One of the many things that HS2 will deliver to Euston is a new London Underground entrance in a much needed location – south of the Euston Road.
At the moment, people on the south-side of the Euston Road wanting to use the London Underground have to cross two busy roads, and then head up to Euston Station, but there are plans to build a new entrance on the south side – next to the Wellcome Collection.
As that corner of the Euston Road and Gordon Street is lined with grand buildings, it’s not possible to demolish one for the new tube station entrance, so it’s going to sit right in the middle of the road.
Google street view
And the road sealed off from cars.
Artist impression – made in 2013
Note – this is an artist impression, not what the end product will look like, so don’t start picking holes in the design.
The plan would see the new entrance built on Gordon Street, with links to the existing platforms at Euston Station. It may be that this would also be a public subway so people at street level can avoid the busy road, although experience at Baker Street suggests people tend to avoid subways when crossing roads unless forced to use them.
This is not just a nice to have, but with HS2 arriving, the road junctions are already pretty much at capacity for handing pedestrian crossings, so something needs to be done to cope with the increased pedestrian flow. Part of that means pedestrianising a couple of the roads outside Euston station, but also adding the new London Underground entrance on the south side of the Euston Road.
It will also be just one small part of a huge rebuild of the station, with a massive new ticket hall built alongside the current site.
The plans also call for a new subway link between Euston station and Euston Square station – creating a new hub of the Northern, Victoria and Circle/Met/Hammersmith lines.
That mainly helps reduce crowding on the Northern and Victoria lines, as people new to town who gravitate automatically to the London Underground are quite hard to persuade to walk down the road to Euston Square even when that would have been a better option for them.
Put in a pedestrian tunnel, and suddenly a lot of people arriving at Euston and heading to, say, Baker Street wont go via Oxford Circus.
Whether Euston Square will remain a separate station that’s linked to Euston – much like Bank/Monument, or merged into it is still be decided.
When HS2’s finished though, the tube tunnels under Euston will be as radically changed as the mainline station above ground.
Any plans for the improvements to also feature eastbound step-free access at Euston Square via the new London Underground entrance?
Yes they are providing a new step free link from Euston Square eastbound & westbound out to either the new Gordon Street or HS2 entrance.
Hi Ian,
There is already a privately owsubway underneath Euston Road, but above Euston Square Station. It connects two buildings either side of Euston Road.
If you stand on the platforms of Euston Square. About 3 coach lengths from the east end of the platform & look up you will see the concrete floor of the privately owned subway – it just fits between the underneath of the road & roof of the train – jyst is the operative word as it is sub standard in height!
It would be brilliant to have a connection between Euston Square & Euston Station. Joined up thinking for the convenince of the traveller.
It sits on the existing beams so is no worse than the rest of it.
It would also be useful from a capacity point of view to have entry/exit from the eastern end of Euston Square station too. At the moment a passenger on the met/circle/h&c going to Euston may to walk the length of the platform twice on their way to the mainline station.
If the eastern end of the Euston Square was joined up the Northern/Victoria underground station from this end it would make both access and interchange a less circuitace journey.
What are the plans to get from Euston to St Pancras Station with your case in the rain?
Neil
Catch the tube if you want.
When the British Library was built, it was constructed with provision for a future overhead walkway / pedway between St Pancras & Euston. Very doubtful that it will ever get built, at least not in my remaining lifetime. There have been other crayonista schemes to connect between the two main line stations, Crossrail 2 & a Docklands extension, but for many years to come, it is a 5-10 minute walk in the rain I am afraid.
Subways that connect to ticket hall levels at stations are probably more used than those that require exiting and then going down a flight of stairs and up another.
I also find the signage at many LU exits is not particularly informative (although they did finally add compass references) so after choosing one I often find it did not take me where I expected and have to cross at street level again.Obviously that’s not an issue with familiar stations.
Sadly, old cities like London often lack the space to provide ramps as an alternative
the classic on this is the ‘regents canal’ exit at kings cross.. who know which one that is supposed to be?
I wonder if any of this will happen now, like they had to abandon the Northern Heights project after the last War.
If it’s true, that people don’t gravitate towards Euston Square then is that a Marketing Fáil?
Reopening York Way on its existing Site, Copenhagen Street or adjacent the North London Line and not calling it King’s Cross North, would likewise be unconscionable.
Private Concession Arrangement to retain the Fares for 5-25 years should see that Built in 2021.
For any architecture spotters, in the artist impression of the entrance, the canopy is lifted from the Bilbao metro designed by fosters https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/bilbao-metro/
The fosterito entrance design has also been used in London before – at Canary Wharf – so it’s more likely that they borrowed that one as it’s easier to reuse.
I was wondering. It all makes sense, now. Thank you.
The canary warf is a little different https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/b/canary-wharf-tube-exit-london-financial-district-station-entrance-57435012.jpg this is more like a bilbao copy with the structure the same https://thebeautyoftransport.com/2016/03/30/the-underground-world-of-norman-foster-metro-bilbao-bilbao-spain/
Sir Norman is a credit to Great Britain and Bilboa is a City, which re invented itself,in the Post- Industrial Epoch.
We are still forcing too many people into the Central Area just to send them straight out again.
Highgate to Stratford is 44 minutes, even with Crossrail 35 minutes.
Two expensive Tunnels proposed from Ally Pally to Seven Sisters, when reopening the Northern Heights from Ally Pally via Muswell Hill, Highgate, Haringey Green Lanes by linking with the Under Used Goblin Line at Stroud Green and at Markfield Park with the Meridian Waterine ( after the Liverpool St Junction) is achievable in 2 years for a fraction of the Cost of Cross Rail 2’s equivalent.
The equivalent Journey Time Highgate to Stratford 20 minutes
I’m all for reopening Highgate to Finsbury Park, but there are some serious issues, from the bat sanctuary at Highgate to the popular pathway that exists on the former rail route. You can also bet that the owners of expensive homes backing onto a quiet pathway will be vehemently opposed to reopening a noisy railway.
Then there’s the question of how you integrate with the North London Line; there’s no way the flat junction at Canonbury could cope with a viable passenger service of 4tph alongside the existing NLL service, let alone freight, HS1 runs directly under the site so a dive-under is impossible, and a flyover would be phenomenally expensive and locally unpopular.
The idea that this would be a “fraction of the cost” is very speculative; the Croxley saga shows us how old railways can have serious issues that are expensive to resolve. Add in solving the Canonbury problem and this becomes very risky.
Most critically though, any capital project finance depends not just on cost but on benefit. Finance is much more readily available for megaprojects that can show a clear significant payback with manageable risk.
Much as I can see the value of transportation between Highgate and Stratford, it’s small beans compared to linking the major hubs of Wimbledon, Clapham, Victoria, TCR, Euston and St Pancras, distributing HS2 arrivals and freeing up surface rail capacity through Clapham to Waterloo for a more intensive service from other routes.
I totally agree, the isolation of Muswell Hill is a travesty in and of itself. Finsbury Park is one Station, that is well served by Rail.
I was thinking Stroud Green, where it intersects with the Goblin at Stapleton Hall Road; Dalston to Stratford is reaching Capacity. The Goblin pitifully under utilised.
The Woodland Walk and a Cycle Way would remain, but I do take your Point on the Neighbours. Highgate, Hampstead and Golders Green have huge Open Spaces, largely and rightly protected.
If TfL odelled this Route and Consulted through their Hub, it might be Viable, it is certainly necessary.
An Outer Oribital was an idea of Bazeljette’s Contemporaries.
Linking Brent Cross West with Highgate by a simple Tunnel could link Hounslow, Kew and Old Oak with Highgate, Haringey and Walthamstow reducing Traffic on the North Circular.
In the absence of a Keynsisn Stimulus the Private Sector maybe tempted.
I can’t believe that the plan is nearly ten years old. It needs urgent revising and careful planning.
I’m left thinking that nobody appears to be up for the job at hand.
The HS2 concept would have worked in a different country. I wonder who was called to carry out the risk assesment? Joe Blog?
As for Euston Station..I have one word. Fail.