Platform 0 (Was Platform Y) at King's Cross

[jon0844]

I believe that when the station is completely renovated, the platforms will go 1-12, and 0 (or Y as it was once going to be known - imagine the people who would think that was an error) will go.

 

[Lee_Again]

It will be called platform 0, and will open before the May timetable change next week. They want it used by electric services only.

There is a new sign on the approach to the Gas Works Tunnel indicating Electrics only on platform 0

 

[dk1]

Was pleased that my train to Peterborough was advertised as departing platform 0 yesterday as i exited the tube. As luck would have it i glanced again at the monitor just before boarding & realised the 13.30 Edinburgh is first stop Retford. Was convinced it stopped. Back to no6 for the 13.35 Leeds & needless to say i still haven't used the new platform!

 

[Aictos]

Heard there's problems with lack of signs directing people to Platform 0, with passengers not being aware that there's a Platform 0 now.

I've yet to use it so can't speak from experience but as a general question to some of the regulars, how do you find the setup, is it easy to find your way to the platform?

 

[jon0844]

It is quite well hidden, but there are 'signs' on the floor making a trail to follow.

The thing is, even when you're almost there you can think you've gone wrong as you can't really see the platform. You need to walk on until you turn sharp right and, there it is.

 

[philjo]

I haven't used it yet (east coast seem to use it in the evening peaks at the moment), but when you approach it you have to go a short way down platfrom 1 before you can turn right onto 0.
Therefore, you can't see the train in 0 immediately - a few people I saw running for a departure from 0 seemed to be heading towards the train standing in platform 1 (which wasn't yet advertised on the board).
There is a departure screen for platform 0 on the entrance to platform 1, but it needs a sign above/underneath to say this is for the train on platform 0 (with a large arrow pointing right) - it could be confused with the train in platform 1, as that train is near to/in sight of this screen. Especially by anyone in a hurry who isn't familar with the new platform layout.

 

[shinkansen1966]

When you exit Kings Cross, on the right hand side, you notice additional and unused tunnels. They look like they're just used for maintaince vehicles, but could be brought back into full rail service. That way, you'd have three pairs of tracks as far as Finsbury Park. Or that's what it looks like to me....

Has restoring these tunnels ever been discussed ? Would it provide useful capacity ?

 

[jon0844]

When King's Cross is completely finished, I could see them being able to reinstate that tunnel - but at the moment, and for as long as I can remember, it has been used by Network Rail vehicles to move various bits and bobs around.

 

[shinkansen1966]

Just showed my Dad around the St Pancras/Kings Cross complex. Like me, a rail fan, and not seen St P since the Nov 2007 E* relaunch.

He remarked on how Kings Cross really is the poor relation to St Pancras. When we looked around, the KX green awning concourse was crowded. "You should see it on a Friday evening", I exclaimed !

 

[jon0844]

To be fair, it is all going to change to stop that. It may never look as nice as St Pancras, but it will be quite a bit easier to navigate given that all the platforms are easy to find (or will be). St Pancras is a bit confusing given that it is split into four different sections based on the TOC/service.

 

[caliwag]

New timetable Monday, left theX on the 5PM...first stop York...a 125, almost like the good old days of 1hr 40 start to stop...gungho timetabling in the words of Don Heath. But I digress: As we left platform, I realised there was a 225 set in 0 and noted that it was just like a siding. IT NEEDS BETTER LIGHTNG>>>TAKE NOTE KX MANAGEMENT.

In my BR days changes were highlighted with lots of new, and in place from day one, flying fridges (as we called them). These are unavoidable four-sided hanging signs directing the pax to all facillities, including platforms...if labelled correctly they work.

Now though, with a disjointed railway, we appear to rely on posters...a poor do.

 

[jon0844]

Platform 0 has relatively low level lighting ALL THE WAY ALONG the platform, so the train itself will probably not be illuminated as with the main station building. However, the platform itself will be.

It's lit more like an Underground station.

 

[swt_passenger]

Platform 0 has relatively low level lighting ALL THE WAY ALONG the platform, so the train itself will probably not be illuminated as with the main station building. However, the platform itself will be.

It's lit more like an Underground station.

When I looked at it a week past Thursday the lighting on the opposite side to the platforms was all temporary, but sitting behind what looked like more permanent fittings. It seemed pretty obvious that the whole length of the platform 0/1 is still a building site, with many temporary buildings still located along there, so I suspect the end result might be completely different to what we see now?

 

[jon0844]

I certainly hope that platform 0 will become more integrated when the station is finished. And there is a lot of stuff that is also blocking the view of the platform, making you feel very cut off from the main building.

I am 99% sure that when it's all finished, platform 0 (or 1 as it will be) will be well marked and more obvious than 0, which does seem like a mistake on a digital display. Certainly nothing to worry about in the long term, especially given even semi-regular users will know about it by then anyway.

Any tourist that has never been to King's Cross wouldn't know where ANYTHING is and would look harder for signs or ask for assistance. For now, the main problem is probably if FCC is using it and announces the platform late and people are waiting around platform 9-11 or platform 8. They can, and do, show platforms very late at times and it's not very quick to get from platform 11 to 0 during the work, and now the bridge isn't there.

 

[yorkie]

A lot of 'normal' passengers yesterday seemed confused with Platform 0, and were running toward a train on Platform 1 (which hadn't been announced at that point and wasn't going to any station where the Platform 0 train was going to), I pointed to the right platform. Some of them seemed to miss the train and were very distressed, on investigation they were foreign tourists on flexible tickets to Newark who didn't seem to realise they could get any train.