| King's Cross Thameslink | |
|---|---|
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| King's Cross Thameslink | |
| Location | |
| Place | Kings Cross |
| Area | Camden |
| Coordinates | 51°31′51″N 0°07′13″W / 51.5308°N 0.1202°WCoordinates: 51°31′51″N 0°07′13″W / 51.5308°N 0.1202°W |
| Operations | |
| Pre-grouping | Metropolitan Railway |
| Post-grouping | Network Rail |
| Platforms | 2 |
| History | |
| 1863 | Opened as King's Cross Metropolitan |
| 1940 | London Underground platforms closed |
| 1941 | Renamed King's Cross Midland |
| 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 |
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King's Cross Thameslink station is a closed railway station in central London, which served the Thameslink route. It was replaced by the new Thameslink platforms at St Pancras in December 2007. The last operator of the station was First Capital Connect. The site is located on Pentonville Road, approximately 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, although 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 has been continued on the 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.
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History
In 1941 the Metropolitan and District services (today's Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith and City line services) were relocated in a new station further west, however the mainline services continued to use the original station until 1979.
In 1983 the station reopened as King's Cross Midland City, which changed its name circa 1988 to King's Cross Thameslink.
In the early hours of 9 December 2007, Kings Cross Thameslink was closed permanently, having been made redundant by the extended St Pancras station nearby.
Closure
In February 2006, the then Transport Secretary Alistair Darling announced additional funding of £63 million in order that work to complete a new Thameslink station could start in the summer of that year, and it was announced in September 2007 that the existing Kings Cross Thameslink station would close on 8 December 2007. The last train was the 23:59 from Haywards Heath, which called at Kings Cross Thameslink at 01:08 on Sunday 9 December 2007. [1] From 9 December 2007, First Capital Connect services started to call at a set of new platforms built underground at St Pancras[2] which is located beneath the main station complex, is capable of handling 12-carriage trains and will have sufficient capacity to serve the future Thameslink Programme route (upgraded from the original Thameslink network). It also has much better pedestrian links to the mainline platforms at both St Pancras and, in time, King's Cross.
The foot tunnel from King's Cross St. Pancras tube station to the ticket office of the former Thameslink station is now open 07:00-20:00 Mondays to Fridays to provide extra access to London Underground platforms from Pentonville Road.[3]
The need for a replacement station arose due to factors including 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 cot of upgrading the station to modern standards would have been in excess of £60 million which is similar to the cost of fitting out the new station anyway[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 should be retained as an entrance/exit facility 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 service calls at King's Cross Thameslink were discontinued), the old station entrance has been retained as part of King's Cross St Pancras.[9]
Gallery
 Platforms |
 Looking south along Clerkenwell No.3 Tunnel |
 Foot tunnel |
| Preceding station | National Rail | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Closed Station | ||||
| Farringdon Station Open |
First Capital Connect Thameslink |
Kentish Town Station Open |
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See also
- St Pancras International station
- First Capital Connect
- Thameslink
- Thameslink Trains
- London Underground
- Kings Cross railway station
References
- ^ "First Capital Connect : St Pancras International". http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/. http://www.firstcapitalconnect.co.uk/Main.php?iCmsPageId=77. Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ^ 'New station sets the standard' 10 December 2007
- ^ "King's Cross & St Pancras Upgrade". alwaystouchout.com. http://www.alwaystouchout.com/project/47. Retrieved 2007-10-23.
- ^ Network Rail (2005a) - pg.20, paragraph 5.4.1
- ^ Government News Network (2006-02-08). "Thameslink Passengers to Get New Station at St. Pancras". http://www.gnn.gov.uk/environment/fullDetail.asp?ReleaseID=186870&NewsAreaID=2&NavigatedFromDepartment=False. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
- ^ Network Rail (2005a) - pg.20, paragraph 5.4.2
- ^ London TravelWatch [see page 5, paragraph 6.11] (2005-11-01). "Proposed closure of King’s Cross Thameslink station and parts of the railway network at Blackfriars station and London Bridge station". http://www.londontravelwatch.org.uk/document/2305/get. Retrieved 2007-12-15.
- ^ Department for Transport [see page 10, paragraph 43] (2006-10-18). "Thameslink 2000 - Proposal to Discontinue Passenger Services, Close Parts of a Network, Close Parts of Stations and Terminate Use of a Station". http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/rail/pi/tl2000/thameslink2000closuredecision. Retrieved 2006-11-21.
- ^ Transport for London. "King's Cross St Pancras". http://www.tfl.gov.uk/corporate/projectsandschemes/stationsandinterchanges/2333.aspx. Retrieved 2007-12-09.
External links
- Disused Stations: Kings Cross Thameslink
- London's Abandoned Stations - Kings Cross Thameslink
- First Capital Connect website
- Information about the Thameslink 2000 work, from Camden Council
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