King's Cross St Pancras tube station
Circle line, Hammersmith & City line, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Piccadilly line and Victoria line · Zone 1 · Camden
About King's Cross St Pancras station
The Metropolitan Railway opened the first station here on 10 January 1863, part of the original underground line, and by 2024 it was the second busiest station on the network. The Piccadilly platforms followed on 15 December 1906 and the City & South London Railway, now the Northern line, on 11 May 1907. A rebuilding of the 1930s brought a circular ticket hall and a subway to St Pancras; Blitz bombing in March 1941 then moved the sub-surface platforms about 250 m west, into new platforms still unfinished at the time. The Victoria line arrived on 1 December 1968, with seat-recess tiles by Tom Eckersley showing a cross of crowns.
On 18 November 1987 a fire that began on a wooden Northern/Piccadilly escalator erupted into the ticket hall as a fireball and killed 31 people, including a fire officer. It revealed the trench effect, led to wooden escalator steps being replaced with metal and to smoking being banned across the Underground. A ten-year, £810m upgrade tied to the arrival of Eurostar at St Pancras added the Western and Northern ticket halls, opened in 2006 and 2009, plus ten lifts to make the station step-free. Knut Henrik Henriksen’s steel sculptures, Full Circle, were the first permanent Underground artwork since the 1980s.
First and last trains from King's Cross St Pancras
| Line and direction | Mon–Thu first – last | Friday first – last | Saturday first – last | Sunday first – last |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Circle towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) or Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:46 – 00:51 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:46 – 00:51 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 05:46 – 00:51 to Edgware Road (Circle line) | 07:23 – 00:33 |
| Circle towards Edgware Road (Circle line), Aldgate or Liverpool Street | 05:02 to Aldgate – 00:42 to Liverpool Street | 05:02 to Aldgate – 00:42 to Liverpool Street | 05:02 to Aldgate – 00:42 to Liverpool Street | 06:46 – 00:20 to Liverpool Street |
| Hammersmith & City towards Hammersmith (Circle and H&C lines) | 05:33 – 00:41 | 05:33 – 00:41 | 05:33 – 00:41 | 07:00 – 00:19 |
| Hammersmith & City towards Barking or Plaistow | 05:25 – 00:45 | 05:25 – 00:45 | 05:25 – 00:45 | 07:14 – 00:24 |
| Metropolitan towards Uxbridge, Watford or Amersham | 06:26 – 00:23 | 06:26 – 00:23 | 06:28 to Amersham – 00:23 | 07:48 – 00:08 |
| Metropolitan towards Aldgate | 05:57 – 23:52 | 05:57 – 23:52 | 05:56 – 23:51 | 07:21 – 23:42 |
| Northern towards Morden | 05:50 – 00:30 | 05:50 – 00:30 | 05:50 – 00:30 | 07:23 – 23:39 |
| Northern towards Edgware, High Barnet or Mill Hill East | 05:54 – 00:42 to High Barnet | 05:54 – 00:42 to High Barnet | 05:54 – 00:42 to High Barnet | 07:34 to High Barnet – 23:47 to High Barnet |
| Piccadilly towards Northfields, Heathrow Terminal 5 or Heathrow Terminal 4 | 05:39 to Heathrow Terminal 5 – 00:24 to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 | 05:39 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:30 to Heathrow Terminals 2 & 3 |
| Piccadilly towards Cockfosters, Arnos Grove or Oakwood | 05:58 – 00:42 | 05:58 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 00:25 |
| Victoria towards Brixton | 05:29 – 00:25 | 05:29 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 23:44 |
| Victoria towards Walthamstow Central or Seven Sisters | 05:42 – 00:44 | 05:42 – all night | 24 hours | all night – 00:08 |
Times are TfL’s published timetable departures from this station; on Saturday the list follows TfL’s “Saturdays and public holidays” timetable.
At the busiest hour on a weekday there are up to 7 Circle trains an hour per direction, 7 Hammersmith & City trains an hour per direction, 16 Metropolitan trains an hour per direction, 25 Northern trains an hour per direction, 24 Piccadilly trains an hour per direction and 36 Victoria trains an hour per direction from King’s Cross St Pancras, counting both directions separately.
Next stations from King's Cross St Pancras
Running times between King’s Cross St Pancras and the adjoining stations, from TfL’s timetable.
| Line | Next station | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Circle | Euston Square | 1.7 min |
| Circle | Farringdon | 3.2 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Euston Square | 2 min |
| Hammersmith & City | Farringdon | 3 min |
| Metropolitan | Euston Square | 1.8 min |
| Metropolitan | Farringdon | 3 min |
| Northern | Angel | 2.2 min |
| Northern | Euston | 1.9 min |
| Piccadilly | Caledonian Road | 3.1 min |
| Piccadilly | Russell Square | 2 min |
| Victoria | Euston | 1.8 min |
| Victoria | Highbury & Islington | 2.8 min |
Connections
- Tube: change here between the Circle line, Hammersmith & City line, Metropolitan line, Northern line, Piccadilly line and Victoria line.
- Buses: 17, 30, 46, 63, 73, 91, 205, 214, 390, 476 (night buses N205, N63, N73, N91).
- National Rail: East Midlands Railway, Grand Central, Great Northern, Hull Trains, LNER, Lumo, Southeastern and Thameslink.
Station facilities
What is near King's Cross St Pancras station
The station is the Underground’s gateway to two main-line termini, King’s Cross and St Pancras, and to Eurostar trains to continental Europe. Close by are the statue of Sir Nigel Gresley (about 110 m) and Platform 9¾ (about 180 m), while the Real Food Market is just 30 m away and The Lighthouse building about 90 m. The British Library is about 320 m along Euston Road, Camden Town Hall around 230 m and Argyle Square Gardens about 190 m. The Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital lies at about 310 m and the Shaw Theatre at about 400 m. Euston is one stop west.
| Place | Walk from the station |
|---|---|
| Sir Nigel Gresley (memorial) | 110 m |
| Platform 9¾ | 180 m |
| Argyle Square Gardens | 190 m |
| Camden Town Hall | 230 m |
| World Duty Free | 240 m |
| Royal National Throat, Nose and Ear Hospital | 310 m |
| British Library | 320 m |
| Shaw Theatre | 400 m |
Frequently asked questions
On the evening of 18 November 1987 a small fire on a wooden Northern/Piccadilly escalator erupted as a fireball into the ticket hall, killing 31 people, including a fire officer. The investigation identified the trench effect; afterwards escalator steps were made of metal, staff training improved, and smoking was banned throughout the Underground.
After the 1987 fire, work began in August 2000 to expand the congested station alongside the Eurostar move to St Pancras. Over almost ten years and £810m, the Western Ticket Hall (2006) and Northern Ticket Hall (2009) were added and the old hall rebuilt, doubling capacity to more than 100,000 people a day.