A new St Pancras, thanks to Betjeman
A sleek Eurostar train glides to a halt beneath St Pancras station's magnificent span. It's only a test run, but this arrival heralds a rebirth of the long-lost era of railway romance.
St Pancras will put some fun, even glamour, back
Among the almost 1,000 cast-iron pillars holding up the tracks and concourse are shops, bars, restaurants, and even a farmers' market. All of these have been built into Barlow's vast 'undercroft' - originally used as storage for barrels of beer arriving from the Midlands.
Passengers will travel up to the trains by escalator, emerging into Barlow's famous trainshed - at 243ft, still the biggest
single span of cast ironwork in the world. Restaurants are opening up in the brick alcoves, and the longest champagne bar
People will want to visit St Pancras whether they're travelling or not, as they did when it first opened. It will be the antithesis of stations today,
clipped from: www.thefirstpost.co.uk