St. Pancras International railway station

About St. Pancras International railway station

Railway station terminus in London, England, UK

St Pancras International is one of the largest and most beautiful railway termini in central London, on Euston Road in Camden between the British Library and neighbouring King's Cross station, with King's Cross St Pancras Underground beneath them making this one of Britain's busiest transport hubs. It is the terminus for Eurostar trains to France, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the departure point for East Midlands Railway services to Luton Airport, Nottingham and Sheffield, Southeastern high-speed trains to Kent, and Thameslink cross-London trains to Gatwick Airport, Brighton and Cambridge. It was built by the Midland Railway to bring its network across the Midlands and the North into the capital on its own line, and opened on 1 October 1868. The engineer William Henry Barlow designed its celebrated single-span wrought-iron roof, 210 metres long, 73 metres wide and 30 metres high, then the largest enclosed space in the world. In front of it George Gilbert Scott raised the red-brick Midland Grand Hotel in Victorian Gothic style, with its towers and ornament; today the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel and apartments, it is among the finest Gothic Revival buildings in England. The station came close to demolition in the 1960s until a campaign led by the poet John Betjeman saved it; his bronze statue now stands on the upper concourse. After full restoration it reopened in 2007 as the international Eurostar terminal. Under the glass arch stand the giant Meeting Place statue of an embracing couple and a public piano played by travellers, with shops and cafés around, and the Gothic facade appeared in the Harry Potter films.

Where:

London, United Kingdom