In pictures: New King's Cross Western Concourse

Next Monday passengers at London’s King’s Cross station will see the fruits of a five-year programme of building works which cost £550 million and includes a brand new Western Concourse.

The redevelopment has been completed on time and in time for the Olympics. The scheme is the biggest transformation in the 160-year history of the Grade I listed station.

The 5,000 builders who worked on the project used more than a thousand tonnes of steel, laid one million specially-made heritage bricks, five million ceramic tiles and five million metres of cabling.

The 45 million passengers who pass through King’s Cross annually will benefit better lighting, larger destination boards, clearer station announcements and more shops and restaurants.

But the new Western Concourse is the redevelopment’s crowning glory. The spectacular geometric roof structure has been cleverly blended with the station’s original architecture to create a space for passengers that is three-times larger than the current concourse, with improved links to both the London Underground network and St Pancras station.

The station’s previous concourse and ticket hall, with its trademark green plastic roof, will be bulldozed to make way for a piazza-style seating area.

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