Watch: Fans Boo At King's Cross After Hogwarts Express Gets Cancelled This Year

It seems like someone actually forgot to schedule the Hogwarts Express at King Cross Station this year! For every Potterhead, Platform 9 3/4 needs no introduction. It is the famous train station that connects the magical and muggle worlds, where the Hogwarts Express begins. For years now, fans of the superhit wizarding series would gather at London’s King’s Cross station, often dressed as Harry Potter characters, to hear the iconic announcement. A sign would also appear on the departure boards that signal the 11 AM train to Hogsmeade.

While it had become an annual tradition among fans, this year marked a departure from the practice. The Wizarding World website officially announced that this year’s event would not happen.

Earlier in July, Warner Bros. Discovery also issued a statement, urging fans to avoid travelling to the King’s Cross and instead watch another programme. “Come 1st September, fans are strongly discouraged from travelling to King’s Cross as there will be no event, departure board, or countdown at the station. Instead, everyone is invited to tune in and join proud Hufflepuff and king of the jungle, Sam Thompson, in a specially recorded online programme made in celebration of back to Hogwarts,” the statement read as quoted by The Guardian.

However, this did not deter the fans from turning up at the station. To their dismay, there was no public announcement as the clock struck 11. Videos of the crowded station are going viral on the internet, where sounds of people booing could be heard. In one of the videos, as the fans enthusiastically started the countdown for the announcement, their hopes were shattered shortly after.

The videos have sparked several reactions on the internet. While some expressed discontent, others argued why people should not have crowded the station. A user wrote, “Feel Kings Cross should have done one final Hogwarts Express announcement saying the train’s been cancelled due to unplanned engineering works and students need to catch the replacement National Express bus service.”

Another said, “I’m not the biggest Harry Potter geek but even I knew Kings Cross weren’t doing the Hogwarts Express this year. Those fans who turned up at KC should have checked first.”

“If only someone had thought properly about King’s Cross this weekend, they would have realized the positives. All those shops within the station and all that extra revenue they could have had,” another comment read.

Speaking about the same, a Network Rail spokesperson explained that the decision has been taken to prioritise the convenience of passengers. “Having begun as a small number of fans waving off the departure of the Hogwarts Express, celebrations have grown significantly in popularity, and last year’s event saw thousands of people at King’s Cross, which made it challenging for us as station operators,” BBC quoted the person as saying.