A NEW CROWN FOR KING'S CROSS

Thursday 7 May 2009

A NEW CROWN FOR KING'S CROSS

Region & Route:: National

King’s Cross station is to be crowned with a new roof resplendent with energy producing panels as part of Network Rail’s £450m major upgrade of the station.

The new £27m roof will see the installation of 15,000sq metres of new glazing for the main train shed and will include 2,500sq metres of photo-voltaic glass generating 10% of the station’s electricity needs. The work also involves the repair, refurbishment and renewal of the main wrought-iron structure dating from the 1850s.

The work has been carefully planned so that it can be carried out without causing disruption to the running of the station, thanks to an innovative roof access system which provides a safe platform for engineers to work from while train services continue to operate below.

Network Rail has appointed Kier Construction to carry out the work which will take three years to complete.

Ian Fry, programme director for Network Rail said: “This is a vital piece in the jigsaw of the entire redevelopment of King’s Cross station. The roof renewal will make the station brighter, more environmentally friendly and a better place to be. Crucially, we have carefully planned the way we carry out this work so that it causes no disruption to train services as we restore this impressive structure back to its former glory.”

Notes to editors

The £450m scheme to upgrade the station includes: - The majority of the station redevelopment will be completed in time for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games with the transformation complete by 2013. - Once completed, the station will be able to accommodate 10 million more than today. An additional platform, increasing reliability and capacity at the station will be built - The new station will include integrated transport links with international and domestic services from St Pancras and the London Underground - The Grade 1 listed façade will be restored to its former glory by demolishing the current single-storey extension to the station - A new open piazza in front of the station, larger than Leicester Square, will be created

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We own, operate and develop Britain's railway infrastructure; that's 20,000 miles of track, 30,000 bridges, tunnels and viaducts and the thousands of signals, level crossings and stations. We run 20 of the UK's largest stations while all the others, over 2,500, are run by the country's train operating companies.

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