Railway stations: not just for transit you know

Against all the odds, and because I'm a hopeless romantic (or a transport geek) I love railway stations. So I am *very* excited that I've just arranged a night out at the new champagne bar at St Pancras. Can't wait to see what they've done to the station to restore it. And Paul Day's statue for the new Eurostar terminal gets at why stations can be so very sexy. They're about hellos and goodbyes, departures and arrivals, and as such most of us have at least one or two important and emotional moments that have taken place under the timetable boards, when everything goes still and we become oblivious to the noise of announcements, and the impatient rushing of the commuters determined to get their seat at whatever cost.

The thing is, until St Pancras, there's been nothing to like about stations apart from them being sites of these important moments. So despite the retail hell that characterises most London stations, I'm inexplicably happy every time I go to Paddington, reminded of the many hilarious train journeys I've had with friends as we head down to Cornwall. Victoria reminds me of being a teenager, finally allowed to go out with mates, and always being just a teeny bit panicky that I'd miss the train or end up on the non-stopping one to Bromely South. Kings Cross is somehow more associated with work; every time I'm there I seem to be late, worried the train I need is actually going from Euston, and too short of time to buy coffee.

But I guess it's Waterloo that holds the most history for me. First kisses at the top of the escalators, trips to and from Paris to see G, hell, I was even offered my first ever real job at this station. So why can't we have more stations in the St Pancras/Grand Central station genre, and less in the 'you wanna shit coffee? you wanna queue for 10 hours for a machine that doesn't work? you wanna pay 20p to pee in god-forsaken toilets?' vein. Let's hope that the interest and excitement around the new Eurostar terminal kickstarts a desire to find a way of recognising that curious place that railway stations hold in most of our hearts. And that St Pancras proves that all good stations should have champagne bars. That would make me very happy.