It's appropriate that the redevelopment of St Pancras station has been such a smooth operation, given that the namesake of the station is the patron saint of industry and jobs. Indeed it's rare in this day and age that any architectural project - renovation or from scratch - finishes on time and on budget, but incredibly St Pancras is on course to do both.

Which is why, when LCR (London and Continental Railways, responsible for the reconstruction) invited us to a behind-the-scenes preview of the redevelopment, we jumped at the chance to see how the restoration is shaping up, ahead of its opening this November as the new London Eurostar terminus.

When the original train shed was completed in 1868 by William Henry Barlow, it was the largest single span roof structure of its time, and today it remains one of the greatest examples of engineering spawned by the industrial age. The blue paint that Barlow created for the original ironwork has been rediscovered and used again, simulating the effect originally intended by the engineer, of mimicking a blue sky through the dense clouds of combusting coal, though it's hoped this time round the paintwork might last a little longer.

Heralded as Europe's destination station, the redevelopment is shunning the depressing, generic haunts of English train stations in favour of much classier fare including the longest champagne bar in Europe and a daily farmers market. In a nod to the traditional, a replica of the original clock is being made to hang in the main concourse vault. The clock will hang above a nine-metre sculpture by British artist Paul Day of an embracing couple, evoking the old-school glamour associated with station greetings and farewells, a sentiment currently absent amongst the pigeon-infested, delay-stricken concourses of London's other great stations.

St Pancras preview

All in all, we were mightily impressed. Watch this space for further updates and in the meantime, click here to see our behind-the-scenes pictures: