Tired Euston
Euston has hardly changed since it was rebuilt in the 1960s. The black marble inside the station has always made it a bit of a black hole and I’ll admit it used to be worse as you walked down the ramps to the trains. They seemed to have brightened up this area with perhaps just a few more lights and some new paint.
But it is in the Underground and the connections to it, that it is really lacking; from the inadequate escalators from the station and the rather dull tunnels connecting you to the Northern and Victoria lines. Compared to later stations like Liverpool Street, it is all very poor. It will look even more so, once King’s Cross and St. Pancras are finished.
Euston also needs to be properly connected to the Metropolitan and Circle lines, which run just in front of the station, by some form of proper people mover.
Perhaps in the future, all the Marylebone/Euston Road stations could be properly linked, so that passengers arriving at Marylebone and Euston could be quickly whisked to St.Pancras and King’s Cross for Paris, Brussels and the North East.
I think, I would ban cars and lorries from the route, put a travelator down each side, with trams and gardens in the middle and cafes and restaurants along the side.
The Anonymous Widower 
We went on a family holiday to Paris some years ago, via Eurostar. We got the train down to Euston and crossed London to Waterloo, which was where it left from then. We had made sure we had ample time for connections so we didnt miss our trains. Which left us with 3 hours at Euston before the trains which we had tickets for. Neil stayed at Euston with the luggage, and myself and daughters went to Harrods.
having come straight from Paris and the lovely clean Metro, we descended down to the tube, and it was very obvious how dirty and grimy and miserable it was!
Comment by liz | January 2, 2011 |
One proposal in railway circles is to make Euston/St. Pancras/Kings Cross into one station. But you can’t see the various managers agreeing. One thought I’ve also had and so have others is to create a proper walking route between Euston and St. Pancras with cafes on the side and perhaps bicycle rickshaws for the less mobile. I always walk.
I also disagree with your comment about the tube. Some lines are bad, but KingsX is now fully disabled friendly with lifts. The trouble is that Euston was never connected to the Metropolitan/Circle. As to waiting in Euston, St. Pancras is now very good and Kings X when they finish for the Olympics will be very good too.
It does look like the space between Kings X/St. Pancras and the Regent’s Canal will be developed as a leisure area.
Comment by AnonW | January 2, 2011 |
The trip to Paris was long before my accident, so disabled facilities werent an issue at all – this was about 13 or 14 years ago. The tubes have no doubt been upgraded since then – they certainly needed it!
Comment by liz | January 2, 2011 |
The big problem, that affects a friend off mine is that she lives in Edinburgh and her daughter lives at a station served out of Marylebone. Kings X to Marylebone or vice versa is a nightmare.
Comment by AnonW | January 2, 2011 |
Our daughter lives in North Kent, and if she comes up on the train, she has to kept from Victoria or London Bridge to Euston. Although since she got her new car, she mostly drives, she always worried the old one might not make it!
Comment by liz | January 2, 2011 |
As you know I can’t drive and only go south of the Thames on sufferance or with an armed posse or an attack cat.
Comment by AnonW | January 2, 2011 |
The sad thing about getting north to Manchester was that there used to be a good route out of St. Pancras, that was used during the rebuilding of the West Coast Main Line. It should be reinstated as an alternative.
Comment by AnonW | January 2, 2011 |
[…] would stop the demolition of 200 homes at Euston. But then Euston station is a disgrace, as I said here and rebuilding it will probably mean it requires more space. So there would be some demolition […]
Pingback by Is Making Stratford London’s HS2 Terminus A Good Idea? « The Anonymous Widower | January 6, 2013 |
[…] Euston – Tired and pokey! […]
Pingback by London’s Disliked And Loved Tube Stations « The Anonymous Widower | April 25, 2013 |