The aluminium tables and chairs nearest the edge are the public seating. The "cafe-only" seats are all in cordoned-off areas. If you saw the layout it would make sense - wish I had a photo.
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Kings Cross - New station
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The aluminium tables and chairs nearest the edge are the public seating. The "cafe-only" seats are all in cordoned-off areas. If you saw the layout it would make sense - wish I had a photo.
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Ah. I'll take a look next time I go. I've only been up on the balcony once, the day it all (officially) opened.
Dan-from-Hull
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Ive been through Kings Cross every six weeks or so over the last three years and found - a year or so ago - that the signs for the Victoria tube line send you the long way round. I now get to the bottom of the stairs from the arrivals hall and turn left rather than right! The distance to the Victoria tube platforms is cut by at least a half by going this way.
Also, I agree with fishcake (30th Mar, entry #395) about the extra time taken to depart. I used the new departures concourse for the first time on Wednesday and the walking distance from the top of the tube escalators to platforms 0-8 has increased significantly. Yes, the concourse is nice but if you are late or you just want to get to your train, the new route is very time-consuming. I will no doubt be looking for another shortcut when I next go in June! Just one other point: the signs to platforms 0-8 appear to be absent when you get in the large hall. I had to look around to find my way.
Also, I agree with fishcake (30th Mar, entry #395) about the extra time taken to depart. I used the new departures concourse for the first time on Wednesday and the walking distance from the top of the tube escalators to platforms 0-8 has increased significantly. Yes, the concourse is nice but if you are late or you just want to get to your train, the new route is very time-consuming. I will no doubt be looking for another shortcut when I next go in June! Just one other point: the signs to platforms 0-8 appear to be absent when you get in the large hall. I had to look around to find my way.
One thing I'm wondering now the main station has moved to the side, is if they shouldn't just renumber the platforms so 0 becomes 1, and so on - but actually reverse them so platform 11 becomes 1 and then it counts up so 0 becomes 11.
I presume the plan is still to renumber the platforms at some stage, with the necessary signalling upgrades that go with it? If so, what do people think?
I presume the plan is still to renumber the platforms at some stage, with the necessary signalling upgrades that go with it? If so, what do people think?
I take it you mean 0 becomes 12. While this might be in keeping with St Pancras, the GNR has always numbered its platforms from the east, the up side. I don't really see any need to change that, although it might be worth shuffling the numbers up 1 digit.
Welcome to the forum! Yes, you're absolutely right. Perhaps someone could go to the LU entrance with a huge finger pointing the other way saying "Victoria Line this way!"
By the way, there is no need to use the "Title" field when posting a reply; it's only for use when posting a new topic
(Anyone using the mobile theme can't see the titles in subsequent posts anyway).swt_passenger
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Welcome to the forum! Yes, you're absolutely right. Perhaps someone could go to the LU entrance with a huge finger pointing the other way saying "Victoria Line this way!"
If everyone ignores the signs LU will be able to go back to the old scheme of just closing the station due to overcrowding in the peaks, and then they'll be able to save on staffing costs by mothballing the northern ticket hall.
Perhaps people could just accept that the purpose of the direction signage is to increase overall capacity for the common good, even if it means walking a few hundred yards extra. Going the other way is only advantageous for any individual while everyone else does what is suggested.
Well, was in a rush on Thursday. Arrived on the bus, in through York Way exit and for the first time I've known there were no gates to go in (and no staff on any of them either).
Had to rush to the new departure hall and then all the way back.
I did get my train but it was mighty close.
Had to rush to the new departure hall and then all the way back.
I did get my train but it was mighty close.
I still rather like the idea of renumbering the whole KX/St P/Thameslink complex in the same sequence.
Which way should one actually go then? I've always (well not always, but in recent months) gone into the underground entrance by the entrance to the South Eastern platforms at St Pancras, and to get from there to the Victoria line platforms I seem to have to walk fror ages, along the tunnel leading to Kings Cross Thameslink/Pentonville Road. Then, whenever I come back to Kings Cross/St Pancras and follow signs to St Pancras I invariably end up in the ticket hall by Euston Road rather than the new ticket hall.
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Which way should one actually go then? I've always (well not always, but in recent months) gone into the underground entrance by the entrance to the South Eastern platforms at St Pancras, and to get from there to the Victoria line platforms I seem to have to walk fror ages, along the tunnel leading to Kings Cross Thameslink/Pentonville Road. Then, whenever I come back to Kings Cross/St Pancras and follow signs to St Pancras I invariably end up in the ticket hall by Euston Road rather than the new ticket hall.
But St. Pancras is a completly different station. Why would you want combine its platform numbers with King's Cross?
Why would you go into St. Pancras to access the Underground if you were arriving/departing from King's Cross?
Actually, I often go through St Pancras to get to the Circle / H & C / Met line so I can soak up the atmosphere and maybe use the free toilets! Bear in mind I usually arrive at platforms 9-11.
The platforms can't be linked as that would confuse the hell out of people!
The platforms can't be linked as that would confuse the hell out of people!
Though it would have advantages when the GN route runs through Thameslink to have the departure boards for both stations showing as the departure boards would then show the next train to Stevenage or Cambridge irrespective of if it is from Kings Cross or the St Pancras Low Level platforms - especially if there is any disruption & trains are diverted into KX.
I don't know the answer to that one, why would you?
I don't know. You're the the one said you did it. Why would you cross over the road to St Pancras when there are entrances at King's Cross.
Apologies if the above sounds a bit sarcastic, but arriving into St Pancras you can either walk across Pancras Road to Kings Cross and then go down to the northern ticket hall, or go down inside St Pancras station, walk under Pancras road, and reach the ticket hall that way. (I assume that this is the way that Dan-From-Hull goes although I'm now starting to wondert if he takes an entirely different route.
That said, I don't agree with SWT Passenger at all. I can understand that its reasonabl;e to re-route people when its congested, but making people, especially those arriving with luggage after a long journey from Scotland France or Belgium, walk a few hundred extra yards purely for the hell of it is taking the biscuit.
That said, I don't agree with SWT Passenger at all. I can understand that its reasonabl;e to re-route people when its congested, but making people, especially those arriving with luggage after a long journey from Scotland France or Belgium, walk a few hundred extra yards purely for the hell of it is taking the biscuit.
I think you're a bit confused. We're not asking about arriving at St Pancras, we're talking about arriving at King's Cross.
Ah yes, but the underground station is Kings Cross/St Pancras and surely both stations (Kings Cross and St Pancras) feed into the same underground ticket halls. (At least they both feed into the north ticket hall which is roughly under the northern end of the new concourse at Kings Cross).
I thought Dan from Hull was commenting on the length of time it takes to get from there to the Victoria Line platforms, which seems to be miles, and saying that you are being sent a long way round if you follow the signs from the ticket hall. If there is a shorter route I'd like to know what it is - or have I misrread something?
I thought Dan from Hull was commenting on the length of time it takes to get from there to the Victoria Line platforms, which seems to be miles, and saying that you are being sent a long way round if you follow the signs from the ticket hall. If there is a shorter route I'd like to know what it is - or have I misrread something?
It's quite obvious that they're trying to get people to come onto the platforms for some lines one way, and out the other.
Given the new sections aren't separated with 'keep left' (or 'keep right') signs, it can become a real mess too. You could realistically expect to keep people to the left, as it fits the escalators (say from the Northern platforms up to the new ticket hall). But because of the curve, people who came down the escalator on the left will cut the corner - and, quite often literally, collide with people coming up.
I'm amazed they don't seem to do anything about it, even though they did (eventually) from the H&C/Circle/Met lines up to the old ticket hall, to interchange with the Vic/Pic lines. I have to confess that I nearly always go up that way and immediately exit, ignoring the 'emergency exit' signs.
Given the new sections aren't separated with 'keep left' (or 'keep right') signs, it can become a real mess too. You could realistically expect to keep people to the left, as it fits the escalators (say from the Northern platforms up to the new ticket hall). But because of the curve, people who came down the escalator on the left will cut the corner - and, quite often literally, collide with people coming up.
I'm amazed they don't seem to do anything about it, even though they did (eventually) from the H&C/Circle/Met lines up to the old ticket hall, to interchange with the Vic/Pic lines. I have to confess that I nearly always go up that way and immediately exit, ignoring the 'emergency exit' signs.
tsr
Established Member
For the Victoria Line, it may be quicker for you to follow signs to the H&C/Met/Circle Lines until you reach the hall where the flights of steps to those meet the escalators to the Victoria and Piccadilly Lines (and then use those!), depending on where you're coming from. This trick does not work very well with some entrances, however, and I agree that you do have to walk for rather a long way to get to the Victoria Line if you use the conventional signage sequences.
That's the thing, regular travellers will invariably get to know the layout of the station and naturally take the most easiest route to wherever they want to get to, whereas the more occasional travellers will follow the signs and be led round a circuitous route because they have no idea where they are going.
For "regular travellers" read those more likely to be commuters travelling at peak times and for "occasional travellers" read those more likely to be elderly and/or with children and/or to be carrying luggage and/or arriving or departing at off peak times.
So what's the point of the signage as it is?
causton
Established Member
Because the people who deserve the shortcut and use the system all the time are rewarded with a slightly quicker exit
and people who dawdle, use up all the space or need all the space get it, with the new passageways! If the people with pushchairs, luggage etc used the old narrow passageways it would be chaos, so they *need* the extra room that the new passageways provide, and that's before you get to the fact that you can effectively 'queue' passengers in the passageways by making them wait and if there's a delay they can block the end of the passageways. I saw on 'the Tube' what it was like at Victoria where there aren't the long passageways; a minor delay and instantly people are going down the escalators immediately into a packed crowd of people. Can you see the problem here - where people at the top are uncontrollably being fed into a static crowd? 
(Okay, so I don't 100% believe that myself but hey!)
tsr
Established Member
Victoria station is a bit of a different kettle of fish as it has fewer LU options for interchange, and from my extensive experience of using the station, it takes on more of the character of an entrance/exit to the Tube at peak times. Therefore, you do sometimes get a lot of people packing into the passageways and into crowded areas. There are several ways this is resolved: firstly, closing off the Victoria Line escalators, which means that the pressure is released on and at the bottom of the escalators; secondly, use of the District & Circle Line stairs as a chicane for slowing down the flow onto the platforms; thirdly, the station is often closed off by staff. I believe all these measures were shown in the BBC's documentary "The Tube".
Adding further lengths of passageway might be problematic as you would simply end up with an even larger and very nearly static mass of people, which would make evacuation harder and possibly would prevent diversion routes for passengers who cannot use certain parts of the station. However, the current ongoing redevelopment of Victoria Tube station will ensure that passengers are further spread out between platforms, between entrances and at the barriers, and there will be scope for some passageways to only be used in peak hours, if I remember correctly.
And at Victoria, to get passengers to spread out along the platforms, new (longer) passageways are being constructed to get to a point further down the platform. Which means it will be further to walk. Which is exactly the principle at KXX.
shinkansen1966
Member
I've used Kings Cross three times since the new separated / arrivals arrangement. I generally arrive at Kings Cross on bus 91 from the north London, alighting at the Caledonian Road bus stop then walking to Kings Cross via York Way.
On each these three occasions, I've been able to access the new departures concourse via York Way side entrance/exit then use a roped off route via the head of platform 8. This is also the quickest way for me to walk onto St Pancras too.
Is this roped off route by platform 8 going to be permanent ? It's rather useful.
On each these three occasions, I've been able to access the new departures concourse via York Way side entrance/exit then use a roped off route via the head of platform 8. This is also the quickest way for me to walk onto St Pancras too.
Is this roped off route by platform 8 going to be permanent ? It's rather useful.
shinkansen1966
Member
You can then board the train and buy a ticket when the ticket inspectors comes through the your carriage.
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