The first images of the mega £2.6 billion makeover of Euston station have finally been revealed, and there’s been a mixed response. Work around the new station first started three years ago, and it’s still not due to open for another decade.
The new building will have the longest railway station concourse in the UK at 300m. It will feature dramatic roof panels in a ‘warm gold’ colour, made of anodised aluminium, and the shape will supposedly mimic ‘a butterfly opening its wings’. The roof will be ‘naturally ventilated’ to reduce the station’s carbon footprint.
Declan McCafferty, partner at Grimshaw architects, who designed the station, said: ‘People will be blown away by the grandeur of what we are proposing. What we have got is a really fantastic public space design.’
However, another rail engineer, Gareth Dennis, criticised the design for its simplicity, calling it ‘deeply embarrassing’.
Like King’s Cross, you’ll be able to access the whole of the new Euston station without a ticket. ‘You can move across the whole footprint of the station without a ticket,’ McCafferty said. Due to its sheer size, passengers’ tickets will contain information advising them on which part of the station to wait for their trains.
A new station entrance on Gordon Street will provide easier access, while a cycle lane across the dual carriageway of Euston Road will give safer access to Hampstead Road for cyclists. It’s also good news for changing tubes, as a new underground tunnel will mean passengers will no longer have to schlep 300 metres along busy Euston Road to get to Euston Square station. ‘It will be the best rail-to-Underground connection in London,’ McCafferty said. Up to 17 trains an hour will depart from its Underground platforms.
New HS2 services between London and Birmingham aren’t due to start running until around 2030, but arrivals in the capital will certainly be greeted by a spectacular sight.
Can you get on board with the new station?
All the information about the London Christmas bus strikes
Your guide to public transport in London over Christmas and New Year.
0 Comments