In autumn 2007 Eurostar, the UK’s high-speed rail link to Continental Europe, is due to relocate from London’s Waterloo International station to St Pancras near King’s Cross. Part of the flamboyant Victorian railway complex known as St Pancras Chambers alongside the new international terminal is currently being restored to contain a flagship five-star hotel, the Renaissance St Pancras, scheduled for completion by 2008 as part of Marriott International.
The original station at St Pancras opened in 1868. It took 6,000 men, 1,000 horses and 100 steam cranes four years to construct. The red-brick buildings in high Gothic style fronting the station form an instantly recognizable and much-loved landmark in this part of London. They were designed as a railway hotel by Sir George Gilbert Scott, architect of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Whitehall and the Albert Memorial in Hyde Park. The last paying guest departed from the former Midland Grand Hotel over 70 years ago, and the buildings were used as railway offices until the 1980s. The historic rooms will be restored to their former glory, and 67 apartments will be added at the top of the building.
When the new international terminal is opened, it will become one of the largest transport hubs in Europe. Around 25 million passengers are predicted to use the station every year, and the site adjoining the station is currently being transformed into a new business and leisure district as part of a major urban regeneration project.
St Pancras has links to six London Underground lines, and easy access both to the shops and tourist attractions of the West End and the City of London’s financial centre known as the Square Mile – both are just 10 minutes away by public transport.
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