Rail passengers heading from East Anglia to London could see huge changes at the gateway to the capital over the next decade with a £1.5billion revamp of Liverpool Street Station.

The aim is to ease overcrowding at one of the busiest stations in the country which is likely to see even more passengers with the arrival of the Elizabeth Line which runs under the capital from Shenfield to Reading and Heathrow Airport.

The rebuilding work will see the redevelopment of the historic Great Eastern Hotel - now the Andaz Hotel - and the demolition of No 50 Liverpool Street, the building that includes the McDonalds takeaway at the station entrance.

The developer that built The Shard at London Bridge station is expected to take on the project which will probably include a 20-storey tower block.

The new development will include a refurbishment of the hotel - which dates back to the station's opening in the 1870s - office space, more retail and other spaces which are designed to make the station a destination in its own right.

There will also be considerable remodelling inside the station to allow more space for passengers to circulate - at the busiest times of day the concourse which was designed as a large open space can be very crowded.

The station, in its current form, was opened by The Queen in 1991 at the end of a rebuilding programme that had lasted most of the 1980s.

This project is separate to Network Rail's restoration work on the station roof which is due to get underway in earnest during the winter.

East Anglian Daily Times: Network Rail is to restore the roof at Liverpool Street Station.Network Rail is to restore the roof at Liverpool Street Station. (Image: Network Rail)

Over the next two years much of the roof should be replaced leaving it clearer and the station brighter than it has been for many years.

The full impact of the roof work should become clear when all the scaffolding is removed at the end of 2024.