Trains to London St Pancras - Station Details and further Information on the London St Pancras Services
St Pancras train station (since 2007 additionally branded as St Pancras International) is a major train station situated in the United Kingdom that is celebrated for its Victorian architecture. The Grade I listed building stands on Euston Road in St Pancras, London, between the British Library, King's Cross station and the Regent's Canal. It was opened in 1868 by the Midland Railway as the southern terminus of that company's Midland Main Line, arriving from the East Midlands and Yorkshire. At the time of opening, the arched Barlow train shed was the largest single-span roof in the world.
After avoiding demolition in the 1960s, the complex was renovated and expanded during the 2000s at a cost of £800 million with a ceremony attended by HM The Queen and extensive publicity introducing it as a public space. A security-sealed terminal area was constructed for Eurostar services to Continental Europe—via High Speed 1 and the Channel Tunnel—along with provisions made for domestic connections to the north and south of England. The restored station houses fifteen platforms, a shopping mall and bus station, in addition to London Underground services from King's Cross St Pancras tube station. St Pancras is owned by London and Continental Railways along with the adjacent urban regeneration area known as King's Cross Central.
London St Pancras Train Services
St Pancras International is the terminus of the Midland Main Line and the services operated by East Midlands Trains, with routes to the East Midlands and Yorkshire regions of England. Towns and cities served include Luton, Bedford, Wellingborough, Kettering, Market Harborough, Leicester, Loughborough, Nottingham, Derby, Chesterfield and Sheffield. Occasional trains also run to Newark, Lincoln, Doncaster, Wakefield, Leeds, York and Scarborough.
There are currently four services an hour (three fast, one stopping) to Leicester station, half hourly services to Nottingham station, half hourly services to Derby station (with hourly continuations to Sheffield) with interval stops as mentioned above. There is a fifth train each hour which calls at intermediate stations to Corby station and peak times to/from Melton Mowbray station calling at Oakham
On 9 December 2007, as part of the Thameslink Programme, St Pancras International gained platforms on the Thameslink network operated by First Capital Connect (FCC), replacing the King's Cross Thameslink station further down the line. In line with the former station, the Thameslink platforms are designated A and B. The new station has met with some criticism due to the extended length of the route from the Thameslink platforms to the underground when compared to Kings Cross Thameslink. The Thameslink Programme involves the introduction of 12-car trains across the enlarged Thameslink network, and as extending the platforms at the existing King's Cross Thameslink station was thought wholly impractical (requiring alterations to the Clerkenwell tunnel and the Circle/Hammersmith & City/Metropolitan Underground lines, which would be extremely disruptive and prohibitively expensive), a new Thameslink station was proposed, to be situated under the existing St Pancras station. There are ticket barriers to the Thameslink platforms.
The station allows passengers to travel to destinations such as Bedford, Luton and St Albans in the north, and to places like Wimbledon, East Croydon and Brighton in the south. There are also direct services to London Gatwick and London Luton airports. The Thameslink Programme will enlarge the Thameslink network more than threefold from 50 to 172 stations.
After the bay platforms at London Blackfriars closed in March 2009 Southeastern services which previously terminated at Blackfriars were extended to Kentish Town (off-peak), or to St Albans, Luton or Bedford (peak-hours only), calling at this station. Trains services south of Blackfriars are operated by Southeastern, north of Blackfriars by First Capital Connect. Both Southeastern and FCC drivers cover the route from Bedford to Sevenoaks.
Southeastern (High Speed 1 and Kent Coast)
The first domestic high speed service carrying passengers over High Speed 1 ran on 12 December 2008, to mark one year before regular services were due to begin. This special service carrying various dignitaries ran from Ashford International to St Pancras, taking 37 minutes to complete the trip.
From 29 June 2009 Southeastern have provided a domestic service. Initially it is planned to run a week day preview service between London St Pancras and Ebbsfleet, extending to Ashford International during peak hours. Southeastern currently offer three peak time services to Dover and Ramsgate while adding an extra train to have two trains to and from Dover and Ramsgate.
From December 2009, Southeastern will run High Speed Domestic services at 140 mph on High Speed 1 and on normal speed tracks along the Kent Coast; this will let passengers from Ashford International travel to London in 37 minutes. The high-speed services will go to Strood, Chatham, Gravesend, Margate, Ramsgate, Dover Priory, Folkestone Central, Ashford, Ebbsfleet and other Kent destinations.
Eurostar train at St Pancras having just arrived from Brussels MidiThe full Eurostar timetable came into operation on 9 December 2007. The basic service provides 17 pairs of trains to and from Paris Gare du Nord every day, 10 pairs of trains to and from Bruxelles-Midi/Brussel-Zuid, and 1 train to and from Marne-la-Vallée for Disneyland Paris. Additional services run to Paris on Fridays and Sundays, with a reduced service to Brussels on weekends. Additional weekend leisure-oriented trains also run to the French Alps during the skiing season, and will run to Avignon in the summer.
Trains observe a mixture of stops at four intermediate stations (Ebbsfleet International, Ashford International, Calais-Fréthun and Lille-Europe) with some trains running non-stop. Non-stop trains take 2 hours 15 minutes to Paris, and just under 1 hour 50 minutes to Brussels, with stopping trains taking 5 or 10 minutes longer depending on whether they make one or two stops. |
