Platforms in use 2 | Grid reference TQ303830 | |
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Area London Borough of Camden Similar City Thameslink railway st, Holborn Viaduct railway st, Morden Road railway st, Burdett Road railway st, Ludgate Hill railway station | ||
King's Cross Thameslink station is a closed railway station in central London, England, 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 160 yards (150 m) 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 lettered rather than numbered, to avoid confusion with the platforms at nearby King's Cross among staff who worked at both stations, 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.
History
In 1863 the Metropolitan Railway opened a line from Paddington to Farringdon, the world's first underground railway. The City Widened Lines project, completed in 1868 built quadruple track from King's Cross to Moorgate, with platforms on both lines at all the stations.
In 1940 Metropolitan Railway 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 Widened Lines 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.
The station was replaced in 2007 because of substandard platform widths and lengths, lack of step-free access, lack of easily accessible fire escape routes, and a poor-quality passenger environment. The cost of upgrading the station to modern standards would have been in excess of £60 million. It would also have caused serious disruption to the nearby Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan LUL lines and nearby roads.
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. The last train, the 23:59 from Haywards Heath, called at Kings Cross Thameslink at 01:08 on Sunday 9 December 2007. From 9 December 2007, Thameslink services started to call at new platforms built beneath the main station complex at St Pancras. These are able to handle 12-car trains and will have sufficient capacity to serve the Thameslink Programme route (upgraded from the original Thameslink network). They also have better pedestrian links to the main line 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.