St Pancras International Station

          I will write the memories of many parts of London I visited in the spring of 2012. First round, the topic is St Pancras International Station.

##International Station##

          I think in Japan the international station is unfamiliar. Because Japan is an island nation, it is a little unlikely that the train across the sea. Here, you may wonder at the international station in England. You may think that England is also an island nation. Yes indeed. England is distant from continent (like France) by the Straits of Dover. However, by digging a tunnel under the Strait of Dover, and now the train go through the tunnel. Arrival and departure of the train station in England is today's post, St Pancras International station.

##The Harmony Old Architecture with New Architecture##

          This, St Pancras station, opened in 1868. In that time in Japan, the Meiji Restoration was occurred. Viewing from the street, the station building made of brick is preeminent in the atmosphere. When I visited here for the first time, the building is too beautiful to know it is a station.

          Actually, this station has been used as a hotel ( Hotel St Pancras St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel ). A part of the ground floor is used as a restaurant.

Fig.1. Pancras International Station (Hotel)

          You can go through the place which is arch-shaped gate just in the photograph (Fig. 1) and get to the plat-form. In contrast to the station building, the platform's architectural style is steel building. I saw such a culture of Britain in this place, on the one hand, they preserve the good old things, on the other hand, they adopt a new one in harmony. 


          Come to think of it, I remind Tokyo Station, Japan. The original style station building is under re-construction, and the station building will be opened this autumn  ( Tokyo Station City ). Tokyo Station is similar to St Pancras. The rebuilt station building will be harmonized with contemporary station building. Both Stations are terminal station that many people are gathered from various places; Tokyo station is a nodal point of the Shinkansen super express and many local lines. And more, the rebuilt station building will be used as a hotel is like St Pancras.

Fig. 2 Plat-form of St Pancras

Well, the photo is the plat-form of St Pancras station. Ahead of the London Olympics, it took the Olympics' symbol. Although I visited there in the last spring, I was able to feel the atmosphere of the Olympic Games as early as Year.

##EUROSTAR##

          Earlier, I wrote St Pancras Station is International Station. High-speed trains arrive at and depart from St Pancras, the trains are EUROSTARs.

Fig. 3 EUROSTAR at St  Pancras

Even when I visited St Pancros, between the cities of the continent of Europe, like Paris, France and Brussels, Belgium, EUROSTAR had bought hurriedly to go. Photograph below is electronic bulletin board of St Pancras station. The board tell you arriving trains from Paris and Brussels.

Fig.4 Electric Bulletin Board of St Pancras

Different people come and go at St Pancras station. I was filled with excitement. I had a glimpse of a reason that London has been still in the status as one of the world's financial center.


          Next time, I will try to report neighbor of St Pancras, Kings Cross station.