Kings Cross Thameslink entrance closed? (2023)

[ATrainSpotter]

Why is the entrance on Pentonville Road now closed? I'm aware it closed in March 2020 as part of COVID measures and such but its now seemingly boarded up? Searching up on the internet reveals very little. What is tfl planning to do with it now?

 

[rebmcr]

It requires additional staff, which TfL don't have enough of. Opening it would need a more heavily-used part of the network to close in its place (as it was never very well patronised to begin with).

 

[ATrainSpotter]

It requires additional staff, which TfL don't have enough of. Opening it would need a more heavily-used part of the network to close in its place (as it was never very well patronised to begin with).

Fair enough, what are they planning to do with it now?

 

[rebmcr]

Fair enough, what are they planning to do with it now?

I don't believe there's anything specific planned (though I have no inside knowledge). I would expect it just continues to be unused.

 

[AlbertBeale]

The situation, and its implied status, has definitely changed just recently. It doesn't seem as though it "just continues to be unused".

Since they failed to reopen the entrance post-COVID, it's been "as was" inside (as far as one could tell from looking through the glass!) and presumably could have been reopened to provide additional access to the tube again (it was great for the Victoria Line, though less so for anything else since they changed the interconnecting tunnels there as part of the Kings Cross upgrading some years back). It was very useful for people starting or finishing a tube journey at any of the places a block or two to the east of the main Kings Cross, to save an extra walk and to save having to use a more congested route. However, there was the matter of the escalator which needed fixing (and the stairs were perhaps a deterrent for people these days!) - which had been the case for some time before the station closed; so perhaps this was part of the reason for not reopening it.

It has also been seen in the past as a useful escape route - being well away from the other exits from the station - in case of emergency.

It's certainly true that it obviously got less use once the Thameslink station was moved, but did have a steady usage in the years after - especially at peak times (working nearby, I often used it). It's also true, however, that since the patterns of tube use haven't returned to the pre-COVID situation, then operating the extra (and least-used) KX tube entrance would likely be judged as not worth the cost at the moment.

I always assumed that as tube use grew back, it would eventually be seen as worth re-opening it (including for its emergency escape role) again. But just in recent weeks the whole frontage has been boarded up along the edge of the pavement, as though there might be some serious demolition going on inside at some stage. (It's so sealed off that I doubt there'd be any way at all now for its use as an emergency escape from either the tube or the Thameslink tracks via the old platforms.) Given that the building runs alongside the tracks there, and since some of the non-public space could perhaps include railway-related equipment, I'd be surprised if a decision were made to demolish it and build something completely new there.

But clearly the situation is now something other than the "leave it unused for a while until we need it again" situation of the last couple of years

I assume someone must know more...!

 

[Mawkie]

If I recall correctly, the Thameslink station, although staffed by LU staff latterly, remained (remains?) a Network Rail asset. Hence the reason for its general dilapidation, and the time taken to get repairs done - for example the rather ancient escalator.

The Union always insisted on two members of staff being on duty there due to its relative distance from the main King's Cross/St Pancras complex and concerns about safety, however that didn't stop one of the two said staff disappearing into the disused ticket offices at any one time! I'm sure it's the staffing requirement that has meant that entrance remains closed.

Does anyone know if Network Rail still own it? (Or at least if some organisation other than LU own it?)

 

[bluegoblin7]

The Union always insisted on two members of staff being on duty there due to its relative distance from the main King's Cross/St Pancras complex and concerns about safety, however that didn't stop one of the two said staff disappearing into the disused ticket offices at any one time! I'm sure it's the staffing requirement that has meant that entrance remains closed.

This isn't quite true; staffing at PTV is/was governed by the Congestion Control and Emergency Plan (CCEP) as with every other Tube station. Prior to Fit For the Future (FFtF) PTV required a supervisor and a member of staff (with a mess area/office next to but separate from) the former ticket office. After FFtF it was not uncommon for the station to have a single CSA, and it never technically constituted 'lone working'. I know there were concerns from the local reps around this situation, but ultimately the CCEP is created with TU input.

The station is a Network Rail asset and part of the challenges/difficulties are that the former ticket office and staff accommodation areas are in dire need of upgrading and the removal of various nasties...

 

[DavyCrocket]

All I know is that the escalators are still owned and maintained by Network Rail and have a different brake than London Underground. They cannot be used as a fixed staircase.
It’s highly unlikely it will ever reopen (unless perhaps as part of a future street level development and funding) and is not an emergency exit now.

 

[uglymonkey]

Is this the old original "Kings Cross Thameslink" station, with platforms A & B, which Thameslink train run through on the way to and from Farringdon? If not where is it?

 

[swt_passenger]

Is this the old original "Kings Cross Thameslink" station, with platforms A & B, which Thameslink train run through on the way to and from Farringdon? If not where is it?

Yes it is.

 

[uglymonkey]

Thank you!

 

[thomalex]

The situation, and its implied status, has definitely changed just recently. It doesn't seem as though it "just continues to be unused".

Since they failed to reopen the entrance post-COVID, it's been "as was" inside (as far as one could tell from looking through the glass!) and presumably could have been reopened to provide additional access to the tube again (it was great for the Victoria Line, though less so for anything else since they changed the interconnecting tunnels there as part of the Kings Cross upgrading some years back). It was very useful for people starting or finishing a tube journey at any of the places a block or two to the east of the main Kings Cross, to save an extra walk and to save having to use a more congested route. However, there was the matter of the escalator which needed fixing (and the stairs were perhaps a deterrent for people these days!) - which had been the case for some time before the station closed; so perhaps this was part of the reason for not reopening it.

It has also been seen in the past as a useful escape route - being well away from the other exits from the station - in case of emergency.

It's certainly true that it obviously got less use once the Thameslink station was moved, but did have a steady usage in the years after - especially at peak times (working nearby, I often used it). It's also true, however, that since the patterns of tube use haven't returned to the pre-COVID situation, then operating the extra (and least-used) KX tube entrance would likely be judged as not worth the cost at the moment.

I always assumed that as tube use grew back, it would eventually be seen as worth re-opening it (including for its emergency escape role) again. But just in recent weeks the whole frontage has been boarded up along the edge of the pavement, as though there might be some serious demolition going on inside at some stage. (It's so sealed off that I doubt there'd be any way at all now for its use as an emergency escape from either the tube or the Thameslink tracks via the old platforms.) Given that the building runs alongside the tracks there, and since some of the non-public space could perhaps include railway-related equipment, I'd be surprised if a decision were made to demolish it and build something completely new there.

But clearly the situation is now something other than the "leave it unused for a while until we need it again" situation of the last couple of years

I assume someone must know more...!

Interesting that they've boarded up this entrance. Being abandoned t seemed to have been attracting anti social behaviour with windows smashed and graffiti so they may have just boarded it up to prevent this rather than any actual work happening here.

If they're not going to use it again they should really consider selling the site as it is certainly a workable plot and would bring in some income.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Interesting that they've boarded up this entrance. Being abandoned t seemed to have been attracting anti social behaviour with windows smashed and graffiti so they may have just boarded it up to prevent this rather than any actual work happening here.

If they're not going to use it again they should really consider selling the site as it is certainly a workable plot and would bring in some income.

But they haven't just boarded up the windows - the hoarding follows the pavement line to also seal off the kind of "pavement rear extension" at the right-hand side, where there used to be an ATM (land presumably owned by the railway too, however). I must check whether the hoarding goes right along to the adjoining premises [disused currently I think], ie whether it covers over the narrow gated gap between the end of the station building and that first adjacent ex-shop/cafe.

 

[Mawkie]

After FFtF it was not uncommon for the station to have a single CSA, and it never technically constituted 'lone working'.

Can't argue with the CCEP

Perhaps there was a 'local agreement for 2 members of staff'? I certainly never worked there without a 2nd CSA in close proximity. (And used to swap my place on the BNS if I didn't particularly care for who I was working with)

 

[Wivenswold]

I was based at Kings House when Thameslink opened and the Pentonville Road entrance was always quiet. Most notably it was used to evacuate LU staff BTP and a few passengers during the Kings Cross Fire in 1987, well, it was once they managed to get it unlocked. It was then used for access to the tube lines for a few days while they got the main booking hall patched up and reopened.

 

[ATrainSpotter]

Interesting that they've boarded up this entrance. Being abandoned t seemed to have been attracting anti social behaviour with windows smashed and graffiti so they may have just boarded it up to prevent this rather than any actual work happening here.

If they're not going to use it again they should really consider selling the site as it is certainly a workable plot and would bring in some income.

It would also be great to keep a small entrance (as well as making it up to modern standards of course!) as part of that work. It allowed for easy interchange from buses coming from the north (73, 476 etc.).