GENERAL DESCRIPTION |
DESCRIBE ONLINE |
This is not only a major hub within the London Underground network, but also an integral part of the King's Cross St Pancras complex which is said to be the largest rail complex in the UK. Please visit our guides to King's Cross and St Pancras Mainline Stations for more details.
This station serves:
|
Circle Hammersmith & City Metropolitan Northern (City Branch( Piccadilly Victoria |
For the purposes of this guide we try, where possible to use the terms currently employed by London Underground and those which are announced by lifts. To this end:
We make these apparently obvious statements to emphasise that, whilst the Metropolitan Line platforms are at Level -2, so also is the concourse serving the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines. These are totally different levels.
We note further that, according to the lift outside the entrance to King's Cross Mainline Station, Level -1 is the Upper Ticket Hall, whilst Level -2 is the Lower Ticket Hall. Unfortunately, the ticket sales windows facing the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria lines are also physically at Level -1.
There are four island platforms within this station:
Platforms 1 and 2 run beneath Euston Road at Level -2 and can be seen as defining the southern boundary of the station (except for the two entrances/exits on the south side of Euston Road).
The other platforms radiate from the station at different levels - in order of depth below ground, these are:
The main concourse, at Level -1, is a T-shaped passage. The west leg of this concourse runs beside and gives access to the Metropolitan Line platforms 1 and 2. The north/south leg runs between the south side of Euston Road, passing west of the Level -2 concourse, before curving east across the route to King's Cross Mainline Station, see the Environs page for details of entrances/exits and Level -1 Concourse page for details of the layout of this concourse.
The Level -2 concourse is the area beyond the foot of the seven steps from the main concourse. This gives access to escalators serving the Piccadilly Line, which are north of the escalators serving the Victoria Line. Escalators to the Northern Line leave from the Piccadilly Line level.
There are stairs routes between the near ends of the Northern, Piccadilly and Victoria line platforms. In addition the passage from the Pentonville road Exit joins the far ends of the Victoria and Piccadilly Line platforms.
There is lift and stairs access between street level and the Metropolitan Line. Although the lift beside the main entrance to King's Cross Mainline Station gives access to the Level -2 concourse, we are not aware of any lift access between here and the lower levels. We therefore believe that only the Circle, Hammersmith & City and Metropolitan lines are accessible to wheelchair users via this station.
There is stairs access via the Pentonville Road entrance/exit to the lower platforms, to the far ends of the Victoria and Piccadilly, and thence to the near end of the Northern Line platforms. Note, however, that this entrance is only open between 07:00 and 20:00 Monday to Friday. We therefore believe the station is fully accessible to Guide Dog users between these times.
KING'S CROSS UNDERGROUND STATION
© 2008, Terry Robinson
This guide is sponsored by
London Underground Ltd.
to whom we extend our sincere thanks.