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Queen to open St Pancras station Queen to open St Pancras station
(about 2 hours later)
The Queen is to formally open London's St Pancras station later following a refurbishment costing £800m.The Queen is to formally open London's St Pancras station later following a refurbishment costing £800m.
Work began on transforming the station in 2001 to enable it to accommodate domestic rail services and Eurostar trains to and from France and Belgium.Work began on transforming the station in 2001 to enable it to accommodate domestic rail services and Eurostar trains to and from France and Belgium.
More than 150 years of dirt has been removed from the brick work and a new roof has been fitted with 18,000 panes of self-cleaning glass.More than 150 years of dirt has been removed from the brick work and a new roof has been fitted with 18,000 panes of self-cleaning glass.
The front of the station will open as a five-star hotel in 2009.The front of the station will open as a five-star hotel in 2009.
As part of its refurbishment, the station has been fitted with state-of-the-art technology including Wifi, touch-screen monitors and passenger information screens in all 60 retail units.As part of its refurbishment, the station has been fitted with state-of-the-art technology including Wifi, touch-screen monitors and passenger information screens in all 60 retail units.
St Pancras will eventually be five stations in one - housing Eurostar, high-speed domestic services to Kent from 2009, Midland Mainline, Thameslink and six Tube lines.St Pancras will eventually be five stations in one - housing Eurostar, high-speed domestic services to Kent from 2009, Midland Mainline, Thameslink and six Tube lines.
'Crown jewel'
Developer London & Continental Railways said St Pancras International was the jewel in the crown of a £5.8bn project running over 10 years, bringing high speed rail travel to the UK.Developer London & Continental Railways said St Pancras International was the jewel in the crown of a £5.8bn project running over 10 years, bringing high speed rail travel to the UK.
High Speed 1 (HS1) involved the laying of 67 miles (109km) of high speed tracks between Folkestone and London. The Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, will open train company Eurostar's new terminal at St Pancras station and also the completed Channel Tunnel Rail Link that has enabled Eurostar trains to start and finish journeys there.
The new routes available from St Pancras will cut journey times to Paris by 20 minutes to two hours and 15 minutes, and to Brussels by 25 minutes to one hour and 51 minutes. Now to be known as High Speed 1 (HS1), the 68-mile link runs from St Pancras to the Channel Tunnel opening at Folkestone, in Kent.
The evening ceremony will involve three trains arriving at St Pancras and their drivers meeting the Queen.
She will also be introduced to those who have transformed the late-Victorian building into a 21st Century terminal.
Eurostar is switching its terminal from Waterloo station to St Pancras and will be offering quicker journey times on services from London to Paris and Brussels.
The French completed their high-speed Channel Tunnel link in 1993, while the Belgians completed their link in the late-1990s.
Chris Green, Railway Forum chairman said HS1 was "really a trailer for what we could be enjoying across the length of Britain".Chris Green, Railway Forum chairman said HS1 was "really a trailer for what we could be enjoying across the length of Britain".