Dylan Cleaver: Victorian monument buzzes with vitality

You have to hand it to the Victorians - they sure knew how to build a railway station.

For them, trains were the cutting edge of technology. They needed to be housed in fitting surrounds.

Take London St Pancras, a magnificent brick pile that dominates a corner of Euston Rd, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares.

Earmarked for demolition in the 1960s, St Pancras has made quite a comeback. An expensive comeback - about £800 million ($1552 million), well up from the £310 million estimate - but a comeback nonetheless.

Now it stands in all its splendour as a fully restored icon of the railway industry. More crucially, as far as the Games are concerned, it is the most important artery to Olympic Park, pumping spectators and media to East London from their central city hotels.

The place is in a constant hum from first light as people are ferried back and forward on the aptly named Javelin service. That hum sometimes turns to frenzy, like late last week when the torch passed through its halls.

It's been a focal point for protest, too. Last week, members of the Bengali community used St Pancras to demonstrate against the imminent arrival of Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

With its wide halls, bars and cafes chock full of commuters, both domestic and international, St Pancras is a terrific spot to indulge in the sport of people-watching.

So if you stop for a panini or a pork pie, you'll see your Savile Row-suited businessmen jostling past Brazilian backpackers and booze-addled beggars.

When all's said and done, a lot is riding on this station and its companions on overland and Underground services.

The ease with which people are able to move around this city over the next fortnight will determine for many whether these Games have truly been a success.

Already there have been stories of signalling hitches and long delays. Lost in the hubbub surrounding Danny Boyle's opening ceremony spectacular were the complaints of thousands of spectators and media who spent hours trying to get home after the event.

The transport system is showing signs of creaking.

If worst fears are realised, lovely old St Pancras might suddenly take on an ugly hue.