14.03.12
Western concourse complete for King’s Cross
King’s Cross western concourse is now complete, as part of a five-year programme to restore and improve the station. The £550m scheme opens to the public on Monday March 19.
The work is also part of a larger transport upgrade for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, with the total investment in infrastructure in the area totalling £2.5bn in the last ten years.
Passenger benefits will include better lighting, larger destination boards, clearer announcements, more shops and restaurants, a bigger concourse and improved links to the Underground and St Pancras stations.
Over a thousand tonnes of steel, five million ceramic tiles and five million metres of cabling were used in the construction. More than 5,000 people worked on the project, providing a vital boost to the economy with 15% of the work force coming from the local area.
A further phase of development to a different area of King’s Cross station will complete in autumn 2013. As well as restoring the station’s double barrel roof and famous clock tower, engineers will remove the eyesore 1970s green canopy onEuston Roadto reveal Lewis Cubitt’s original façade and create a new public space the size ofLeicester Square.
Tell us what you think – have your say below, or email us directly at [email protected]