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Stations to avoid and why

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Clayton

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Hathersage - extremely dark, unsafe feeling, urine stains on the platform, one of the platform benches gave me diabetes

Warrington Bank Quay - Gateline staff KILLED MY HUSBAND

Charlbury - still bears the scars of the turf war with the Finstock Mandem. Battles to the death with sharpened forks were not uncommon

Kilburn High Road - infested by cannibal weevils

Mortlake - make sure you bring a sacrifice to the local tribe of Goat People or else

Frizinghall - stay on the platform for more than 4 minutes and get hallucinations that you killed Stalin. Very poor bus links.

Roughton Road - NOT THE BEES AHHH MY EYES

Prestbury - tbh just no

Liss - A pigeon looked at me funny

Yoker - here who’s he he’s no fae Yoker he’s got nae business being on this bus get his heid kicked man

Clunderwen - took two hours for my pizza to arrive it was cold and they failed to make my son’s anchovies gluten free. Won’t be using your business again
Ha ha! Da Finstock Mandem! It’s like ‘Another Country’.
 

johnnychips

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Not Everyone wants to drink £4/pint beer.
(This refers to the Sheffield Tap). I understand real ale fans might like it but the lager is German and expensive and not to everybody’s taste. Go to the top of the steel fountain to the Howard Arms instead.
 

RailWonderer

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Long Buckby or Stone. Both have no toilets, frequently delayed or canceled trains, bus shelters and no waiting rooms. For Long Buckby, the nearest taxi services are in Daventry and take at least 20 minutes to get to you and the place is one big parkway far from anywhere.
Perry Barr has to be the most grim station I've ever seen, and many of the estuary stations out of Fenchurch St. I urge you to top that one.
 
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Iskra

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My worst experience was Chinley.

During my coverage of all UK passenger rail lines I took the line from Manchester Piccadilly via New Mills Central to Chinley, with the expectation of a 15 minute wait for the chance to cover the line from Chinley to Stockport. It was a cold windy and showery late February morning. Chinley looked bleak but there was a sheltered area to protect myself from the wind and rain. No chance. Some filthy human had done a dump in the shelter and it stank. There was nowhere else to shelter. The fifteen minute wait became 25 minutes due to a delay. then 35 minutes, and another service ran straight through the station. Eventually the train arrived 40+ minutes late and I was wet and freezing. I have never been so pleased to board a train.

How did you know it wasn't a dog?

You obviously have not made use of the Sheffield Tap and it’s beers

The Sheffield tap is excellent, but that's not much use in the morning. Sheffield station looks alright from the outside, but that's about all it has going for it. As an actual train station it is atrocious.
 

30907

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Extending the range to Europe, I've had the misfortune to change trains several times at Bad Kleinen in Germany (near Lubeck). There is no station in the UK that presents itself as such a derelict dump. It used to be in East Germany, and whilst many station in the old East have been magnificently restored, Bad Kleinen has been totally overlooked - it's dreadful. And it's a major interchange. (At least was about 2 years ago - maybe the renovations has caught up by now)
Yes, BK was grotty (not unique for Germany) when I was last there several years back. Looking online, it has had a complete makeover with a footbridge and lifts - and a big gap in the middle where the station building was. The local paper says the work was finished a year ago and cost EUR37m.
 

2L70

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The Sheffield tap is excellent, but that's not much use in the morning. Sheffield station looks alright from the outside, but that's about all it has going for it. As an actual train station it is atrocious.
Sums up a lot of the woes in this country when you’ve 50min to wait for a connection as your inbound train was late “There’s a pub”
 

yorksrob

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Idon't really understand the negativity towards Sheffield Midland.

There's plenty of cover if it's raining, plenty of seating, waiting rooms and toilets on all platform groups (and the toilets are usually clean and pleasent to use). There's always somewhere open to get something to eat and/or drink - and that's before I've even mentioned the pub (what I wouldn't give to be there right now :( ).

The footbridge is a bit cramped, but that's small fry.

One of my favourite stations to change at.
 

Dr Hoo

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Idon't really understand the negativity towards Sheffield Midland.

There's plenty of cover if it's raining, plenty of seating, waiting rooms and toilets on all platform groups (and the toilets are usually clean and pleasent to use). There's always somewhere open to get something to eat and/or drink - and that's before I've even mentioned the pub (what I wouldn't give to be there right now :( ).

The footbridge is a bit cramped, but that's small fry.

One of my favourite stations to change at.
Oh dear; I always seem to disagree with yorksrob.

Sheffield always seems to be a miserable station to change at; usually cold, infested with pigeons, hard seats, logged with diesel fumes, pricey drinks in the 'Tap. Platform 2c for the Hope Valley takes the biscuit for a major city station.

I'll grant that the toilets are adequate and canopies reasonable (for vertical rain only) other than for Platform 2c, of course.

I will usually try to return from The South to the Hope Valley via Manchester Piccadilly, which is so much better even if it can add an hour to the journey.

When I often end up with 50 minutes to kill at Sheffield for a 'connection' I will usually pop into the City Centre if it is daylight. (But even then, knowing that someone got hacked to death with a machete outside a Sainsbury's Local in broad daylight hardly burnishes the steel city's welcome credentials.)
 

yorksrob

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Oh dear; I always seem to disagree with yorksrob.

This much I agree with.

Sheffield always seems to be a miserable station to change at; usually cold, infested with pigeons, hard seats, logged with diesel fumes, pricey drinks in the 'Tap. Platform 2c for the Hope Valley takes the biscuit for a major city station.

I'll grant that the toilets are adequate and canopies reasonable (for vertical rain only) other than for Platform 2c, of course.

I will usually try to return from The South to the Hope Valley via Manchester Piccadilly, which is so much better even if it can add an hour to the journey.

When I often end up with 50 minutes to kill at Sheffield for a 'connection' I will usually pop into the City Centre if it is daylight. (But even then, knowing that someone got hacked to death with a machete outside a Sainsbury's Local in broad daylight hardly burnishes the steel city's welcome credentials.)

Sheffield is like Shang-ri-La compared to a lot of stations I've waited at with barely any shelter or facilities, although I grant you Piccadilly is a lovely place to catch a train - so long as it's from one of the platforms in the trainshed.

I guess we can be thankful that the canopies were designed before modern clearance standards required what seems to be about a meter an a half gap between them and the roof of the train !

Seriously though. Sheffield has everything one might need from a major interchange station - except perhaps a greasy spoon !
 

delticdave

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London Fenchurch Street is pretty nasty - Claustrophobic and there's no direct link to the Tube/DLR.
If you need to get to the DLR, leave the train at Limehouse, very easy interchange. As for accessing LUL, leave the Fen. St. platforms via the intermediate stairs & it's a short walk to Tower Hill station. Simples.......
 

Requeststop

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Another station to avoid if possible is Plymouth. It's well overdue for an up-grade especially on the platforms. Changing at Plymouth if you are heading to or from Cornwall is not a pleasant experience. The waiting rooms are seriously out of date and there is nothing on the platforms for a drink, snack etc.
 

lordbusiness

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Most stations on the West Anglia Inners out of LST, up to and including Hertford East. I felt safer patrolling Basra for 4 months in a Snatch Landrover.
 

Statto

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Oh dear; I always seem to disagree with yorksrob.

Sheffield always seems to be a miserable station to change at; usually cold, infested with pigeons, hard seats, logged with diesel fumes, pricey drinks in the 'Tap. Platform 2c for the Hope Valley takes the biscuit for a major city station.

I'll grant that the toilets are adequate and canopies reasonable (for vertical rain only) other than for Platform 2c, of course.

I will usually try to return from The South to the Hope Valley via Manchester Piccadilly, which is so much better even if it can add an hour to the journey.

When I often end up with 50 minutes to kill at Sheffield for a 'connection' I will usually pop into the City Centre if it is daylight. (But even then, knowing that someone got hacked to death with a machete outside a Sainsbury's Local in broad daylight hardly burnishes the steel city's welcome credentials.)

It's a bit unfair to tarnish a place because of one incident, incidents like that can & will happen anywhere.
 

ValleyLines142

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Upper Halliford must be in top 10
Opened in Second World War to serve a factory (British thermostat Company which was making bomb parts)
Second platform only added later
Both platforms narrow, just 2 concrete panels wide
Right next to M3 motorway so always noisy
Virtually no facilities
Negligible seating
Accessible by stairs from the road bridge over the motorway or a path
Virtually no protection from rain
No car park
Have got to go at least 7 stations before you can change trains for somewhere worth visiting

If you look on National Rail website, every single pictogram in the summary is greyed out as not available.

To be fair though, Upper Halliford is only a suburban station, so doesn't really need this that and everything. Has a half-hourly service during the day.

My local station also has the same frequency, and has a bench and a ticket machine, and I find it perfectly adequate for a suburban station.

I was surprised to see that Thames Ditton has a little coffee shop open in the mornings.
 

Iskra

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Another station to avoid if possible is Plymouth. It's well overdue for an up-grade especially on the platforms. Changing at Plymouth if you are heading to or from Cornwall is not a pleasant experience. The waiting rooms are seriously out of date and there is nothing on the platforms for a drink, snack etc.
Agree with that one, even if they let you onto the concourse the offering is still dull.
 

Iskra

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The city isn't up to much either, being a bit 60s concrete, but there is a Subway within a reasonable walking distance at least.

Yes, on my one enforced change there due to a previous delay meaning I missed the through Penzance train, I stepped out of the station, took one look around and went back inside.

The Hoe is nice though from a previous visit.
 

Tracked

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Rugeley Trent Valley - Went there last year, it had a bus shelter and a footbridge, they were the facilities. It's not that near the town and the service isn't that good. (the pub nearby - The Yorkshireman? - was good though).

Cheltenham - Generally not that bad, though another one with a long walk into town, I can imagine it being unpleasant when the races are on.

Hatfield & Stainforth - a minor station with appropriate facilities, it's more the villages near it and the approach road up to the entrance that are dodgy.
 

Iskra

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This much I agree with.



Sheffield is like Shang-ri-La compared to a lot of stations I've waited at with barely any shelter or facilities, although I grant you Piccadilly is a lovely place to catch a train - so long as it's from one of the platforms in the trainshed.

I guess we can be thankful that the canopies were designed before modern clearance standards required what seems to be about a meter an a half gap between them and the roof of the train !

Seriously though. Sheffield has everything one might need from a major interchange station - except perhaps a greasy spoon !

Yes, but how many of them were major city interchange stations?

I really don't like Sheffield station it is cold, draughty, dull, the waiting rooms aren't pleasant, it's a hotbed of low level criminality, the walkways are inadequate, the one-way systems are confusing so don't get followed making it worse, the busiest platforms are narrow so easily blocked by waiting passengers and the retail/catering offering is pretty uninspiring.

Positives: Sheffield Tap, M&S, the bay platforms I usually arrive on are conveniently located, it looks good from the front.
 

yorksrob

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Yes, but how many of them were major city interchange stations?

I really don't like Sheffield station it is cold, draughty, dull, the waiting rooms aren't pleasant, it's a hotbed of low level criminality, the walkways are inadequate, the one-way systems are confusing so don't get followed making it worse, the busiest platforms are narrow so easily blocked by waiting passengers and the retail/catering offering is pretty uninspiring.

Positives: Sheffield Tap, M&S, the bay platforms I usually arrive on are conveniently located, it looks good from the front.

I think, as with the "10 worst stations" exercise a few years ago, we're in danger of getting fixated on interchange stations and forgetting the truly rubbish environment that many passengers have to wait in for large parts of their journeys ant non-interchange stations.

That said, the on-platform facilities are streets ahead of those on, for example Man-Pic 14/15 (I'll exclude the trainshed platforms as they are so easily accessible from the concourse), Leeds 9-17 (most have no waiting rooms, toilets and try getting to 17 in a hurry), Man Vic (dark and smokey).

It is one of the better interchange stations to use in my experience.
 

Ashley Hill

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Plymouth city isn't up to much either, being a bit 60s concrete, but there is a Subway within a reasonable walking distance at least.
The city centre was designed by acclaimed post war planner Patrick Abercrombie. It only looks desolate now as all the big names (that are surviving) have moved to Drakes Circus. There are vending machines on the platform for those that need them.
 

davetheguard

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The city centre was designed by acclaimed post war planner Patrick Abercrombie. It only looks desolate now as all the big names (that are surviving) have moved to Drakes Circus. There are vending machines on the platform for those that need them.

Some might say it looks desolate now because it was designed by acclaimed post war planner Patrick Abercrombie. Taste in architecture changes, when I was young people hated Victorian architecture; now they like it but think some sixties schemes are cold, brutalist, ugly, and cheaply and poorly built with sub standard materials. Unfortunately, the view from the train as you arrive at Plymouth's station, and the station itself with its hideous office block,does not make you want to alight there.

Yet, down by the waterfront, at the Barbican, it's a completely different world: historic, attractive, bustling, & vibrant. Bars, cafes & restaurants next to the harbour & marina. The human-sized historic medieval core designed for people not cars.
 

yorksrob

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Perhaps if Plymouth North Road had been designated the principal station in Grouping days, it might have had one of the Great Western's better rebuild.
 
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