King’s Cross Reviews Summary

Station Design & Facilities

Pros:

• "Fantastic station, newly refurbished looks very modern in its design whilst still keeping its contemporary look and feel to the historical Kings Cross station."
• "The interior of this station is very spacious, quite a lot of space to move around."
• "A far more attractive station since it was redeveloped with a good range of shops and eating outlets and easy platform access."
• "Very clean station."
• "The large time board was very easy to use and see where we were going and what platform we had to use."
• "Clean, airy, well-organized. Good signage. Was able to navigate the station easily."
• "The station has beautiful design half Dome covers the area with the screens/board with the train destinations."

Cons:

• "Signage could be improved about where platforms 0-8 are when you come in near Platform 9."
• "The boards are confusing."
• "No phone charging points on site."
• "Seating can be hard to find, especially right before a departure."
• "Not nearly enough ground level seating for passengers waiting for trains."
• "It can be a long and meandering walk between underground lines."
• "Confusing when interchanging with St Pancras."

Staff & Customer Service

Pros:

• "The staff at the train station. Always helpful when you need help."
• "Staff are friendly and very helpful if you have enquiries."
• "Most of the staff are really helpful and assisting."
• "Big thank you to Martha at Kings Cross station ticket sales."
• "All staff encountered were pleasant and knowledgable."
• "Staff are genuinely helpful and cope remarkably well with awkward customers and situations of delay and disruption."
• "Station has a fantastic atmosphere, with welcoming and friendly staff."

Cons:

• "The staff’s attitude sucks! Saturday 27th around 9:41 trying to catch a train from station nine... the staff has very rude manners."
• "When I foolishly went to the information desk with this information I was just given, I was scolded rudely and redirected back to the ticket window by the staff there."
• "The station itself is good but the interaction (8pm 16 June 2023) with the staff at the customer information desk at ground floor was very bad."
• "I had spoken to a staff, that was unhelpful, rude and talk down at people."
• "Very rude staff, didn’t even try to help the people in the train."
• "The woman from the information desk was very rude."
• "I went to complain at the desk and got a mouth full of verbal abuse so now having to take that further."

Harry Potter Attraction

Pros:

• "There’s a Harry Potter shop and photo opportunity at platform 9 3/4."
• "Platform 9 3/4 a must for all Harry Potter fans you can even have your picture taken with 'Harrys' trolley disappearing through the wall to meet the Hogwarts Express."
• "At this station you can see the Harry Potter's Platform 9 3/4."
• "King's Cross is famous for the '9 3/4 rail' in Harry Potter's saga."
• "For those interested in the films of Harry Potter, at King Cross station there is Platform 9 ¾, very famous as the platform where young magicians catch the Hogwarts Express train to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."
• "You will enjoy the piano where you can play (or just listen to others) or visit Harry Potter's 9 and 3/4 platform."
• "Inspired by Platform 9 ¾, there's a Harry Potter Xmas tree in the foyer of London's King's Cross Station."

Cons:

• "If you are a delivery driver be careful... Everyone wants to buy something but does not care about Who delivers and how hard the work is!!!"
• "This is the 3rd time we have travelled into London and asked for a wheelchair ramp to help get my Father on and off the train in his wheel chair and yet again there has been no help."
• "Could've done without the hoards of Harry Potter fans though as I have no interest in that franchise."
• "I waited for almost 1.5 hours in the never ending queue to get myself photographed as a Gryffindor with the 9 3/4 trolley."
• "It was crowded and the queue for the Harry Potter photo was too long so I didn't get one."
• "Yeah... The Harry Potter shop was crammed to overflowing."
• "The only problem is the platform indicators are not enough, I usually can't find the correct platform and have to talk to staff."

Cleanliness & Maintenance

Pros:

• "Also, it has the cleanest toilets at a station."
• "Really good station. I come in here every time I train into London and am always impressed with the cleanliness."
• "Clean, tidy, everyone behaving with masks on and social distancing with seating."
• "The station is big, bright, spacious, busy and clean with great staff on hand if you ever have a query."
• "The stations kept clean and tidy."
• "Very quiet today at London Kings Cross Railway station in central London. Good queue system in place with friendly staff to direct passengers. Social distancing well managed with all areas looking clean."
• "The station itself is relatively clean and well maintained."

Cons:

• "The toilets however are not! Tissue paper in the sinks and on the floor."
• "I came into King's Cross Station today. I was appalled that there was no one monitoring the disabled spaces, then the disabled toilet was covered in excrement and a dirty pair of pants were on the floor!"
• "Mens toilets are the smelliest, dirtiest place I've been in for years."
• "Always so busy, which is normal. But the dirt is something not normal, everyone just leaves their rubbish behind."
• "I'm a little concerned that in a time when they're telling commuters to wears masks I'm seeing so many staff wandering around without a mask or with masks on there chin or just covering the mouth instead of covering the mouth and nose."
• "Tissue paper in the sinks and on the floor, only to be topped off with the 30p charge to use the toilets in the first place!"
• "You have to pay to use the toilets (nip across the road to St Pancreas where they are free!)."

Accessibility & Convenience

Pros:

• "An easy to navigate station, the ticket staff are plentiful and helpful."
• "This station is the southern terminus of the East Coast Mainline, which has frequent trains going to destinations along the UK's east coast."
• "Taking the tube to arrive is very straightforward and once you exit, you just go out and turn left and you're inside!"
• "♿✔️ Very accessible, ramps and lifts with little to no stairs."
• "All staff we encountered were friendly and helpful and as a wheelchair user, I appreciated the fact that all the facilities I needed in the station were wheelchair accessible."
• "Full of shops throughout, this is one of the most efficient stations I have been to."
• "The platforms are easily accessed and there are staff on hand to help and train times and platforms displayed on screens."

Cons:

• "I also don't like having to pay 30p to use the toilets."
• "Please note this station charges 30p (at time of review) for toilet / shower facilities."
• "Functional but food is expensive & overpriced."
• "The station is fine BUT why cause passengers stress by only announcing platforms at the very last minute and then having ticket barriers in place to cause maximum anxiety when so many people are travelling with families and loads of luggage?"
• "We arrived in London at 1am and had a train journey from Euston at 5:30am... The station closed a few minutes after we got there and we were kicked out."
• "It's too big and then have trains going to the same place at different 'stations' - although they're both technically King's Cross...it's dumb!"
• "Too many exits. Difficult to know which one you require."