King’s Cross Station appears as the wizarding entrance to Platform 9¾ in films based on J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books.
In the story, students reach the Hogwarts Express by passing through a magical barrier between platforms 9 and 10 at London’s King’s Cross railway station. The films used King’s Cross for exterior and location sequences, helping make the station one of the most recognizable real-world places associated with Harry Potter.
The fictional platform is not an ordinary platform in the station’s railway layout. Because platforms 9 and 10 are separated by tracks, film production used a different architectural setting for some scenes. A Platform 9¾ sign and luggage trolley installation became a popular visitor attraction at King’s Cross.
King’s Cross is sometimes confused with nearby St Pancras station, whose distinctive Gothic exterior appears in some London filming. The Hogwarts Express itself is fictional, although heritage steam trains were used for the film production’s railway scenes.