FORTY years ago, on October 14, 1968, the Queen arrived by Royal Train to open the new, £15 million Euston station in London.

At the time, Railnews reported that the station was considered by many to be the finest in Europe.

Built for British Rail’s London Midland Region on the site of the old Euston station, the new station had emerged after five years of construction work on an 18-acre area with five miles of platforms.

The work had not been without controversy – the demolition of the famous Doric Arch outside the station went ahead, despite a campaign to save it.

But for the first time the station promised passengers ease of movement to trains and the complete absence of vehicles from the entrance and concourse area.

Now, 40 years on, the station is set to be transformed again – but this time at an estimated cost of between £400–£500 million.

Few of the millions of Virgin Trains and London Midlands passengers who use the station annually are aware of Network Rail’s plans for the terminal, which is the starting point for journeys to the West Midlands, North West and Scotland.

But the revamped station is expected to offer those very same passengers a whole new experience.

Currently Network Rail is working with its selected developer, British Land, to work up a scheme in which a mixed-use development of offices and residential accommodation will help pay for the project.

Even then, the plans will have to go before Camden Council and it is expected to be 2010 before actual construction work starts.

Platforms will be extended to be able to cope with longer Pendolino trains – two extra coaches are to be added to each train in the 52-strong fleet – to give more passenger capacity on the Virgin High Frequency (VHF) services. Space for an extra platform will also be safeguarded.

The station platforms will be extended from the buffer stops end and, above, the existing station concourse will be enlarged to ease circulation of passengers.
Elevators will take people to and from the trains on the platforms below.

At the same time, London Underground is expected to be provided with its own entrance – the present one is situated on the station concourse.

“We want to improve the look of the station, to enable more light to come into it and basically improve the whole station environment,” said a Network Rail spokesman.

“There are operational drivers and an aim to declutter the station concourse.”

The Euston project is one of several under way at London stations, including London Bridge and London Victoria, with Waterloo shaping up to be the biggest scheme.

The spokesman added: “We have got a pot of money allocated from the government for specific station projects such as King’s Cross and Edinburgh Waverley and now Euston.”

While charges for the office and residential development will go towards the cost of providing the improved operational facilities, one thing is certain – any building in ‘air space’ over the station will have to conform to tight criteria about height.

“There are no prospects for a huge skyscraper building here.” said the spokesman.

“The view of St Paul’s Cathedral from Hampstead is protected and that vista, or viewing corridor, must not be obstructed.”

When work does finally begin, the construction process is expected to take up to four years, so it is likely to be 2014 before the ‘new’ Euston emerges.