Euston railway station
Encyclopedia
Euston railway station, also known as London Euston, is a central London railway terminus in the London Borough of Camden
. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London (by entries and exits). It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail
, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line
. Euston is the main rail gateway from London to the West Midlands
, the North West
, North Wales
and part of Scotland. Its most important long-distance destinations are Birmingham
, Manchester
, Liverpool
and Glasgow
.
It is connected to Euston tube station
and near Euston Square tube station
on the London Underground
. It is also within ten minutes' walking distance of Kings Cross Station, the southern terminus of the East Coast Main Line
. These stations are all in Travelcard Zone 1
.
style, Euston was the first inter-city railway station to be built in London.
The station and the railway that it served experienced several changes in management, being owned in turn by the London and Birmingham Railway
(1837–1845), the London and North Western Railway
(1846–1922), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
(1923–1947), British Railways (1948–1994), Railtrack
(1994–2001) and Network Rail (2001–present)
The original station was opened on 20 July 1837
, as the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway
constructed by William Cubitt. It was designed by a well-known classically trained architect, Philip Hardwick
, with a 200 ft (61 m) long train shed by structural engineer Charles Fox. Initially it had only two platforms, one for departures and one for arrivals. Also designed by Hardwick was a 72 ft (22 m) high Doric
propylaeum
, the largest ever built, which was erected at the station's entrance to serve as a portico and became renowned as the Euston Arch
. The Birmingham to London line engineer, Robert Stephenson
originally planned the railway through north London terminating where King's Cross station currently stands. After encountering severe opposition from landowners, he was forced to build the railway through Tring
, Watford
and Harrow
, terminating at its present site at Euston.
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Until 1844, trains were pulled up the incline to Camden Town
by cables because the London and Birmingham Railway's Act of Parliament prohibited the use of locomotives in the Euston area; this prohibition is said to have been at the request of Lord Southampton, who owned land bordering this section of the line.
The station grew rapidly over the following years as traffic increased. It was greatly expanded in the 1840s, with the opening in 1849 of the spectacular Great Hall (designed by Hardwick's son, Philip Charles Hardwick
), built in classical
style. It was 126 ft (38.4 m) long, 61 ft (18.6 m) wide and 64 ft (19.5 m) high, with a coffered ceiling and a sweeping double flight of stairs leading to offices at the northern end of the hall. Architectural sculptor John Thomas
contributed eight allegorical statues representing the cities served by the line: London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc. The station was further from Euston Road than the front of the modern complex; it was on Drummond Street, which now terminates at the side of the station, but then ran all the way across the front of it. A short road called Euston Grove ran from Euston Square towards the arch. Two hotels, the Euston Hotel and the Victoria Hotel, flanked the northern half of this approach.
Apart from the lodges on Euston Road and statues now on the forecourt, few relics of the old station survive. The National Railway Museum
's collection at York
includes a commemorative plaque and E.H. Bailey's statue of George Stephenson
, both from the Great Hall, the entrance gates and an 1846 LNWR turntable discovered during demolition.
In the early 1960s it was decided that the old building was no longer adequate. Amid much public outcry, the old station building (including the Euston Arch) was demolished in 1961-2 and replaced by a new building. Its opening in 1968 followed the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, and the new structure was intended to symbolise the coming of the "electric age". The contract to build the new station was awarded to Taylor Woodrow Construction
Ltd, in 1961.
The modern station is a long, low structure with a frontage of some 197 m (646.3 ft). The second phase - completed in the late 1970s - consists of a bus terminal and three low-rise office towers that look out on to adjacent Melton Street and Eversholt Street, and were originally occupied by British Rail, Railtrack, and then Network Rail (who have largely vacated all but a small portion of one of the towers). All of these buildings are in a functional style and the main facing material is polished dark stone, complemented by white tiles, exposed concrete and plain glazing. The station has a single large concourse with the usual assortment of shops and eateries, and is separate from the train shed. A couple of small remnants of the older station were kept, two Portland stone
entrance lodges (one of which was a women-only bar from 1995 until 2008) and a war memorial on Euston Road, but were hardly an effective sop to those offended by the loss of the former building. A statue of Robert Stephenson
by Carlo Marochetti
that stood in the old ticket hall now stands in the forecourt, where it looks down on a convenience food stall. The frontage of the station building is hidden behind office buildings designed by Richard Seifert
and a bus station. There is a large statue by Eduardo Paolozzi
named Piscator at the front of the courtyard. A series of other pieces of public art, including low stone benches by Paul de Monchaux around the courtyard, were commissioned by Network Rail in the 1990s.
Euston handles an intensive train service and a high volume of passengers while providing extensive facilities. The station contains a range of catering units and shops, a large ticket hall and, despite a central London location, an enclosed car park with over 200 spaces.
The screening-off and positioning of platforms away from a spacious main concourse results in a waiting area that is protected from the elements, while areas in front of intercity platforms exist to allow waiting passengers to queue without obstructing passenger flow in the main body of the station. Passenger flow is further aided by the positioning of the main departure indicator board in a manner that encourages waiting passengers to gather away from platform entrances, and by a walkway under the main concourse which provides a direct link from the commuter platforms (8 to 11 inclusive) to the Underground station.
The lack of daylight on the station's platforms compares unfavourably with the glazed trainshed roofs of more traditional Victorian railway stations, but the use of the space above as a parcels depot did release the maximum possible space at ground level for platforms and passenger facilities.
The station has 18 platforms. Platforms 8 to 11 are used primarily for London Overground and London Midland commuter services, and are equipped with automatic ticket gates. Two platforms are extra long in order to accommodate the 16-car Caledonian Sleeper services. Manual ticket checks sometimes take place on entry to the platforms that do not have automatic ticket barriers.
, Richard Morrison stated that "even by the bleak standards of Sixties architecture, Euston is one of the nastiest concrete boxes in London: devoid of any decorative merit
; seemingly concocted to induce maximum angst among passengers; and a blight on surrounding streets. The design should never have left the drawing-board — if, indeed, it was ever on a drawing-board. It gives the impression of having been scribbled on the back of a soiled paper bag by a thuggish android with a grudge against humanity and a vampiric loathing of sunlight".
Access to parts of the station is difficult for the disabled. The ramps that descend from the concourse down to platform level are too steep for unassisted wheelchairs but the introduction of lifts in May 2010 now makes it possible for the taxi rank and underground station to be easily accessible from the main concourse.
The demolition of the old Euston Station building in 1962 has been described as "one of the greatest acts of Post-War architectural vandalism in Britain" and is believed to have been finally sanctioned by the then Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
. The new train shed featured a low flat roof, making no attempt to match the airy style of London's major 19th century train sheds. The attempts made to preserve the earlier building, championed by the later Poet Laureate
Sir John Betjeman
, led to the formation of The Victorian Society
and heralded in the modern conservation movement. This loss may, however, have saved the nearby high gothic St. Pancras Station when similarly faced with demolition by British Rail
in 1966 as the actions of this conservationist movement ultimately led to its being renovated in 2007 as the terminus of the high-speed route to the Continent.
The demolition of the original building is often compared to the 1964 demolition of New York's Pennsylvania Station, as it alerted preservationists of both cities to the importance of saving historical buildings.
bomb which exploded close to a snack bar at approximately 13:10 on 10 September 1973, injuring eight commuters. The Metropolitan Police
had received a three minute warning but were unable to evacuate the station completely before the device exploded. In 1974, the mentally ill Judith Ward
was convicted of this and other crimes despite the evidence against her being highly suspicious. She was completely acquitted in 1992, and the actual culprit has not been apprehended.
to Railtrack
plc in 1994, later passing to Network Rail in 2002 following the failure of Railtrack.
In 2005 Network Rail was reported to have long-term aspirations to redevelop the station, removing the 1960s buildings and providing a great deal more commercial space by utilising the "air rights
" above the platforms.
In December 2005 Network Rail announced plans to create a subway link between the station and Euston Square tube station as part of the re-development of Euston station, creating a direct link between the two Euston stations, which at the moment are separated by a five-minute walk along Euston Road.
More than three years after Network Rail announced its modernisation scheme for Euston Station, no development agreement with preferred developer British Land has been signed. Nor has a masterplan been produced by the Network Rail-British Land team since the developer was appointed two years ago and questions are being raised about the commitment of British Land to the project.
Euston Station is already struggling to cope with the number of passengers and it is only a matter of time until train services in and out of the station are affected. For operational reasons, there is an urgent need to expand the facilities available, build new platforms and lengthen existing platforms to ensure a situation does not arise where trains have to queue outside the station. In recent months, Network Rail has relocated a number of food retail units outside on the station forecourt. Many argue that this step has been taken to ease congestion in the station where overcrowding, particularly at rush hour, is already posing a threat to the comfort and safety of passengers.
Sydney & London Properties, as project manager to the Euston Estate Limited Partnership, launched a Vision Masterplan in May 2008 with the aim of stimulating debate about the future of the station and the surrounding neighbourhood.
were appointed to give the existing Richard Seifert
designed terminus a makeover instead.
announced that Euston was the preferred southern terminus of the proposed High Speed 2
line to Birmingham and the north. This would require the expansion of the station to the south and west in order to create sufficient new long platforms. These plans, if taken forward, would preclude the 2007 reconstruction plans from going ahead and would entail complete reconstruction (involving inter alia the demolition of 220 Camden Council flats), with half the station serving conventional rail services and the new half high-speed trains. The Command Paper suggests restoring the old Euston Arch and an "artist's impression" includes such a rebuilt structure.
The station would have 24 platforms serving both High Speed and classic lines. These would be at a low level while the flats demolished by the extension would be replaced by significant building work above. The underground station would also be rebuilt and connected to Euston Square tube station
. When High Speed 2 is extended beyond Birmingham, the Mayor's office believes it will be necessary to build the Chelsea–Hackney line routed via Euston to relieve the pressure of the 10,000 extra passengers.
In order to relieve pressure on Euston during and after the rebuilding for High Speed 2, HS2 Ltd has proposed the withdrawal of London Overground
services between Euston and , and the diversion on to Crossrail
of eight London Midland trains per hour from Milton Keynes.
Virgin Trains
operates an intensive express network, from Platforms 1-7, 12-18.
London Midland
operates long-distance commuter and outer suburban services, from Platforms 8 to 11, 12-15 and 17.
London Overground
operates local commuter services, usually departing from platform 9.
First ScotRail
operates daily Sleeper services
,
and Northern Line
(both Bank and Charing Cross branches) of the London Underground. Euston Square tube station on the Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line
and Metropolitan Line
is a five-minute walk from the station along Euston Road
.
If the High Speed 2
line, which would terminate at Euston, goes ahead then Transport for London
(TfL) plan to change the safeguarded route for the proposed Chelsea–Hackney line to include Euston between Tottenham Court Road and Kings Cross St. Pancras. As part of the rebuilding work for High Speed 2, it is also proposed to integrate Euston and Euston square into a single tube station.
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
. It is the sixth busiest rail terminal in London (by entries and exits). It is one of 18 railway stations managed by Network Rail
Network Rail
Network Rail is the government-created owner and operator of most of the rail infrastructure in Great Britain .; it is not responsible for railway infrastructure in Northern Ireland...
, and is the southern terminus of the West Coast Main Line
West Coast Main Line
The West Coast Main Line is the busiest mixed-traffic railway route in Britain, being the country's most important rail backbone in terms of population served. Fast, long-distance inter-city passenger services are provided between London, the West Midlands, the North West, North Wales and the...
. Euston is the main rail gateway from London to the West Midlands
West Midlands (region)
The West Midlands is an official region of England, covering the western half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It contains the second most populous British city, Birmingham, and the larger West Midlands conurbation, which includes the city of Wolverhampton and large towns of Dudley,...
, the North West
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
, North Wales
North Wales
North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...
and part of Scotland. Its most important long-distance destinations are Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, Manchester
Manchester Piccadilly station
Manchester Piccadilly is the principal railway station in Manchester, England. It serves intercity routes to London Euston, Birmingham New Street, South Wales, the south coast of England, Edinburgh and Glasgow Central, and routes throughout northern England...
, Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
and Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
.
It is connected to Euston tube station
Euston tube station
Euston tube station is a London Underground station served by the Victoria Line and both branches of the Northern Line. It directly connects with the Euston mainline station above it. The station is in Travelcard Zone 1....
and near Euston Square tube station
Euston Square tube station
Euston Square is a London Underground station at the corner of Euston Road and Gower Street, just north of University College London and within walking distance of Euston railway station. It is between Great Portland Street and King's Cross St. Pancras on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and...
on the London Underground
London Underground
The London Underground is a rapid transit system serving a large part of Greater London and some parts of Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire and Essex in England...
. It is also within ten minutes' walking distance of Kings Cross Station, the southern terminus of the East Coast Main Line
East Coast Main Line
The East Coast Main Line is a long electrified high-speed railway link between London, Peterborough, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York, Darlington, Newcastle and Edinburgh...
. These stations are all in Travelcard Zone 1
Travelcard Zone 1
Fare zone 1 is the central zone of Transport for London's zonal fare system used for calculating the price of tickets for travel on the London Underground, London Overground, Docklands Light Railway and, since 2007, on National Rail services. For most tickets, travel through the zone is charged...
.
History
Although the present station building is in the international modernInternational style (architecture)
The International style is a major architectural style that emerged in the 1920s and 1930s, the formative decades of Modern architecture. The term originated from the name of a book by Henry-Russell Hitchcock and Philip Johnson, The International Style...
style, Euston was the first inter-city railway station to be built in London.
The station and the railway that it served experienced several changes in management, being owned in turn by the London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
(1837–1845), the London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(1846–1922), the London, Midland and Scottish Railway
London, Midland and Scottish Railway
The London Midland and Scottish Railway was a British railway company. It was formed on 1 January 1923 under the Railways Act of 1921, which required the grouping of over 120 separate railway companies into just four...
(1923–1947), British Railways (1948–1994), Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
(1994–2001) and Network Rail (2001–present)
Old building
1837 in rail transport
-April events:* April 24 - The Leipzig-Dresdner Eisenbahn, the first major railway line to be built between important cities in Germany, begins passenger operations...
, as the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway
London and Birmingham Railway
The London and Birmingham Railway was an early railway company in the United Kingdom from 1833 to 1846, when it became part of the London and North Western Railway ....
constructed by William Cubitt. It was designed by a well-known classically trained architect, Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick
Philip Hardwick was an eminent English architect, particularly associated with railway stations and warehouses in London and elsewhere...
, with a 200 ft (61 m) long train shed by structural engineer Charles Fox. Initially it had only two platforms, one for departures and one for arrivals. Also designed by Hardwick was a 72 ft (22 m) high Doric
Doric order
The Doric order was one of the three orders or organizational systems of ancient Greek or classical architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian.-History:...
propylaeum
Propylaea
A Propylaea, Propylea or Propylaia is any monumental gateway based on the original Propylaea that serves as the entrance to the Acropolis in Athens...
, the largest ever built, which was erected at the station's entrance to serve as a portico and became renowned as the Euston Arch
Euston Arch
The Euston Arch, built in 1837, was the original entrance to Euston station, facing onto Drummond Street, London. The Arch was demolished when the station was rebuilt in the 1960s, but much of the original stone was later located—principally used as fill in the Prescott Channel—and proposals have...
. The Birmingham to London line engineer, Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
originally planned the railway through north London terminating where King's Cross station currently stands. After encountering severe opposition from landowners, he was forced to build the railway through Tring
Tring
Tring is a small market town and also a civil parish in the Chiltern Hills in Hertfordshire, England. Situated north-west of London and linked to London by the old Roman road of Akeman Street, by the modern A41, by the Grand Union Canal and by rail lines to Euston Station, Tring is now largely a...
, Watford
Watford
Watford is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, situated northwest of central London and within the bounds of the M25 motorway. The borough is separated from Greater London to the south by the urbanised parish of Watford Rural in the Three Rivers District.Watford was created as an urban...
and Harrow
Harrow, London
Harrow is an area in the London Borough of Harrow, northwest London, United Kingdom. It is a suburban area and is situated 12.2 miles northwest of Charing Cross...
, terminating at its present site at Euston.
Camden Town
-Economy:In recent years, entertainment-related businesses and a Holiday Inn have moved into the area. A number of retail and food chain outlets have replaced independent shops driven out by high rents and redevelopment. Restaurants have thrived, with the variety of culinary traditions found in...
by cables because the London and Birmingham Railway's Act of Parliament prohibited the use of locomotives in the Euston area; this prohibition is said to have been at the request of Lord Southampton, who owned land bordering this section of the line.
The station grew rapidly over the following years as traffic increased. It was greatly expanded in the 1840s, with the opening in 1849 of the spectacular Great Hall (designed by Hardwick's son, Philip Charles Hardwick
Philip Charles Hardwick
-Life:Philip Charles Hardwick was a notable English architect of the 19th century who was once described as "a careful and industrious student of mediaeval art"...
), built in classical
Classical architecture
Classical architecture is a mode of architecture employing vocabulary derived in part from the Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, enriched by classicizing architectural practice in Europe since the Renaissance...
style. It was 126 ft (38.4 m) long, 61 ft (18.6 m) wide and 64 ft (19.5 m) high, with a coffered ceiling and a sweeping double flight of stairs leading to offices at the northern end of the hall. Architectural sculptor John Thomas
John Thomas (sculptor)
John Thomas was a British sculptor and architect, who worked on Buckingham Palace and the Palace of Westminster.John Thomas was born in Chalford, Gloucestershire....
contributed eight allegorical statues representing the cities served by the line: London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc. The station was further from Euston Road than the front of the modern complex; it was on Drummond Street, which now terminates at the side of the station, but then ran all the way across the front of it. A short road called Euston Grove ran from Euston Square towards the arch. Two hotels, the Euston Hotel and the Victoria Hotel, flanked the northern half of this approach.
Apart from the lodges on Euston Road and statues now on the forecourt, few relics of the old station survive. The National Railway Museum
National Railway Museum
The National Railway Museum is a museum in York forming part of the British National Museum of Science and Industry and telling the story of rail transport in Britain and its impact on society. It has won many awards, including the European Museum of the Year Award in 2001...
's collection at York
York
York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...
includes a commemorative plaque and E.H. Bailey's statue of George Stephenson
George Stephenson
George Stephenson was an English civil engineer and mechanical engineer who built the first public railway line in the world to use steam locomotives...
, both from the Great Hall, the entrance gates and an 1846 LNWR turntable discovered during demolition.
New building
Ltd, in 1961.
The modern station is a long, low structure with a frontage of some 197 m (646.3 ft). The second phase - completed in the late 1970s - consists of a bus terminal and three low-rise office towers that look out on to adjacent Melton Street and Eversholt Street, and were originally occupied by British Rail, Railtrack, and then Network Rail (who have largely vacated all but a small portion of one of the towers). All of these buildings are in a functional style and the main facing material is polished dark stone, complemented by white tiles, exposed concrete and plain glazing. The station has a single large concourse with the usual assortment of shops and eateries, and is separate from the train shed. A couple of small remnants of the older station were kept, two Portland stone
Portland stone
Portland stone is a limestone from the Tithonian stage of the Jurassic period quarried on the Isle of Portland, Dorset. The quarries consist of beds of white-grey limestone separated by chert beds. It has been used extensively as a building stone throughout the British Isles, notably in major...
entrance lodges (one of which was a women-only bar from 1995 until 2008) and a war memorial on Euston Road, but were hardly an effective sop to those offended by the loss of the former building. A statue of Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
by Carlo Marochetti
Carlo Marochetti
Baron Carlo Marochetti was a sculptor, born in Turin but raised in Paris as a French citizen.-Life:Carlo Marochetti was born on 4 January 1805. His first teachers were François Joseph Bosio and Antoine-Jean Gros in Paris. Here his statue of A Young Girl playing with a Dog won a medal in 1829, and...
that stood in the old ticket hall now stands in the forecourt, where it looks down on a convenience food stall. The frontage of the station building is hidden behind office buildings designed by Richard Seifert
Richard Seifert
Reubin Seifert - normally known as Richard Seifert was a British architect, best known for designing the Centrepoint tower and Tower 42 , once the tallest building in the City of London...
and a bus station. There is a large statue by Eduardo Paolozzi
Eduardo Paolozzi
Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi, KBE, RA , was a Scottish sculptor and artist. He was a major figure in the international art sphere, while, working on his own interpretation and vision of the world. Paolozzi investigated how we can fit into the modern world to resemble our fragmented civilization...
named Piscator at the front of the courtyard. A series of other pieces of public art, including low stone benches by Paul de Monchaux around the courtyard, were commissioned by Network Rail in the 1990s.
Euston handles an intensive train service and a high volume of passengers while providing extensive facilities. The station contains a range of catering units and shops, a large ticket hall and, despite a central London location, an enclosed car park with over 200 spaces.
The screening-off and positioning of platforms away from a spacious main concourse results in a waiting area that is protected from the elements, while areas in front of intercity platforms exist to allow waiting passengers to queue without obstructing passenger flow in the main body of the station. Passenger flow is further aided by the positioning of the main departure indicator board in a manner that encourages waiting passengers to gather away from platform entrances, and by a walkway under the main concourse which provides a direct link from the commuter platforms (8 to 11 inclusive) to the Underground station.
The lack of daylight on the station's platforms compares unfavourably with the glazed trainshed roofs of more traditional Victorian railway stations, but the use of the space above as a parcels depot did release the maximum possible space at ground level for platforms and passenger facilities.
The station has 18 platforms. Platforms 8 to 11 are used primarily for London Overground and London Midland commuter services, and are equipped with automatic ticket gates. Two platforms are extra long in order to accommodate the 16-car Caledonian Sleeper services. Manual ticket checks sometimes take place on entry to the platforms that do not have automatic ticket barriers.
Architectural controversy
Euston's 1960s style of architecture has been variously described as "hideous", "a dingy, grey, horizontal nothingness" and a reflection of "the tawdry glamour of its time" entirely lacking in "the sense of occasion, of adventure, that the great Victorian termini gave to the traveller". Writing in The TimesThe Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, Richard Morrison stated that "even by the bleak standards of Sixties architecture, Euston is one of the nastiest concrete boxes in London: devoid of any decorative merit
Ornament and Crime
Ornament and Crime is an essay written in 1908 by the influential and self-consciously "modern" Austrian architect Adolf Loos under the German title Ornament und Verbrechen...
; seemingly concocted to induce maximum angst among passengers; and a blight on surrounding streets. The design should never have left the drawing-board — if, indeed, it was ever on a drawing-board. It gives the impression of having been scribbled on the back of a soiled paper bag by a thuggish android with a grudge against humanity and a vampiric loathing of sunlight".
Access to parts of the station is difficult for the disabled. The ramps that descend from the concourse down to platform level are too steep for unassisted wheelchairs but the introduction of lifts in May 2010 now makes it possible for the taxi rank and underground station to be easily accessible from the main concourse.
The demolition of the old Euston Station building in 1962 has been described as "one of the greatest acts of Post-War architectural vandalism in Britain" and is believed to have been finally sanctioned by the then Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan
Harold Macmillan
Maurice Harold Macmillan, 1st Earl of Stockton, OM, PC was Conservative Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 10 January 1957 to 18 October 1963....
. The new train shed featured a low flat roof, making no attempt to match the airy style of London's major 19th century train sheds. The attempts made to preserve the earlier building, championed by the later Poet Laureate
Poet Laureate
A poet laureate is a poet officially appointed by a government and is often expected to compose poems for state occasions and other government events...
Sir John Betjeman
John Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
, led to the formation of The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society
The Victorian Society is the national charity responsible for the study and protection of Victorian and Edwardian architecture and other arts in Britain....
and heralded in the modern conservation movement. This loss may, however, have saved the nearby high gothic St. Pancras Station when similarly faced with demolition by British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
in 1966 as the actions of this conservationist movement ultimately led to its being renovated in 2007 as the terminus of the high-speed route to the Continent.
The demolition of the original building is often compared to the 1964 demolition of New York's Pennsylvania Station, as it alerted preservationists of both cities to the importance of saving historical buildings.
1973 IRA attack
Extensive but superficial damage was caused to the station by an IRAProvisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
bomb which exploded close to a snack bar at approximately 13:10 on 10 September 1973, injuring eight commuters. The Metropolitan Police
Metropolitan police
Metropolitan Police is a generic title for the municipal police force for a major metropolitan area, and it may be part of the official title of the force...
had received a three minute warning but were unable to evacuate the station completely before the device exploded. In 1974, the mentally ill Judith Ward
Judith Ward
Judith Theresa Ward is a British woman known for being a victim of unsafe convictions in 1974 for the bombing of Euston Station in 1973, and of the National Defence College and M62 coach bombings in 1974. Her conviction was quashed and she was released from prison on 11 May 1992...
was convicted of this and other crimes despite the evidence against her being highly suspicious. She was completely acquitted in 1992, and the actual culprit has not been apprehended.
Privatisation
Ownership of the station transferred from British RailBritish Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
to Railtrack
Railtrack
Railtrack was a group of companies that owned the track, signalling, tunnels, bridges, level crossings and all but a handful of the stations of the British railway system from its formation in April 1994 until 2002...
plc in 1994, later passing to Network Rail in 2002 following the failure of Railtrack.
In 2005 Network Rail was reported to have long-term aspirations to redevelop the station, removing the 1960s buildings and providing a great deal more commercial space by utilising the "air rights
Air rights
Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights....
" above the platforms.
In December 2005 Network Rail announced plans to create a subway link between the station and Euston Square tube station as part of the re-development of Euston station, creating a direct link between the two Euston stations, which at the moment are separated by a five-minute walk along Euston Road.
2007 rebuilding announcement
On 5 April 2007, British Land announced that it had won the tender to demolish the existing 40-year-old building and rebuild the terminal, spending some £250m of its overall redevelopment budget of £1bn for the area. As a result the number of platforms will increase from 18 to 21. Media reports in early 2008 hinted that there is now a strong chance that the old Euston Arch could be rebuilt.More than three years after Network Rail announced its modernisation scheme for Euston Station, no development agreement with preferred developer British Land has been signed. Nor has a masterplan been produced by the Network Rail-British Land team since the developer was appointed two years ago and questions are being raised about the commitment of British Land to the project.
Euston Station is already struggling to cope with the number of passengers and it is only a matter of time until train services in and out of the station are affected. For operational reasons, there is an urgent need to expand the facilities available, build new platforms and lengthen existing platforms to ensure a situation does not arise where trains have to queue outside the station. In recent months, Network Rail has relocated a number of food retail units outside on the station forecourt. Many argue that this step has been taken to ease congestion in the station where overcrowding, particularly at rush hour, is already posing a threat to the comfort and safety of passengers.
Sydney & London Properties, as project manager to the Euston Estate Limited Partnership, launched a Vision Masterplan in May 2008 with the aim of stimulating debate about the future of the station and the surrounding neighbourhood.
2011 redesign announcement
In September 2011 plans for Euston Station to be demolished were cancelled and AedasAedas
Aedas is an international architectural firm operating in 31 offices in 20 countries. The practice provides Architecture, Interior Design, Building Consultancy, Research & Development, Imaging, Urban Design and Landscape Design services...
were appointed to give the existing Richard Seifert
Richard Seifert
Reubin Seifert - normally known as Richard Seifert was a British architect, best known for designing the Centrepoint tower and Tower 42 , once the tallest building in the City of London...
designed terminus a makeover instead.
High Speed 2
On 11 March 2010, the Secretary of State for TransportSecretary of State for Transport
The Secretary of State for Transport is the member of the cabinet responsible for the British Department for Transport. The role has had a high turnover as new appointments are blamed for the failures of decades of their predecessors...
announced that Euston was the preferred southern terminus of the proposed High Speed 2
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
line to Birmingham and the north. This would require the expansion of the station to the south and west in order to create sufficient new long platforms. These plans, if taken forward, would preclude the 2007 reconstruction plans from going ahead and would entail complete reconstruction (involving inter alia the demolition of 220 Camden Council flats), with half the station serving conventional rail services and the new half high-speed trains. The Command Paper suggests restoring the old Euston Arch and an "artist's impression" includes such a rebuilt structure.
The station would have 24 platforms serving both High Speed and classic lines. These would be at a low level while the flats demolished by the extension would be replaced by significant building work above. The underground station would also be rebuilt and connected to Euston Square tube station
Euston Square tube station
Euston Square is a London Underground station at the corner of Euston Road and Gower Street, just north of University College London and within walking distance of Euston railway station. It is between Great Portland Street and King's Cross St. Pancras on the Circle, Hammersmith & City and...
. When High Speed 2 is extended beyond Birmingham, the Mayor's office believes it will be necessary to build the Chelsea–Hackney line routed via Euston to relieve the pressure of the 10,000 extra passengers.
In order to relieve pressure on Euston during and after the rebuilding for High Speed 2, HS2 Ltd has proposed the withdrawal of London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
services between Euston and , and the diversion on to Crossrail
Crossrail
Crossrail is a project to build a major new railway link under central London. The name refers to the first of two routes which are the responsibility of Crossrail Ltd. It is based on an entirely new east-west tunnel with a central section from to Liverpool Street station...
of eight London Midland trains per hour from Milton Keynes.
May 2010
Four train operating companies use Euston:Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains
Virgin Trains is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. It operates long-distance passenger services on the West Coast Main Line between London, the West Midlands, North West England, North Wales and Scotland...
operates an intensive express network, from Platforms 1-7, 12-18.
- 3 trains per hour (tph) to , with at least 1tph extended to , one per day of which is combined with Birmingham New Street to and trains
- 3tph to via Stoke-on-TrentStoke-on-Trent railway stationStoke-on-Trent Railway Station is a main-line railway station in central England. It is located on the Stafford to Manchester branch of the West Coast Main Line and serves the Staffordshire city of Stoke-on-Trent...
or CreweCrewe railway stationCrewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population of just 70 residents... - 1tph to via
- 1tph to , with some extended to , BangorBangor (Gwynedd) railway stationBangor railway station in Bangor, Gwynedd is the last mainland station on the London Euston to Holyhead North Wales Coast line. The station is 40 km east of Holyhead....
or , all via CreweCrewe railway stationCrewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population of just 70 residents... - 1tph to (though some terminate short at , or )
London Midland
London Midland
London Midland is a train operating company in the United Kingdom. Legally named London and Birmingham Railway Ltd, it is a subsidiary of Govia, and has operated the West Midlands franchise since 11 November 2007....
operates long-distance commuter and outer suburban services, from Platforms 8 to 11, 12-15 and 17.
- 2tph all stations to TringTring railway stationTring railway station is 1.5 miles outside the small town of Tring, close to the Grand Union Canal and actually nearer the village of Aldbury in Hertfordshire, England. The former Royal Station Hotel and Restaurant has been converted into residential accommodation and beyond that is a small...
- 1tph to Milton Keynes CentralMilton Keynes Central railway stationMilton Keynes Central railway station serves Central Milton Keynes and the surrounding area of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire. The station is located on the West Coast Main Line between the stations of Bletchley and Wolverton, both of which are also within Milton Keynes. The station is served by...
- 1tph to NorthamptonNorthampton railway stationNorthampton railway station is a railway station serving the large town of Northampton and other parts of Northamptonshire in England. Other parts of South Northamptonshire are better served by Kings Sutton, Banbury and Milton Keynes Central stations....
, via Milton Keynes - 1tph to Birmingham New Street, via Northampton
- 1tph to CreweCrewe railway stationCrewe railway station was completed in 1837 and is one of the most historic railway stations in the world. Built in fields near to Crewe Hall, it originally served the village of Crewe with a population of just 70 residents...
, via Northampton, the Trent Valley, and Stoke.
London Overground
London Overground
London Overground is a suburban rail network in London and Hertfordshire. It has been operated by London Overground Rail Operations since 2007 as part of the National Rail network, under the franchise control and branding of Transport for London...
operates local commuter services, usually departing from platform 9.
- 3tph to via local stations in North West London.
First ScotRail
First ScotRail
ScotRail Railways Ltd. is the FirstGroup-owned train operating company running domestic passenger trains within Scotland, northern England and the cross-border Caledonian Sleeper service to London using the brand ScotRail which is the property of the Scottish Government...
operates daily Sleeper services
Caledonian Sleeper
The Caledonian Sleeper is a sleeper train service operated by First ScotRail and one of only two remaining sleeper services running on the railways of Great Britain, the other being the Night Riviera....
,
- Highland sleeper service to , and .
- Lowland sleeper service to Glasgow Central and Edinburgh Waverley.
London Underground
Euston station is directly above and connected to Euston tube station, which is served by the Victoria LineVictoria Line
The Victoria line is a deep-level London Underground line running from the south to the north-east of London. It is coloured light blue on the Tube map...
and Northern Line
Northern Line
The Northern line is a London Underground line. It is coloured black on the Tube map.For most of its length it is a deep-level tube line. The line carries 206,734,000 passengers per year. This is the highest number of any line on the London Underground system, but the Northern line is unique in...
(both Bank and Charing Cross branches) of the London Underground. Euston Square tube station on the Circle Line, Hammersmith & City Line
Hammersmith & City Line
The Hammersmith & City line is a subsurface London Underground line. It connects Hammersmith in the west with Barking in the east, running through the northern part of central London. It is coloured salmon pink on the Tube map...
and Metropolitan Line
Metropolitan Line
The Metropolitan line is part of the London Underground. It is coloured in Transport for London's Corporate Magenta on the Tube map and in other branding. It was the first underground railway in the world, opening as the Metropolitan Railway on 10 January 1863...
is a five-minute walk from the station along Euston Road
Euston Road
Euston Road is an important thoroughfare in central London, England, and forms part of the A501. It is part of the New Road from Paddington to Islington, and was opened as part of the New Road in 1756...
.
If the High Speed 2
High Speed 2
High Speed 2 is a proposed high-speed railway between London and the Midlands, the North of England, and potentially at a later stage the central belt of Scotland. The project is being developed by High Speed Two Ltd, a company established by the British government...
line, which would terminate at Euston, goes ahead then Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) plan to change the safeguarded route for the proposed Chelsea–Hackney line to include Euston between Tottenham Court Road and Kings Cross St. Pancras. As part of the rebuilding work for High Speed 2, it is also proposed to integrate Euston and Euston square into a single tube station.
See also
- Curzon Street Station - The Birmingham counterpart of the original Euston station.
- Pennsylvania Station (New York City)Pennsylvania Station (New York City)Pennsylvania Station—commonly known as Penn Station—is the major intercity train station and a major commuter rail hub in New York City. It is one of the busiest rail stations in the world, and a hub for inbound and outbound railroad traffic in New York City. The New York City Subway system also...
- a station in New York similarly demolished and replaced
External links
- Station information on Euston railway station from Network Rail
- Euston Station and railway works - information about the old station from the Survey of LondonSurvey of LondonThe Survey of London is a research project to produce a comprehensive architectural survey of the former County of London. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Robert Ashbee, an Arts-and-Crafts architect and social thinker, and was motivated by a desire to record and preserve London's ancient monuments...
online. - Euston Station Panorama
- Euston Arch Trust - the campaign for the return of the Euston Arch to the station with detailed history and gallery.
- The New Euston Station 1968 - 1968 British Rail information booklet about the rebuilt Euston station. Also includes historical information.