London Euston:

Although the present station building is in the international modern style, Euston was the first inter-city railway station to be built in London.

Old building

The original station was opened on July 20, 1837, as the terminus of the London and Birmingham Railway constructed by William Cubitt.^[7] It was designed by a well-known classically trained architect, Philip Hardwick,^[8] with a 200-ft (61 m) long train shed by structural engineer Charles Fox. Initially it had only two platforms, one for departures and one for arrivals. Also designed by Hardwick was a 72 ft (22 m) high Doric propylaeum, the largest ever built,^[9] which was erected at the station's entrance to serve as a portico and became renowned as the Euston Arch. Interestingly, Stephenson's original plan was to route the railway through north London so that it terminated where King's Cross station currently stands, but after encountering severe opposition from landowners, he was forced to build the railway through Tring, Watford and Harrow, and terminating at its present site at Euston.

Until 1844, trains were pulled up the incline to Camden Town by cables because the London and Birmingham Railway's Act of Parliament prohibited the use of locomotives in the Euston area; this prohibition is said to have been at the request of Lord Southampton, who owned land bordering this section of the line.

The station grew rapidly over the following years as traffic increased. It was greatly expanded in the 1840s, with the opening in 1849 of the spectacular Great Hall (designed by Hardwick's son, Philip Charles Hardwick), built in classical style. It was 126 ft (38 m) long, 61 ft (19 m) wide and 64 ft (20 m) high, with a coffered ceiling and a sweeping double flight of stairs leading to offices at the northern end of the hall. Architectural sculptor John Thomas contributed eight allegorical statues representing the cities served by the line: London, Liverpool, Manchester, etc. The station was further from Euston Road than the front of the modern complex; it was on Drummond Street, which now terminates at the side of the station, but then ran all the way across the front of it.^[10] A short road called Euston Grove ran from Euston Square towards the arch. Two hotels, the Euston Hotel and the Victoria Hotel, flanked the northern half of this approach.

Apart from the lodges on Euston Road and statues now on the forecourt, few relics of the old station survive. The National Railway Museum's collection at York includes a commemorative plaque and E.H. Bailey's statue of George Stephenson, both from the Great Hall, the entrance gates and an 1846 LNWR turntable discovered during demolition.

New building

In the early 1960s it was decided that the old building was no longer adequate and needed replacing. Amid much public outcry the old station building (including the famous Euston Arch) was demolished in 1961-2 and replaced by a new building, which opened in 1968. Its opening coincided with the electrification of the West Coast Main Line, and the new structure was deliberately intended to symbolise the coming of the "electric age".

The modern station is a long, low structure with a frontage of some 197 m (646 ft) Part of the station building includes two office towers that look out onto adjacent Melton Street and Eversholt Street, and are home to Network Rail. All of these buildings are in a functional style and the main facing material is polished dark stone, which is complemented with white tiles, exposed concrete and plain glazing. The station has a single large concourse populated with the usual assortment of shops and eateries, and is separate from the train shed. A couple of small remnants of the older station were kept, two Portland stone entrance lodges (one of which was a women-only bar from 1995 until 2008) and a war memorial on Euston Road, but were hardly an effective sop to those offended by the loss of the former building. A statue of Robert Stephenson by Carlo Marochetti that stood in the old ticket hall now stands in the forecourt where it looks down on a convenience food stall. The frontage of the station building is hidden behind office buildings designed by Richard Seifert and a bus station. There is a large statue by Eduardo Paolozzi named Piscator at the front of the courtyard. A series of other pieces of public art including low stone benches by Paul de Monchaux around the courtyard were commissioned by Network Rail in the 1990s.

While not of a design that many people find attractive, Euston successfully handles an intensive train service and a high volume of passengers while providing extensive facilities. The station contains a wide range of catering units and shops, a large ticket hall and, despite a central London location, an enclosed car park with over 200 spaces ^[11].

The screening-off and positioning of platforms away from a spacious main concourse results in a waiting area that is protected from the elements, while areas in front of intercity platforms exist to allow waiting passengers to queue without obstructing passenger flow in the main body of the station. Passenger flow is further aided by the positioning of the departure board in a manner that encourages those waiting to gather away from platform entrances, and by a walkway under the main concourse which provides a direct link from commuter platforms to the Underground station.

The lack of daylight on the station's platforms compares unfavourably with the glazed trainshed roofs of more traditional Victorian railway stations, but the use of the space above as a parcels depot^[12] did release the maximum possible space at ground level for platforms and passenger facilities.

The station has 18 platforms, with 8 - 11 being used primarily for London Overground and London Midland commuter services, and are therefore equipped with automatic ticket gates. Two of the platforms have extra length, in order to accommodate the 16-car Caledonian Sleeper services. Manual ticket checks sometimes take place to the platforms that don't have automatic ticket barriers.

Architectural controversy

Euston's bleak 1960s style of architecture has been variously described as "hideous",^[13] "a dingy, grey, horizontal nothingness"^[14] and a reflection of "the tawdry glamour of its time" entirely lacking of "the sense of occasion, of adventure, that the great Victorian termini gave to the traveller"^[15]. Writing in The Times, Richard Morrison stated that "even by the bleak standards of Sixties architecture, Euston is one of the nastiest concrete boxes in London: devoid of any decorative merit; seemingly concocted to induce maximum angst among passengers; and a blight on surrounding streets. The design should never have left the drawing-board — if, indeed, it was ever on a drawing-board. It gives the impression of having been scribbled on the back of a soiled paper bag by a thuggish android with a grudge against humanity and a vampiric loathing of sunlight".^[16]

Access to parts of the station is difficult for the disabled. The ramps that descend from the concourse down to platform level are too steep for unassisted wheelchairs and the Underground station, taxi rank and car park are all directly within the building but are inaccessible to people in wheelchairs as none are step-free. The latter two are accessed by staircases near the front of the building.

The demolition of the old Euston Station building in 1962 is regarded as "one of the greatest acts of Post-War architectural vandalism in Britain" and is believed to have been finally sanctioned by the then Conservative Prime Minister Harold Macmillan. The new train shed featured a low flat roof, making no attempt to match the airy style of London's major 19th century train sheds. The attempts made to preserve the earlier building, championed by the Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman, led to the formation of The Victorian Society and heralded in the modern conservation movement.^[17] This loss may, however, have saved the nearby high gothic St. Pancras Station when similarly faced with demolition by British Rail in 1966 as the actions of this conservationist movement ultimately led to it being renovated in 2007 as the terminus of the high-speed route to the Continent.

The demolition of the original building is often compared to the 1964 demolition of New York's Pennsylvania Station, as it alerted preservationists of both cities to the importance of saving historical buildings.

1973 IRA Attack

Extensive but superficial damage was caused to the station by an IRA bomb which exploded close to a snack bar at approximately 13.10 on 10 September 1973, injuring eight commuters. The Metropolitan Police had received a three minute warning but were unable to evacuate the station completely before the device exploded. In 1974, the mentally ill Judith Ward was convicted of this and other crimes despite the evidence against her being highly suspicious. She was completely acquitted in 1992, and the actual culprit has not been apprehended.^[18]

Privatisation

Ownership of the station transferred from British Rail to Railtrack plc in 1994, later passing to Network Rail in 2002 following the failure of Railtrack.

In 2005 Network Rail was reported to have long-term aspirations to redevelop the station, removing the 1960s buildings and providing a great deal more commercial space by utilising the "air rights" above the platforms.

In December 2005 Network Rail announced plans to create a subway link between the station and Euston Square tube station as part of the re-development of Euston station, creating a direct link between the two Euston stations which at the moment are separated by a five minute walk along Euston Road.^[19]

Second re-building announcement 2007

On 5 April 2007, British Land announced they had won the tender to demolish the existing 40 year old building and rebuild the terminal, spending some £250m of their overall redevelopment budget of £1bn for the area. As a result the number of platforms will increase from 18 to 21.^[20] Media reports in early 2008 hinted that there is now a strong chance that the old Euston Arch could be rebuilt.^[21]

More than 3 years after Network Rail announced its modernisation scheme for Euston Station, no development agreement with preferred developer British Land has been signed. Nor has a masterplan been produced by the Network Rail-British Land team since the developer was appointed 2 years ago and questions are being raised about the commitment of British Land to the project.

Euston Station is already struggling to cope with the number of passengers and it is only a matter of time until train services in and out of the station are affected. For operational reasons, there is an urgent need to expand the facilities available, build new platforms and lengthen existing platforms to ensure a situation does not arise where trains have to queue outside the station. In recent months, Network Rail has relocated a number of food retail units outside on the station forecourt. Many argue that this step has been taken to ease congestion in the station where overcrowding, particularly at rush hour, is already posing a threat to the comfort and safety of passengers.

Sydney & London Properties, as project manager to the Euston Estate Limited Partnership launched a Vision Masterplan in May 2008 with the aim to stimulate debate about the future of Euston Station and the surrounding neighbourhood.^[22]

Sydney & London Properties have said they are committed to a comprehensive redevelopment of the station and the Euston Estate resulting in a redesign of the public spaces and public realm and ultimately, a better Euston for those living, working and passing through the area. This aim is entirely in line with Camden’s published planning policy guidelines which call for a comprehensive development of the station, and Transport for London’s requirement for a comprehensive scheme as a means to obtaining a world class terminus and a complete reorganisation of the interchange facility for taxis, buses and underground.

High Speed 2

On March 11, 2010, the Secretary of State for Transport announced that Euston was the preferred southern terminus of the new High Speed 2 line to Birmingham and the north.^[23] This would require the expansion of the station to the south and west in order to create sufficient new long platforms. These plans, if taken forward, would preclude the 2007 reconstruction plans from going ahead as complete reconstruction (involving inter alia the demolition of 220 Camden Council Flats), with half the station serving conventional rail services and the new half the high speed rail. The Command Paper suggests restoring the old Euston Arch and an "artist's impression" includes such a reconstructed structure.

Services

Virgin Trains operates an intensive express network, from Platforms 1-7, 12-14 and 16-18.