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Thursday 19 Jun 2014

King’s Cross voted best station in the world for food and drink

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National

King’s Cross has been voted the best railway station in the world for food and drink, and the station’s The Parcel Yard pub the best individual food and drink outlet, at an international awards ceremony celebrating the best that airports and railway stations have to offer.

The 2014 International Airport and Rail Station Food and Beverage Awards, organised by industry magazines The Moodie Report and The Foodie Report, were open to nominations from around the world and judged by a team of experts who looked at the unique offerings at each nominated venue.

The judges were impressed by the remarkable transformation which has taken place at King’s Cross station in recent years, thanks to a £500m project to refurbish and expand the historic station to cater for growing demand for rail travel. The iconic glass and steel western concourse, which opened in 2012, is the largest single-span structure in Europe and provides three-times more space than the old concourse with a wide range of shops and more than a dozen food and drink outlets.


Hamish Kiernan, Network Rail’s commercial director of retail, said: "King’s Cross station has undergone an amazing transformation into a first class railway station and destination for retail, leisure and business. From the outset, our approach has been to create a high quality environment and brand mix that positions King’s Cross as a hub of convenience for travellers as well as people who live and work nearby.

“Since opening the western concourse two years ago, we’ve seen dramatic improvements in passenger satisfaction and consistent growth in turnover sales. For King’s Cross to now be recognised as an example of excellence on an international stage is a proud achievement for Network Rail and our retail partners.”

Jonathon Swaine, managing director for Fuller’s Inns, which operates The Parcel Yard, said: “This is an incredible accolade for The Parcel Yard and for Fuller’s. We are immensely proud of our station pubs and are delighted that our continued focus on delivering quality food with first class beer has now been recognised on an international level. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the team at The Parcel Yard for all their hard work.”

Network Rail’s retail strategy is attracting more and more people into its stations in addition to those travelling by train. Footfall data at King’s Cross showed an estimated 45m people a year visit the station, with around 28m of those travelling by train – leaving as many as 17m people who are there to eat, drink and shop inside. The latest quarterly figures for King’s Cross showed a massive 23.3% increase in like-for-like sales in January to March 2014 compared with the same period last year.

Commenting on the appeal of King’s Cross station, one of the awards judges said: “(This) would have been seen as impossible just a few years ago – transforming a run-down station with a poor food and beverage offering into something extraordinary and of a quality and originality that has received critical acclaim and significant commercial success.”

Tom Caine, King’s Cross station manager, said: “It’s fantastic that King's Cross has been recognised internationally as a destination station. We’re already one of the busiest stations in the country for rail travel and we’re seeing more and more people choosing to spend time here to relax, shop, eat and drink.”