Out for a nightcap sherry flight at Bar Pepito yesterday, we caught this illuminating glimpse into a bygone transport era.
This decommissioned rail tunnel, now attractively lit, can be admired simply by peering over the railings beside the Eurostar offices, next to the bustling Spanish bars and restaurants at Varnisher’s Yard.
We believe it to be a section of a former steep curve linking the area’s original abandoned Metropolitan line station (later partially used by Thameslink, now abandoned again) up to a long-erased station known as King’s Cross York Road.
That station was essentially just a platform alongside the mainline in an area currently being redeveloped alongside modern-day York Way. You can see where it once stood from a vantage point opposite the Pret a Manger.
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Subterranean ghost tunnels hold a particular fascination, (to the point that TFL have quite a job keeping legions of ‘urban explorers’ out), and King’s Cross is criss-crossed with plenty of these tempting lost passageways.
It’s nice to see a section of the local transportation history beneath the surface being celebrated with the same scrubbed-up pride now afforded to the buildings above.
Spotted any more local ghost tunnels? Let us know.
