The Anonymous Widower

Unlocking Euston Station

I dread using Euston station.

The connections to the London Underground in the station, involve a long walk to or from your train and then outside the station to.

• The Northern and Victoria Lines just outside the station.
• The sub-surface lines at Euston Square station, which is a long walk.

There is no connection to the Lizzie Line.

I have probably written more project management software, than any other individual in the world.

Good project managers and probably a few bad ones too, talk about getting all your ducks in a row or doing everything in the right order.

If High Speed Two is going to terminate at Euston, then the first sub-project must be to connect Euston station properly to the Metropolitan, Circle and Hammersmith & City or sub-surface lines of the Underground, which have new spacious air-conditioned trains and run on a line that is digitally signally, so the capacity can be easily increased.

The sub-surface lines also link, the National Rail stations of Liverpool Street, Moorgate, Farringdon, King’s Cross, St. Pancras, Euston, Paddington, Victoria, Charing Cross and Blackfriars, and could be connected to Fenchurch Street and Marylebone. It also has links to the Lizzie Line.

Improve the interchanges and this marvelous Victorian system could unlock London’s transport system like no other.

Five years ago, a similar arrangement to that at St. Pancras was proposed with subways under Euston Road that linked to extended platforms at Euston Square Underground station, by means of lifts and escalators.

Why has this new link between National Rail at Euston and sub-surface Underground not been built? I estimate that it would have taken a couple of years and have fitted in with all the work being done in front of Euston station.

The current Mayor never mentions the project, but then it is a North London project, so it doesn’t interest him and his supporters.

The Design Of The Updated Euston Underground Station

Ian showed this visualisation of the updated Euston Underground station.

At a first look, it appears to be a very similar concept to the entrance to the Underground in front of St. Pancras station.

Click on the image to show it large and you can pick out the following.

• West is to the left and East is right.
• Much of the construction appears to replace the original car park and taxi rank.
• The upper level looks like where passengers enter and leave the station.
• The subway to Euston Square station and the new Gordon Street entrance joins to the upper level towards the Eastern end.
• There is grade access between the upper level and the High Speed Two concourse.
• There are lots of escalators to travel between levels. The square orange columns could be lift towers.
• The lower level is the Interchange/Ticket Hall level.
• The lower level is not much higher than the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line.
• The design seems to make clever use of levels to make changing easier.
• The access between the lower level and the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line at the Western end of the station, appears to be comprehensive and step-free.
• The access between the lower level and the Victoria Line and the Bank branch of the Northern Line, appears to use the current route, which will probably be upgraded to be fully step-free.

This second image shows the design from above the platforms of the conventional section of Euston station.

Click on the image to show it large and you can pick out the following.

• The complicated passages, escalators and lifts of the existing four platforms serving the Bank branch of the Northern Line and the Victoria Line.
• The cross passage connecting these lines to the platforms of the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line.
• The two up and two down escalators leading to the existing ticket hall.
• The Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line curving in and away from the station. See the earlier map of the Underground lines.
• The eleven High Speed platforms on the West side of the station.
• The thirteen Classic platforms on the East side of the station.
• The new Northern entrance to the Underground between the two sets of platforms. How convenient!
• There appears to be a wide passage between the Northern and Southern entrances, with connections to the lines branching off.
• The subway to the new Gordon Street entrance is shown at the top of the image.

The design seems to have separated access to the two branches of the Northern line, by creating a new high-capacity route to the Charing Cross branch.

I also think, that the design allows the station to be built without disrupting passengers using the Underground and the current Euston station.

• A large hole for the station can be excavated, without touching existing access.
• It could then be fitted out section by section.
• Once the new access to the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line is complete, the current access to the Northern and Victoria Lines can be refurbished.

Arriving At Euston

Imagine you are a passenger arriving from the North, who knows the Underground line, you need to take, you would then enter the Underground station using the new Northern entrance.

• For the Bank branch of the Northern Line or the Victoria Line, you would go through the existing ticket hall and down the escalators, much as you do now! Except that you’d enter the ticket hall on the other side from the East side of the passageway connecting the two entrances. New lifts appear to be shown.
• For the Charing Cross branch of the Northern Line, you would take the passages, lifts and escalators on the West side of the passageway connecting the two entrances.
• If you wanted the sub-surface lines, you would just keep going and take the new subway, which connects to the Eastern ends of the platforms at Euston Square station.

It will certainly do me fine, if I arrive at Euston, as I’ll walk through the subway and get in the front of any Eastbound train for Moorgate station, where being in the front is convenient for the exit and the nearby bus stop to my home.

This route will surely be one of the ways arriving passengers at Euston will get Crossrail to Abbey Wood, Canary Wharf and Shenfield stations. In Crossrail – Northern – Northern City Interchange At Moorgate Station, I show some visualisations of Moorgate station and the connectivity.

June 19, 2025 - Posted by AnonW | Computing, Transport/Travel | Circle Line, Digital Signalling, Elizabeth Line, Euston Station, Hammersmith & City Line, High Speed Two, London Underground, Metropolitan Line, Northern Line, Project Management, Software, Victoria Line