King's Cross station Introduction King's Cross station is a major railway terminus opened in 1852. The station is located on the edge of Central London, in the King's Cross district and within the London Borough of Camden on the border of the London Borough of Islington. King's Cross forms the southern terminus of the East Coast Main Line, one of the UK's major railway backbones. Immediately to the west is St. Pancras station, the terminus for international Eurostar trains, and the two stations share King's Cross St. Pancras tube station on the London Underground network.
History King's Cross was originally designed and built as the London hub of the Great Northern Railway and terminus of the East Coast Main Line. It was designed by Lewis Cubitt and constructed in two years on the site of a former fever and smallpox hospital. The main part of the station, which today includes platforms 1 to 8, was opened on the 14th of October 1852. The platforms have been reconfigured several times; originally there was only one arrival and one departure platform (today's platforms 1 and 8 respectively), with the space between used for carriage sidings. In later years as suburban traffic grew, space for additional platforms was added with considerably less grandeur; the secondary building now containing platforms 9–11, (which would include the fictional Platform 9 3/4), survives from that era. According to legend, King's Cross is built on the site of Boudica's final battle, or else her body is buried under one of the platforms. Platforms 8, 9 and 10 have been suggested as possible sites. There are also passages under the station which Boudica's ghost is supposed to haunt. The King's Cross fire of 1987, in which 31 people died, was at the adjacent King's Cross St. Pancras Underground station. A major redevelopment of this Underground station (partly influenced by the report issued after the fire) is currently in process. Phase One was completed in 2006; Phase Two is expected to be complete by 2011. The original "King's Cross" was a monument to King George IV. In 1972, a one-storey extension designed in-house by British Rail was constructed in front of the station. While the extension was intended to be temporary, more than thirty years later it still stands. Many consider the extension unattractive, not the least because it obscures the Grade I-listed facade of the original station. Prior to the construction of the extension, the station facade had already become hidden behind a small terrace of shops. This extension is scheduled to be demolished, revealing once again the full glory of the Lewis Cubitt architecture, when a new ticket hall and concourse area is built on the station's western side.
On the 10th of September 1973, a Provisional IRA bomb exploded in the booking hall at 12.24 pm, causing extensive damage and injuring six people, some seriously.
London Bridge Station It is one of the oldest railway stations in the world and is the fourth busiest rail terminal in London. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1. London Bridge is one of two rail termini in London located south of the river Thames, the other being Waterloo. For this reason neither have a direct connection to the Circle Line. London Bridge, with Deptford, are the oldest railway stations in the present London metropolitan area and opened on the 14th of December 1836. The current station is actually formed of two separate stations, which is why it has both through and terminal platforms. London Bridge is due to receive a major revamp as part of the Thameslink Programme, increasing its through platforms from six to nine. Work is not expected to be complete until 2015 with the bulk of the work taking place after the 2012 Olympic Games.
Clapham Junction railway station Clapham Junction railway station is located at St John's Hill in the south-west of Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is not in Clapham but the area, influenced by the station, is commonly known as Clapham Junction. Many routes from London's two busiest termini, Waterloo and Victoria funnel through Clapham Junction. By number of trains passing through each day, some 2,000 (most of which stop), it is the busiest railway station in Britain, and in Europe. It is less busy by the number of passengers, most of whom pass straight. The station has one train every 13 seconds at peak times, one train every 30 seconds at off-peak times. Before the train’s construction, the area was rural and specialized in growing lavender used in the production of perfume (the hill to the east of the station is called Lavender Hill). The 19th century saw the rapid development of the railway system. The station was opened in 1863. Additional station buildings were erected in 1874 and 1876. At the time of the construction of the station, Battersea was mostly associated with industry and poor working people. Clapham, a mile to the east of the site, was a longer-established and more fashionable village and
the railway companies, seeking to attract a middle and upper class clientele, adopted the grander of the two names. The station brought development of the area around it, with the population rising from 6,000 in 1840 to 168,000 by 1910. In 1885 Arding and Hobbs Department Store was built, and after a 1909 fire was rebuilt to include the landmark cupola. Refurbishment rebranded the store with the parent company Allders name, but some of the original Arding and Hobbs signs were retained. Allders went into liquidation at the start of 2005 and Arding and Hobbs is now part of the Debenhams chain. The cupola is illuminated at night.
The A-team. Albert A. Amadeu A., Àxel A. Arnau (C). from 1st bat A