underground Line was being linked to the station. This facade remained in place for 40 years, and obscured the classic Victorian frontage. It was during this period that I did most of my travelling through King’s Cross. At that stage, the station lacked much in the way of light, and it was not equipped to handle the increasing passenger numbers. The main concourse was in desperate need of updating, and this would come in the form of a £500 restoration programme.
The plan was approved in 2007, and completed in 2012. The end result is a station that feels much more open, with modern facilities, shops, and a sense of grandeur befitting the London end of one of Britain’s most important railway routes. It is certainly a far cry from my experiences, though I do miss one thing: there used to be a Burger King in King’s Cross, and that provided a weary meerkat with many a pleasant experience on the way home from Essex on a Sunday night!
Not every King’s Cross experience has been pleasant. I’ve travelled during rush hour, and at that stage, King’s Cross is heaving with people, which I am not especially fond of. Once, a friend and I spent over an hour on a train stuck in the station, owing to a signal failure. Stevenage was the train’s first stop! Nonetheless, I am appreciative of King’s Cross, and I suspect I will have several more journeys through it in the future.