Which real-world railway station inspired J.K. Rowling’s platform 9¾?

King’s Cross station inspired J.K. Rowling’s fictional platform 9¾.

In the Harry Potter books, students reach the Hogwarts Express through the magical platform 9¾ at King’s Cross in London. The station was familiar to Rowling, and it became one of the series’ most recognizable real-world locations. The platform number is fictional: the station’s main platforms do not contain an ordinary platform 9¾ hidden behind a barrier.

A complication is that the real station’s numbered platforms 9 and 10 were separated by tracks, making the exact book description difficult to reproduce. For filming, the Harry Potter films used a different part of King’s Cross and created a visual location near platforms 4 and 5. The station now has a permanent platform 9¾ photo spot and a Harry Potter shop, but these are visitor attractions rather than entrances to a magical railway.