 In 1837 Euston railway station opened , the first railway station connecting London with the industrial heartlands of the West Midlands and Lancashire . Railways were banned by a Parliamentary commission from operating in London itself , and thus the station was built on what was then the northern boundary of the built @-@ up area . Other main line termini soon followed at Paddington ( 1838 ) , Bishopsgate ( 1840 ) , Fenchurch Street ( 1841 ) , King 's Cross ( 1852 ) and St Pancras ( 1868 ) . All were built outside the built @-@ up area , making them inconvenient to reach . 
