Exactly!!
Okay, maybe coach station conjured up an image of Victoria Coach Station - which isn't quite what it is. In fact, I suspect that for the time being the coaches are just ones pre-booked for groups, not a turn up and go service to venture on to Birmingham, Liverpool or whatever.
I am not sure if that could ever become part of the plan in the future though? The problem with St Pancras is that once you go beyond the wonderful main building, everything else looks like it was built without ANY ability to expand in the future.
The new northern ticket hall has presumably helped reduce the queues at the other ticket halls, but the station(s) are still going to struggle to cope with the sheer numbers of people potentially arriving at both King's Cross and St Pancras at the exact same time.
The designers/owners definitely wanted to create an airport feel. As the champagne bar was planned early on, I guess the positioning of Eurostar was there to really highlight the fact that this a European gateway. To be fair, it does still ignite a feeling of passion for many people - and hides the wonderful Betjeman Arms in the far corner so it doesn't get filled up with travellers and their huge suitcases!!!
There are strict rules on who is allowed to take a lease there, so there won't be a McDonald's or BK there anytime soon. Instead, we have - admittedly nice - places serving expensive food and drink (and of course, anyone coming from Paris wants lots of French places at St Pancras!) and nothing there for grabbing something cheap. Boots perhaps?
The signs are poor (fixed and CIS), the station is freezing and when the snow started last night it was coming through all the gaps and falling down onto the shops. Adding to the romance? Perhaps - but I'm not convinced. You surely want to feel safe and warm and NOT part of the outside in such conditions.
Do I still love the station? Yes, I probably do despite its flaws - but I cannot get so attached to it that I can ignore those major issues that need to be addressed.
