| King's Cross Thameslink | |
|---|---|
| King's Cross Thameslink | |
| Location | |
| Place | Kings Cross |
| Area | Camden |
| Operations | |
| Pre-grouping | Metropolitan Railway |
| Post-grouping | Network Rail |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| 1863 | Opened as King's Cross Metropolitan |
| 16 October 1940 | London Underground platforms closed |
| 1979 | Closed at part of the Great Northern Electrification Project |
| 1983 | Reopened and renamed King's Cross Midland City as part of the Midland City line electrification project |
| 1988 | Renamed King's Cross Thameslink |
| 9 December 2007 | Closed |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z |
|
King's Cross Thameslink station is a closed railway station in central London, which served the Thameslink route. It was replaced by new Thameslink platforms at St Pancras in December 2007. The last operator of the station was First Capital Connect. The site is on Pentonville Road, about 150 m (160 yd) from King's Cross station.
The station occupied part of the original site of the Metropolitan Railway's 1863 King's Cross station. Its original street buildings were a little further west than the later station frontage and, though in poor repair, may still be seen. The Thameslink platforms on the City Widened Lines were separated only by a newer wall from the site of the Underground platforms, which may still be seen on the west side from Underground trains travelling between King's Cross St. Pancras and Farringdon stations.
The two platforms at King's Cross Thameslink were designated A and B, in contrast to the platform numbers used at most other stations. This avoided confusion with the platforms at nearby King's Cross, which may have been regarded as part of the same station complex. A similar situation exists at Waterloo East station, an annexe of London Waterloo, and the use of platform letters has been continued on the new Thameslink platforms at St Pancras.
The Thameslink platforms were linked directly by stairs and a tunnel to the Victoria and Piccadilly line platforms at King's Cross St. Pancras, and via both sets of platforms to the Circle, Hammersmith & City, Metropolitan and Northern lines.
Contents |
In 1940 the Metropolitan and District services (today's Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City line services) ceased to call at the station due to bomb damage. Today's sub-surface underground platforms, further west, were opened in March 1941, but mainline services continued to use the original station until 1979.
In 1983 the station reopened as King's Cross Midland City, and in May 1988 it was renamed King's Cross Thameslink.
In February 2006, the government announced additional funding of £63 million so that work to complete a new Thameslink station at St Pancras could start that summer, and it was announced in September 2007 that the existing Kings Cross Thameslink station would close on 8 December 2007. The last train, the 23:59 from Haywards Heath, called at Kings Cross Thameslink at 01:08 on Sunday 9 December 2007.[1] From 9 December 2007, Thameslink services started to call at new platforms built beneath the main station complex at St Pancras.[2] These are able to handle 12-car trains and will have sufficient capacity to serve the future Thameslink Programme route (upgraded from the original Thameslink network). They also have better pedestrian links to the mainline platforms at both St Pancras and King's Cross.
The foot tunnel from King's Cross St. Pancras tube station to the ticket office of the former Thameslink station remains open from 07:00 to 20:00 on Mondays to Fridays, to provide extra access to London Underground platforms from Pentonville Road.[3]
Reasons for replacing the station included substandard platform widths and lengths, lack of step-free access, lack of easily accessible fire escape routes, and a poor-quality passenger environment.[4] The cost of upgrading the station to modern standards would have been in excess of £60 million.[5] It would also have caused serious disruption to the nearby Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines and nearby roads.[6]
London TravelWatch recommended that the Thameslink station's entrance and concourse be retained as an entrance/exit for London Underground passengers.[7] London Underground agreed but stated that funding for the required modifications would need the agreement of the DfT; the DfT declined, stating that it was a matter for Transport for London (TfL).[8] Since 10 December 2007 (the day after Thameslink calls at King's Cross Thameslink were discontinued), the old station entrance has been retained as part of King's Cross St Pancras.[9]
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed Station | ||||
| Farringdon Station Open |
First Capital Connect Thameslink |
St Pancras International Station Open |
||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||