New roof puts King’s Cross on track to be ‘world class’

The £400 million refurbishment of King's Cross station is taking shape as work progresses on its new roof.

An 800-strong team is aiming to complete the upgrade in time for the 2012 Olympics.

The project will see the western concourse treble in size to cope with passenger numbers. About 47 million people pass through the station each year. This is expected to rise by about 10 million in the next decade.

There will be new shops and restaurants and improved access to the Tube, Thameslink services and St Pancras International.

Once this refurbishment is completed, a public space larger than Leicester Square will be built over the following year between the original Grade I-listed station building and Euston Road.

Network Rail programme director Ian Fry said "King's Cross is being transformed into a world-class transport hub."

The station's redevelopment forms the centrepiece of the King's Cross area which, at 67 acres, is one of the largest regeneration schemes in Europe.