Kings Cross V Euston

[JGR]

The actual platform area at Euston is a bit drab, but on the whole the station is perfectly functional. The only real problem is the concourse and the chaos whenever a platform is announced.
The lower level at King's Cross is also a bit labyrinthine, I seem to always come out at the wrong exit if I'm trying to get out, rather than to the NR trains.

St Pancras is now shiny, but the layout is unhelpful. Probably not much that can be done about that though.

Aside from Paddington, Victoria and Liverpool Street (which are fine, broadly speaking), I've not used the others enough to comment.

 

[DarloRich]

Had long weekend in London and on my way back up to Edinburgh via the ECML and we have traveled on both WCML( Harry apottet Studios )and ECML in last few days

Love the Pendolino trains but have to say in terms of station Kings Cross is far more impressive than Euston.
Euston seemed soul less to me but Kings Cross has so much more character!
Maybe I'm being a romantic but having now experienced both I thought I'd share my thoughts.

Popped into St Pancras to catch a glimpse of Eurostar leaving and its stunning but we only popped in for a minute-Trip to Paris next time

Euston is a total and utter shi~thole that should be dynamited asap. The Virgin trains serving that station should be placed in the middle of the station prior to the dynamite being aroused.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I'll take a slightly different angle on this and say I like any London terminal so long as it isn't St Pancras, mostly for the reasons already mentioned. Euston's fine - functional and airy, I'm not concerned about the platforms as I'm never on them for long! As for Kings Cross, a nice, new, shiny building and still nowhere to sit!

 

[DarloRich]

functional and airey? Have you ever been to Euston? The platforms are dark, damp dank and horrible. The concourse is simply a commuter holding pen that resembles a zoo at times.

The structure is a concrete u boat pen like hell hole with an office block built on top of it. It is matched in its horribleness by only one other place. The stygian, subterranean, purgatory esque, 8th circle of hell dump that is Birmingham New Street Station.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Yes, but it does its job - ergo it's functional. Few people will be on the platforms for more than a few mins, so I really don't see the issue there. The concourse has plentiful retail units, two booking offices, a food court, LUL access, lots of seating (can't say that of brand new Kings Cross!)and the high ceiling means it always to me feel airy, compared to say Fenchurch St. It may not be pretty, yes, but AFAIC it does its job well, and that is all that matters. It's a railway station, not a manor house: it doesn't need to look good.

 

[playmore64]

I used to work in KGX and admired the station as a whole before the redevelopment, however it was pretty dark even on a sunny day.

I have recently visited KGX and was very impressed with the overall redevelopment it looks airy, inviting and amazing.

I do like Euston but I would have to agree with DarloRich the station is in an urgent need of redevelopment especially within the concourse area I do however like the mini garden outside the station!

For me it's a battle between King's Cross and Victoria!

 

[jon0844]

King's Cross is now bright and has a similar feel to St Pancras, but there's nowhere near enough seating.

I expect that there will be lots of outdoor seating when the old concourse is pulled down, but obviously that will mean seating reliant on good weather.

Surely they can put some more seats around, including a few more tables upstairs. Or, failing that, some flat surfaces for people to perch on and eat/drink standing up.

 

[playmore64]

I agree jonmorris0844 the lack of seating facilities are pretty poor. They could've accommodated a seating area near the Information Desk, especially when one has to wait an hour for their train.

But having said that I'm trying to visualise as to where they could've used the space, perhaps installing a long stool/bench like seating area on the main concourse bang in the middle where the train times are displayed.

 

[jon0844]

I'm not sure where the best place may be now, and think it should have been thought about during the design phase.

Anywhere given seats now could be seen to block the flow of people, especially at busy times with so many people looking at the boards.

Going upstairs is a good place to look at the boards, as well as giving quick access to 9-11 down the escalator (although it was shut yesterday - broken?) and 0-8 via the bridge.

Perhaps the upstairs mezzanine should have been bigger/wider - to allow more seating?

Just like St Pancras, I see they've got some new signs (albeit on stands at ground level) to show people how to get tickets and find platforms 0-8 when entering the station near 9-11, so I guess they're slowly learning what mistakes were made in the design stage and may be working on a solution.

Keeping one or two gates open to platforms 0-8 from those entering at the eastern side, the proper barriers to stop people being able to skip the gates are other examples of the on-going fixes.

 

[HSTEd]

Only thing that really really needs doing with regards to the concourse at Euston is extend it forwards as far as possible, get rid of said 'mini-garden' thing and replace it with more circulating space.

But that won't happen.

 

[jon0844]

No, I'm certain it wont - especially as at King's Cross they want to have an even bigger outdoor space.

 

[Statto]

For an important terminal Euston is horrible station, the concourse is too small with the platforms too far away from the concourse, & too dank, plus poor Tube connections, although one Tube line has 2 branches. I always get lost at Charing Cross when walking from the main station to the Tube & that's even following the signs. Quite like Paddington, you can feel the history of Paddington when you go there, plus it's quite light & roomy.

 

[Geezertronic]

Only thing that really really needs doing with regards to the concourse at Euston is extend it forwards as far as possible, get rid of said 'mini-garden' thing and replace it with more circulating space.

But that won't happen.

No, I'm certain it wont - especially as at King's Cross they want to have an even bigger outdoor space.

You sure? I thought the basic HS2 plans for upgrading Euston included extending the platforms and also extending the concourse outwards towards Euston Road?

 

[yorksrob]

Out of interest, why do people think departure time at Euston can be so chaotic ? The layout appears to be similar to many terminals (with the concourse behind a long gateline) and I don't remember it being particularly chaotic when I used to use it regularly. Is it to do with the long slopes I wonder ?

 

[jon0844]

You sure? I thought the basic HS2 plans for upgrading Euston included extending the platforms and also extending the concourse outwards towards Euston Road?

I stand corrected, sorry! I hadn't seen the plans, but thought there'd be some consistency.

Despite looking like any other 1960s/70s building, I don't see any real issue with Euston. It's fairly straight forward for people to understand and find their way around, which can only be a good thing.

King's Cross is 'my' station so I know it exceptionally well, but I can see it easily confusing people - just like St Pancras.

 

[Geezertronic]

Out of interest, why do people think departure time at Euston can be so chaotic ? The layout appears to be similar to many terminals (with the concourse behind a long gateline) and I don't remember it being particularly chaotic when I used to use it regularly. Is it to do with the long slopes I wonder ?

I think it is mainly that during the peaks, you can have a train full of people waiting under the departure board for each of the VT xx57, xx00, xx03, xx07 or xx10 departures (for example, not including LM or LO) and depending on when they announce the departure, it can be a mass rushed exodus to the relevant platform with queueing occurring while tickets are checked - a lot of people within a short period of time.

It's ok if you are a seasoned user of Euston but (like the tube at times) I suppose it can be frightening to the occasional traveller.

 

[yorksrob]

I think it is mainly that during the peaks, you can have a train full of people waiting under the departure board for each of the VT xx57, xx00, xx03, xx07 or xx10 departures (for example, not including LM or LO) and depending on when they announce the departure, it can be a mass rushed exodus to the relevant platform with queueing occurring while tickets are checked - a lot of people within a short period of time.

It's ok if you are a seasoned user of Euston but (like the tube at times) I suppose it can be frightening to the occasional traveller.

Fortunately I've not tended to use it during the rush hour. That said, I've seen some fairly messy dashes for the train at Kings Cross when the train's been announced. Perhaps it's an InterCity thing.

 

[Rick1984]

The path leading from euston entrance across the garden toward euston square is far too narrow, as is the hole in the wall. To make masters worse a contractile parked there truck on it!

When in euston I thought to my self they could have a separate arrival and departure levels so people leaving don't have to fight through all those under the destination board.

 

[Statto]

One thing i don't get is the platform allocations at Euston, ok P8-P9-P10 are the DC platforms, but the other platforms allocation seems to be quite random for example VT to Liverpool from P7 but the next one even though it's an hour later from P14 rather than the same platform, which could be one reason for the mad rush for the trains especially at Peak Hour?

 

[Geezertronic]

One thing i don't get is the platform allocations at Euston, ok P8-P9-P10 are the DC platforms, but the other platforms allocation seems to be quite random for example VT to Liverpool from P7 but the next one even though it's an hour later from P14 rather than the same platform, which could be one reason for the mad rush for the trains especially at Peak Hour?

The Birmingham (low numbered platforms), Manchester (high numbered platforms) and Wales (look/listen for the S/Voyager - P5?) trains seem to be fairly consistent - I've only known it to be different during an emergency timetable

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

functional and airey? Have you ever been to Euston? The platforms are dark, damp dank and horrible. The concourse is simply a commuter holding pen that resembles a zoo at times.

The structure is a concrete u boat pen like hell hole with an office block built on top of it. It is matched in its horribleness by only one other place. The stygian, subterranean, purgatory esque, 8th circle of hell dump that is Birmingham New Street Station.

Been to Edinburgh lately? Third world or what?
Admittedly its state is only temporary.

 

[ainsworth74]

Been to Edinburgh lately? Third world or what?
Admittedly its state is only temporary.

Judging from the south end, when they've finished it's going to be fantastic (and better than Euston). Also I'm not sure it's fair to judge a station that's in the middle of an extensive rebuild.

 

[HSTEd]

If we run away to fantasy land for a second and propose they rip down the entirity of Euston and build a new station......

Can we have a modern interpretation of a Victorian arched trainshed?... using ETFE and the like for drastically reduced weight compared to glass......
Could have the entirity of Euston, platforms and concourse and extra bits, under one enormous arched span.

Now that would be impressive to look at.

 

[jopsuk]

A single arch would be rather swish- it would also be very tall in the centre which may be an issue. Would certainly impress a visiting victorian, I'd imagine the likes of Brunel would happily have built a single arch large terminus if it had been feasible in their day.

 

[jon0844]

If you built a brand new station today, it's more likely going to be a pretty soulless box built for practicality and maximum retail space, than any grand design from an era when train companies were trying to outdo each other.

Think Stratford International as an example.

 

[HSTEd]

If you built a brand new station today, it's more likely going to be a pretty soulless box built for practicality and maximum retail space, than any grand design from an era when train companies were trying to outdo each other.

Think Stratford International as an example.

Having a giant roof like that allows for no roof supports that take up valuable retail space
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

A single arch would be rather swish- it would also be very tall in the centre which may be an issue. Would certainly impress a visiting victorian, I'd imagine the likes of Brunel would happily have built a single arch large terminus if it had been feasible in their day.

Well we can build far shallower arches than could be built in Victorian times simply because our material science is far superior.
We might be able to get a single arch station without it becoming excessively tall.....

Even if it was that tall, are there any protected sight lines from the north?

 

[LE Greys]

If you built a brand new station today, it's more likely going to be a pretty soulless box built for practicality and maximum retail space, than any grand design from an era when train companies were trying to outdo each other.

Think Stratford International as an example.

Besides, Victorian-style designs are out of fashion as are the rather wonderful art-nouveau styles that gave us the Empire State Building and so on. Soulless boxes are the modern style, as are odd colours and so on in this post-modernist era, and as such, Stratford International and the conservatory at St Pancras are 'stunning' examples of modern archetecture :roll: . They also love painting everything white, despite the effect of diesel exhaust, pigeon s***e and so on. Just look at the horrible modern footbridge in King's Cross, which could easily have had the sides from the old bridge and the clock bolted on with the pillars re-used.

 

[jon0844]

The new London Overground stations are other good examples.

 

[jopsuk]

As an aside, the old concourse at Kings Cross is closed permanently from next Wednesday; few tears will be shed at its passing.

 

[HSTEd]

As an aside, the old concourse at Kings Cross is closed permanently from next Wednesday; few tears will be shed at its passing.

I will, it is a sensible place to put a concourse and it didn't cost several billion pounds of taxpayers money :P

Now I have to walk down the platform, turn left and then walk all the way across the station to get out rather than just walking in a straight line.