Great Expectations

The King's Cross Station Redevelopment scheme is the UK rail industry's most ambitious project. The five-year station refurbishment project will create a transport hub linking domestic rail, London Underground and St Pancras international rail services. The upgrade to the station?s infrastructure and facilities is intended to meet the needs of an expected increase of 10 million passengers a year over the next 10 years, easing the severe congestion that rush hour passengers currently experience and improving access for the disabled. This expansion in capacity is being complemented by the construction of a 12th platform. Central to the redevelopment will be a new 8,424-square-meter concourse on the west side of the station. The new area will include shops and restaurants, plus new access points for a Tube ticket hall below. Protecting the heritage of the station, originally built in 1851-1852, is one of the core issues informing the project. The complex nature of the development necessitated a wide-ranging consultation process, involving central government, local authorities, local community groups, the Mayor of London, train operators, developers, plus other stakeholders in the proposed King's Cross Central regeneration area. Another challenge is transforming one of Europe's busiest rail transport hubs--handling over 47 million travelers each year--without causing major customer disruption in the process. Ongoing communication with the rail companies means almost daily consultations between the parties involved to identify and avoid potential problems. The majority of the project is expected to be completed in time for the 2012 London Olympics, with the remaining work scheduled for completion by 2013. What would normally be planned as several bespoke projects carried out sequentially is being run as one large scale, intricately planned project. The project thus far is proceeding according to plan and the timetable is being met.

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  • English

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Filing Info

  • Accession Number: 01142638
  • Record Type: Publication
  • Files: TRIS
  • Created Date: Oct 30 2009 8:38AM