St Pancras Station Research Articles

Half a mile of medicine

Every year I organise an Awayday for a group of young doctors from outside London on the subject of medical humanities. Its aim is to help them look at medicine...

Construction of the King's Cross northern ticket hall, London, UK

The recent completion of Network Rail's new western concourse at King's Cross station is the culmination of over 12 years of above and below ground station modernisation work that has transformed rail transport links in this part of north London, UK. The new concourse has been constructed directly above London Underground's northern ticket hall, which was the second and last phase of the redevelopment of its King's Cross St Pancras station. The construction of the northern ticket hall was a major undertaking and ultimately provided the support structure for the western concourse. The new ticket hall greatly enhances the overall capacity of the underground station and provides a second means of access to the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines while also incorporating below ground links to both the King's Cross and St Pancras main line stations and to the enlarged Tube ticket hall. This paper describes the overall construction methodology of the main box forming the ticket hall with particular reference to the techniques used for bulk excavation, installation of plunge columns and the use of temporary propping.

A European perspective on the planning of major railway stations: considering the cases of St Pancras Station and Paris Gare du Nord

This article seeks to understand how the European integration process and emergence of a competitive rail market in the EU is changing the planning of large railway stations. It firstly compares the adjustment to rail competition rules in France and in the UK. Secondly, it analyses recent changes in the organisation of St Pancras station in London and Gare du Nord in Paris - two stations with a special link in the form of the Channel Tunnel - which have become strategic hubs for rail services and centres of urban renewal within their cities. Thirdly, it looks at the special financial processes used to fund development projects for the two stations, which make them a laboratory for new uses of space. It concludes that the changes observable in the planning of the two stations are less a direct result of European integration than of global trends.

Super subterranean hub: updating King's Cross St Pancras

An £810 million, 10-year project to update London's oldest and busiest underground railway station was completed in 2010. Enabled by the Channel Tunnel Rail Link Act 1996 , the redevelopment of King's Cross St Pancras station has doubled its capacity and provided step-free access to all platforms. This paper focuses on the design and construction of the spacious northern ticket hall and associated access tunnels to the three deepest Tube lines. Construction of the 21 m deep excavations and 300 m of tunnels had to be undertaken with great care to minimise disruption to what is now a state-of-the-art national and international transport hub.

Oubliez Waterloo: The St Pancras Effect

St Pancras station has provoked controversy and shaped opinions throughout its existence. In reactions to its construction and changing views on its architectural style, from its decline in the 1930s to the debates over its future, and in the spectacular reversal of fortunes that has made it at once the symbol of the railway renaissance and an exemplar of how great historic buildings handled with care and understanding can effect our wider sense of values, St Pancras has been profoundly infl uential. Throughout, the impact of St Pancras has been more far-reaching than its role as a railway terminus. These are the trends that are explored in this paper.

The Meeting Place by Paul Day: a very public commission at St Pancras Station, 2006/9

<i>The Meeting Place</i> by Paul Day: a very public commission at St Pancras Station, 2006/9

St Pancras station: Victorian ‘cathedral of the railways’

Completed in October 1868, St Pancras station was among the last of London's rail termini to be constructed. The superstructure inspired the designers of other railway termini being planned at the time, including those in New York, Glasgow, Manchester and Paris. This paper describes the construction of the terminus and the adjacent Midland Grand Hotel, together with their decline and recent regeneration so as to again become the ‘cathedral of the railways’.

Channel Tunnel Rail Link section 2: King's Cross lands

Section 2 of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link – now known as High Speed 1 – emerges from tunnels at the north-east corner of King's Cross lands in London and then sweeps across into St Pancras station at the south west. This paper reports on the major rail network that has been constructed in ‘area 100’ to enable train services to approach the extended St Pancras station, and also interconnect with other railway networks, thus facilitating high-speed rail services north of London. It describes the engineering objectives and the civil and railway construction works needed to achieve this complex railway network.

King's Cross underground station, London: geotechnical aspects

The redevelopment of London Underground's King's Cross St Pancras Station in central London is being carried out to increase capacity from the current 55 000 passengers per hour during the morning peak to an anticipated 82 000, following the construction of the adjacent Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) terminus. The work will be undertaken in two phases: phase I works, currently nearing completion, which comprises a new western ticket hall and upgrade of the existing tube ticket hall; and phase II, which will comprise a new northern ticket hall and tunnelled links between the existing underground stations. This paper reviews the considerable amount of geotechnical work carried out for the project and will focus principally on three key areas: (a) developing an understanding of the potential hazards related to the stratigraphy of the site; (b) the use of advanced numerical methods; and (c) the role of instrumentation and monitoring within the design and risk management process.

CHANNEL TUNNEL RAIL LINK: ALIGNMENT OF THE APPROACHES TO ST. PANCRAS STATION.

In the period 1988 to 1996 the proposed Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) has adopted numerous alignments between the Channel Tunnel at Folkestone (Cheriton) and a terminus in London. In 1992 a radical departure from the south approach via Waterloo Station was introduced and the CTRL was diverted to an easterly approach to King's Cross Station, later, this was changed to St Pancras Station. In 1994 the Department of Transport, with the aid of Union Railways Limited (URL), introduced a hybrid Bill into Parliament to obtain the necessary powers to construct the railway. The alignment of the approach to St Pancras Station produced for the Bill is referred to as The Reference Design and shown in Fig. 1. During the House of Commons Select Committee stage of the Bill (February 1995 to January 1996) petitioners' objections to the Bill were heard and the Committee handed down a number of initial recommendations in July 1995. A significant decision recommended the adoption of a proposal from the London Borough of Islington for an alternative alignment of the railway in the approaches to St Pancras Station that extended the proposed tunnel into the Railway Lands. This paper discusses the merits of the petitioners' proposal and the alternatives designed and developed in an extremely short period by URL. One of these alternatives was finally adopted as an additional provision to the Bill.

Rising groundwater levels beneath London – an update

Follows a previous article (Structural Survey 6.3) in tracing rises in groundwater levels beneath London between 1985 and 1990, drawing particularly on a 1989 report published by the Construction Industry Research and Information Association. Points out that although no damage has been (at the time of writing) recorded in London due to rising groundwater levels, heavy expenditure has been incurred in designing contingency measures into new buildings (cites St Pancras Station, the Aldersgate Underground car park and the new British Library). Concludes that the National Rivers Authority and the Thames Water Company must address groundwater rises under London in a “careful and controlled way”.

A large excavation at the New British Library

Outlines the methods used to construct two basements at the new British Library, and the precautions taken to monitor and prevent ground movement and related damage to adjacent buildings and London Underground tunnels. Discusses the proposed construction sequence, the prediction of ground movements and the comprehensive survey and ground instrumentation programme installed. Explains the type, purpose and criteria for the instrumentation required and details their positioning in order to monitor possible damage, with particular reference to London Underground and St Pancras Station. Details the results of the survey over the nine‐year construction period, in comparison with predictions, and the plans for continuation of surveys until work is complete.

Review: St Pancras Station

Review: St Pancras Station