Media centre

Wednesday 8 Feb 2006

NEW STATION FOR THAMESLINK PASSENGERS

Region & Route:

National

Network Rail today welcomed the news from the Department for Transport that the new Thameslink station, underneath St Pancras, has been given the go-ahead and should be ready for its first passengers by the end of 2007. The £65m station fit out will start in the spring and will take some 20 months to complete.  The first phase of the station construction was completed in May 2005 when an empty shell of a station was built underneath St Pancras.  Today’s announcement enables this shell to be fitted out with escalators, lifts, a ticket office, passenger information systems and other station facilities - costing some £50m -  and will be undertaken by London & Continental Railways. Network Rail will be spending a further £10-15m on signalling and track work for the new station and transferring services from the present King’s Cross Thameslink station on Pentonville Road. The project will involve minimal disruption to passengers as most of the work will be completed at night or at weekends. John Armitt, Chief Executive, said: “I am delighted that this project is going ahead. The new station, combined with our proposals for the redevelopment of King’s Cross station, will make the King’s Cross St Pancras transport hub one of the finest of its type in the world.”