This Sunday, December 4, on M6, Xavier de Moulins introduced a new large format of “66 minutes” devoted to a mythical station located in the center of London: St Pancras. Having become for fifteen years the gateway to England for thousands of French people taking the Eurostar, the station sees 45 million passengers passing through it each year. Built in 1863, in the middle of the Victorian era, the building has been completely renovated. With its giant shopping arcade, its decorations and its luxury hotel, this city within the city, sometimes used as a film or music set, has particularly won over viewers who, in the course of a comparison, have shown themselves to be very severe with regard to some of our Parisian stations.
A magical station. This Sunday evening, on M6, Xavier de Moulins and the teams of “66 minutes” devote a long format to the legendary St Pancras station, located in London. More than just a station, St Pancras has become, over time, a real city within the city. There is notably an XXL shopping mall but also a five-star hotel famous for having served as the setting for a scene from the film “Batman Begins”. The Spice Girls also filmed the clip for their planetary hit “Wannabe” in this station! But today, the star of this station is above all a train. Twenty times a day, the Eurostar arrives in London from Belgium, the Netherlands and France. The famous train transports 11 million passengers a year: enough to consider it as the leader of the London station. What marks from the beginning of this report broadcast this evening, are the first steps of passengers once they arrive at the station. From the outset, many of them draw their mobile phone to immortalize the moment. And there is reason: the imposing building, built in the middle of the Victorian era, was completely renovated fifteen years ago for 7 billion euros. Since then, this building has been considered one of the most beautiful stations in the world. In addition to its atypical architecture, visitors are welcomed by a couple of giant lovers and, during this period of festivities, by a choir singing at the foot of an imposing tree, always very original. The ideal recipe for welcoming more than a million travelers for the end-of-year celebrations.
“It’s not the same delirium as Gare du Nord…”
2h15 by train from Paris, for many travellers, St Pancras has become an essential stopover when calling from London, thanks to the Channel Tunnel. Just like Grand Central in New York, St Pancras today belongs to the pantheon of the most beautiful stations on the planet. Its major facelift in the 2000s allowed it to rise from what might have been its ashes (the building was nearly demolished in the past). More central, better served, the station has become an iconic place and attracts all eyes thanks to its exceptional architecture, which may evoke for some the decor of the “Harry Potter” saga. The history and heritage of St Pancras particularly appealed to many viewers who did not hesitate to compare the station to some of our Parisian stations…
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