Platform 9¾ is the fictional King’s Cross platform linked to Hogwarts in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter stories.
Students reach the Hogwarts Express by running through the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 at London’s King’s Cross station. The train departs on 1 September, carrying pupils to Hogwarts for the new school year. The platform first appears in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
The platform is fictional, but King’s Cross created a visitor attraction with a luggage trolley installed beneath a Platform 9¾ sign. The attraction has changed location within the station complex over time, and a Harry Potter shop is located nearby.
A common mix-up is treating Platform 9¾ as a normal railway platform. It is a magical location in the books and films, while the real station’s tracks 9 and 10 have their own conventional layout. The fraction is part of the story’s distinctive platform number.