Kings Cross - New station

[GNER 91128]

I had my first visit to King's X since the opening of the Western colonnade and I was very impressed with the scale of the building! It's a lot bigger than it looks in photos imo. I went to the Parcel Yard for a pint of Honey Dew watching the trains arrive and leave on 9, 10 and 11 as I had time to kill before going to the Emirates, but at £4.10 a pint I won't drink there often!

I also have to side with those who are annoyed that there are no barriers letting you through to the platforms on the arrivals side, it's a pain having to walk around to the departures side.

 

[Deerfold]

I also have to side with those who are annoyed that there are no barriers letting you through to the platforms on the arrivals side, it's a pain having to walk around to the departures side.

The odd thing is that until my visit on Thursday I've always found there have been.

It seems to be just annoying if you arrive at York Way to make you walk all the way to the West before returning. I certainly won't be happy if it ever makes me miss a train.

 

[Clip]

The odd thing is that until my visit on Thursday I've always found there have been.

It seems to be just annoying if you arrive at York Way to make you walk all the way to the West before returning. I certainly won't be happy if it ever makes me miss a train.

Well now that you are fully aware that there may be times when you are to enter the station as intended from the western concourse you will, of course, leave enough time to catch the train you intend to catch and not leave it to chance. As all good Rail enthusiasts should.

 

[Deerfold]

Well now that you are fully aware that there may be times when you are to enter the station as intended from the western concourse you will, of course, leave enough time to catch the train you intend to catch and not leave it to chance. As all good Rail enthusiasts should.

And if the time taken by my bus didn't vary by as much as 100% I would. I realise that would partly be the fault of me getting a bus, but it seems perverse to make what used to be an easy interchange much harder for what? A point of principle? To increase footfall in the new shops?

 

[jon0844]

I'm pretty sure there's an element of wanting to entice people around to see the new shops/facilities.

However, it wouldn't be impossible to imagine a 'ticket holders only' gate or two for people coming in at the other side. Regular passengers would know there are shops further along, and use them if they wanted to anyway.

 

[Clip]

Id also add that your regular commuter would more than likely arrive by tube too and be on the right side of the station for their services now.

One of the ideas of the design of the flow system was to control the flows so that the platforms were not becoming badly overcrowded like they were at peaks with masses of people walking up a platform for a train when loads were walking down one that had just got it.

It will take time for it to bed in but sooner or later it will click for people.

 

[Deerfold]

Id also add that your regular commuter would more than likely arrive by tube too and be on the right side of the station for their services now.

That rather depends where they're coming from - I think there's plenty arrive by bus.

One of the ideas of the design of the flow system was to control the flows so that the platforms were not becoming badly overcrowded like they were at peaks with masses of people walking up a platform for a train when loads were walking down one that had just got it.

It will take time for it to bed in but sooner or later it will click for people.

So now they have flows crossing as those going onto the lower-numbered platforms come from the side.

I'm not suggesting that everyone should go in via the "arrivals" area and when I arrive via Thameslink I naturally go through the new area, just wondering why they seem to be making some flows more complicated than they need to be.

 

[Clip]

That rather depends where they're coming from - I think there's plenty arrive by bus.

The only buses that come up the east side that should have people disembarking are those from Greys Inn rd IIRC and plenty of oppotunity to get the tube or even the TL if coming from as far down as Blackfriars

So now they have flows crossing as those going onto the lower-numbered platforms come from the side.
I'm not suggesting that everyone should go in via the "arrivals" area and when I arrive via Thameslink I naturally go through the new area, just wondering why they seem to be making some flows more complicated than they need to be.

And the originall plan was to have them all crossing via the footbridge.

Once the forecourt is gone then thats it, no more and you will have to enter from the western concourse.

 

[Deerfold]

Once the forecourt is gone then thats it, no more and you will have to enter from the western concourse.

That's odd - when I asked at the stall they had before the new concourse opened they told me that there'd be no access from the front of the station until the demolition was complete and then there would be.

I'm not sure why the demolition would stop you having some of the gates set to entry?

 

[Clip]

That's odd - when I asked at the stall they had before the new concourse opened they told me that there'd be no access from the front of the station until the demolition was complete and then there would be.

Not what we were told. Mind you that was a fair few years ago now so maybe they changed it.

In at the side exit at front

 

[PhilipW]

I also have to side with those who are annoyed that there are no barriers letting you through to the platforms on the arrivals side, it's a pain having to walk around to the departures side.

When I was there (17:00 on a weekday evening), whilst most barriers from the Arrivals were set to Exit only there was one on the far right side nearest to Platform 0 that was set for Entry.

Worth a check as they may just be keeping one gate set that way unadvertised for emergencies and for those in the know.

 

[swt_passenger]

And the originall plan was to have them all crossing via the footbridge.

No it wasn't. I have the passenger flow diagrams as presented to Camden with the original planning application. The footbridge was clearly a secondary means of access, and the main entrance to the platforms was always through the south end of the western range, just as it has been set out as built.

 

[seat54]

I had my first visit to KX since it opened, I was impressed but a little disappointed with the flow from the arrival area to the departure area (probably wrong names but you'll known what I mean). It seems that this is not well thought out, either go outside into the rain or go through the narrow glass gates and navigate the link.

There probably is some other way but I only saw the two.

Anyway I did like the look of the clean and shiny roof.

 

[SWT_USER]

Is there going to be a more permanent barrier separating the departure gates and the arrival gates? It's not exactly difficult to get through without a ticket at the moment.

 

[Bungle73]

Went there again today and used the roped off section to walk between the two concourses. As I was standing in the arrivals bit I did notice several people attempt to squeeze through between the rope and the glass wall to enter the ticket area instead of going through the barriers.

 

[yorksrob]

I recently tried to use Kings Cross St Pancras underground a few weeks ago after the gates from the old concourse had all been switched to exit only. The crowds of people in front of the barriers to the new escallators and ticket machines were so appalling (with not many seeming to get through very quickly for some reason) that I gave up and walked to Euston. Much less stressful altogether.

 

[stut]

Well, it appears that the full one-way idiocy has been restored. Ow - the entrance gate at York Way has gone, as has the exit gate on to the concourse. On the plus side, nobody's paying the slightest bit of notice to the roped-off passage between the two, so you can just waltz through. No doubt this will be remedied by closing off that route altogether, ensuring maximum inconvenience.

In addition, some new, migraine-inducing lights seem to have been installed above the departure boards, making them pretty much impossible to look at.

This station was so much better 5 years ago.

 

[Clip]

No it wasn't. I have the passenger flow diagrams as presented to Camden with the original planning application. The footbridge was clearly a secondary means of access, and the main entrance to the platforms was always through the south end of the western range, just as it has been set out as built.

Like I said - thats what we were told by both our station manager and the people who were building it.

 

[Lee_Again]

This station was so much better 5 years ago.

Sorry, stut, it may not be perfect but that statement is nonsense.

 

[stut]

Sorry, stut, it may not be perfect but that statement is nonsense.

It's an opinion which you're perfectly reasonable in disagreeing with, but I don't believe it's unreasonable. Obviously, it's based on my own requirements for the station rather than anything else.

I have a longish commute, so I just want to get on and off the train and head onwards to work as quickly and easily as possible. For me, this means quick access to/from York Way, cycle racks for platform 1 in the morning and 9 in the evening. A quick coffee or M&S stop is handy on occasion, but by no means essential.

5 years ago, there was no one-way and no gateline. I could lock up my bike on platform 1, go over the old bridge to 8 and nip across to 9 in next to no time. Now, I have to go round to Pancras Road, through the barriers, across all the platforms, to platform 1, then back to the exit gateline, find someone to let me out as my ticket won't work (and they rarely seem to be anywhere useful at the moment), go back round to the entrance concourse, fight my way across a packed waiting area under the screens that now seems to get blocked I the evening with people waiting for platforms that are still announced at the last minute, get to the 9-11 gateline and find someone to let me through, as the ticket still won't work (this usually involves waiting for all the arriving passengers first) and then being lucky if I make my train.

I could use the p9 racks, if I could ever find space, but that would involve doing to whole rigmarole in reverse in the morning, against a tide of incoming passengers on p9, where time is even more of an issue.

No, I don't expect KX to be designed to my specific requirements, but nor do I expect it to fail so miserably for anything but one particular, narrow set of requirements. The new bit is shiny (although already showing itself up as filthy - whether due to materials or lack of cleaning I don't know) but personally, as a commuter, I don't really care about a pizzeria or an expensive chocolate shop. I don't want a "retail experience", I just want to get on my train and go home.

And yet, all it would take is the tiniest compromise - one wide barrier per set turned against the flow.

So yes, for me, it was infinitely better 5 years ago.

 

[Barclay]

Have you thought about using the p8 racks, and avoiding walking through the Western concourse by walking from p8 to p9 on the platform side?

 

[stut]

Have you thought about using the p8 racks, and avoiding walking through the Western concourse by walking from p8 to p9 on the platform side?

Is that permanently open now? Last I saw, the barrier was still in the way.

It might work as a compromise, it just depends whether the trade-off (delay in the morning) is worth it. I'm grumpier in the mornings

 

[rdwarr]

Is that permanently open now? Last I saw, the barrier was still in the way.

It might work as a compromise, it just depends whether the trade-off (delay in the morning) is worth it. I'm grumpier in the mornings

Last few days it has been open but the gates still say "to be locked at all times" or something similar. It's great for me in the morning as I go from the country end of P8 to St Pancras - probably saves five minutes.

 

[stut]

May give that a try, then...

 

[swt_passenger]

Like I said - thats what we were told by both our station manager and the people who were building it.

Just the sort of people who'd be the last to know what was going on then. :roll:

In any case, the actual size of the footbridge and mezzanine level access through the western range made it immediately obvious that it wasn't a main route. It just isn't physically big enough.

 

[Barclay]

Is that permanently open now? Last I saw, the barrier was still in the way.

It might work as a compromise, it just depends whether the trade-off (delay in the morning) is worth it. I'm grumpier in the mornings

Yes, it's never been closed. You've always been able to walk between p8 and p9 at the country end of the station.

 

[stut]

Oh, way down at that end? It was blocked for a while (I remember a discussion on Meet The Managers about the barrier that appeared there - they even did ticket inspections at it for a short period!) Could work if it's P9 - bit of a schlep if it's 10/11.

Actually, thinking about it, there are steps up from P0 to the bridge, so I could feasibly (if not entirely "legally") cross from 0-8 that way without doubling back. So the only detour would be from York Way round to Pancras Road and back.

 

[jon0844]

The 'gate' at the end of platform 8 was pointless. It only covered part of the platform, so you didn't even need to climb over/around it. It has now gone completely.

The sign to say no access were adjacent to you, so you could easily claim you hadn't seen it. It was also plain text, without any symbol to show an actual prohibition - so I interpreted it as an advisory sign.

I often used this as a shortcut to getting to the front of my train on platform 9 (if it was advertised as 9a) and never once got stopped by RPIs, one of the PCSOs patrolling or other staff. I did of course have a ticket.

I did see RPIs there occasionally, and also noticed that cyclists used it to avoid being told they couldn't take their non-folding bikes on evening peak trains.

 

[Bungle73]

Well, it appears that the full one-way idiocy has been restored. Ow - the entrance gate at York Way has gone, as has the exit gate on to the concourse. On the plus side, nobody's paying the slightest bit of notice to the roped-off passage between the two, so you can just waltz through. No doubt this will be remedied by closing off that route altogether, ensuring maximum inconvenience.

In addition, some new, migraine-inducing lights seem to have been installed above the departure boards, making them pretty much impossible to look at.

This station was so much better 5 years ago.

I had a look today, and you can't even see the lights if you're standing at ground level.

I also noticed, standing in the arrivals bit, there's still quite a few people trying to gain access to the platforms there, and then having to run round to the departures bit.....even though there's a huge sign saying "Arrivals Only" and a big arrow pointing people to the arrivals concourse.

 

[Clip]

Just the sort of people who'd be the last to know what was going on then. :roll:

In any case, the actual size of the footbridge and mezzanine level access through the western range made it immediately obvious that it wasn't a main route. It just isn't physically big enough.

Thats what some of us quieried also but the meeting was that short to discuss it that they parried any difficult questions away.

A lot of the staff were just happy that they would be mainly working under a big roof rather then outsied at times