Bleakest / loneliest mainline station

[camflyer]

Another vote for Didcot Parkway. I can remember being very lonely waiting for the last train on a very bleak and wet winter's night thinking that I'm in trouble if the train was cancelled.

 

[RailWonderer]

Yeah, that's the sort of vibe I'm going for, with honourable mentions to Broad Street and Tunbridge Wells West.

What about St Pancras before the refurbishment? Semi-derelict, HSTs, 47s and 170s with freight trolleys and filthy platforms.

 

[CaptainHaddock]

I'll nominate Bempton. A lonely station on a single track line with a draughty plastic shelter that's a good 10 minute walk from the village of the same name and about 2 miles from the Bempton Cliffs Bird Centre, which is the main reason why anyone would want to go there.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

Elephant & Castle.

Virtually no amenities, exposed platforms, steep staircases and monstrous high rise flats overshadowing it

 

[John Griffiths]

Stockton is bleak, bleak, bleak. Looks as if it has been stripped of everything that might make a station feel welcoming.

For some reason the prospect of a 50 minute change at Peterborough makes my heart sink, even though it has facilities of a sort, and some bustle. It needs a micropub or two on site.

Stockton is bleak, bleak, bleak. Looks as if it has been stripped of everything that might make a station feel welcoming.

For some reason the prospect of a 50 minute change at Peterborough makes my heart sink, even though it has facilities of a sort, and some bustle. It needs a micropub or two on site. I appreciate it might not feel that way to most, especially as it is busy with both through and stopping traffic.

 

[faltskog36abba]

Manchester Victoria in the 1980s. Proper bleak.

Manchester Victoria was very bleak indeed, But still a busy station in the 80s.
However in the 90s it got a lot worse-Hardly any trains[except local],Leaking roof, Plus 11
of its platforms were removed and replaced by the arena.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Manchester Victoria was very bleak indeed, But still a busy station in the 80s.
However in the 90s it got a lot worse-Hardly any trains[except local],Leaking roof, Plus 11
of its platforms were removed and replaced by the arena.

I was going to suggest it as bleak now. Grey concrete, dirty, fume-filled and freezing cold. Basically like a worse version of New St platforms.

 

[Purple Orange]

I was going to suggest it as bleak now. Grey concrete, dirty, fume-filled and freezing cold. Basically like a worse version of New St platforms.

It is bleak on the through platforms, but no chance is it worse than the New Street platforms. There is at least more light and the main concourse is right there as a part of the station, rather than up above as part of a shopping centre.

A couple of things I would say about the present da6 Victoria that goes in its favour vs New Street. A) It has a pub where a proper pint can be bought, rather than having to venture outside of Grand Central to find anything of note. B) Java coffee is lovely. I’d recommend a visit to anyone who likes to sit in a nice coffee shop and just watch the world go by for half an hour.

 

[Bletchleyite]

It is bleak on the through platforms, but no chance is it worse than the New Street platforms. There is at least more light and the main concourse is right there as a part of the station, rather than up above as part of a shopping centre.

I'd say it was worse myself. More filthy diesel fumes and severe overcrowding - the former you only really get at New St when a filthy Voyager is sat there (and it has the pulse-jets to get rid), while the latter is nowhere near as much of an issue except for, er, XC. I suppose those two things aren't bleakness, though.

To be fair when I first went there in 1990-bleugh it seemed super-modern, and with lower loadings and just single Pacers knocking around occasionally neither of those problems really applied.

 

[NoMorePacers]

I'll throw in another vote for Bidston. Absolutely dreadful.

Scunthorpe was quite poor as well in regards to bleakness (unless a Ford dealership and a warehouse are your sorta thing).

Although it's one of the busiest stations for rail traffic, I have spent several cold mornings at Doncaster, which have never particularly felt great.

 

[John Griffiths]

Sunderland is not great, even though it was done up a few years ago.

 

[Parallel]

I get the complete opposite feeling there. I find it cosy and it's like going back in time to a GWR country junction. It's one of my favourite stations.

Platform 1 is better to be fair, I think my memory is skewed somewhat as I usually have to change trains on the rather devoid island platform.
—

Another vote for Didcot Parkway here. I can’t quite put my finger on it but it feels very bare, unwelcoming and empty to me. No idea why!

 

[onlinespotting]

Wakefield Kirkgate always deserves a special mention

 

[camflyer]

Sunderland is not great, even though it was done up a few years ago.

Sunderland must have the worst main railway station of a city its size in the country especially compared to the grand stations of its neighbours Newcastle and Durham.

 

[alangla]

(Talking about Manchester Victoria)
I was going to suggest it as bleak now. Grey concrete, dirty, fume-filled and freezing cold. Basically like a worse version of New St platforms.

It must be better now surely? Electrification and the replacement of the Pacers with low emission modern units should have improved the environment, though I’m not sure the 68s will help much

 

[Senex]

(Also talking about Manchdster)
Which is worse, as accommodation to serve long-distance adequately and acceptably, the Spartan, grey concrete, fume-filled, and freezing cold (thanks, Bletchleyite, for such good descriptive terms for this place) new part of Victoria, or the utterly bleak, inadequate, poorly accessible, and sometimes offensively staffed South Junction island platform of Piccadilly?

 

[Bletchleyite]

(Also talking about Manchdster)
Which is worse, as accommodation to serve long-distance adequately and acceptably, the Spartan, grey concrete, fume-filled, and freezing cold (thanks, Bletchleyite, for such good descriptive terms for this place) new part of Victoria, or the utterly bleak, inadequate, poorly accessible, and sometimes offensively staffed South Junction island platform of Piccadilly?

Neither is acceptable, but both could be improved by spending a reasonable amount of money.

 

[big_rig]

Upper Halliford? It's got a half-hourly London commuter service, but has a motorway and industrial estate parallel to it, a dual carriageway running over it, and old concrete platforms. Not particularly busy in my experience either.

Upper Halliford from london end

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Ooh, ones like this get my vote - nothing worse than busy roads over and around an isolated station. Kings Langley is another - the M25 runs over the far end of the platform.

 

[DarloRich]

Sunderland must have the worst main railway station of a city its size in the country especially compared to the grand stations of its neighbours Newcastle and Durham.

Sunderland was bombed during WW2 and badly damaged

 

[GlitterUnicorn]

I'm thinking of small, desolate, Highland stations, although with the scenery I've never been bothered by them feeling bleak or lonely.

In places like Altnabreac or Corrour there's not much more protection from the elements than a small wooden shelter which is quite open to the elements. There's no phone signal (though inexplicably Corrour has WiFi these days) and you're very unlikely to meet anyone else. If it's cold, wet, windy, then waiting on a train is going to be a really unpleasant experience. I've had to wait several hours for a train in Corrour a couple of tines in mid-winter (thankfully on calm days) and it was really quite difficult to stay warm.

I imagine there are a few stations in the Highlands where the consequences of a cancelled train or missing the last train could be quite severe actually. Being stuck overnight in Corrour during a winter storm could well be fatal if you're not so well prepared.

 

[Western Sunset]

St Andrews Road, sat right amongst the industry of Avonmouth, is quite bleak too.

 

[urpert]

West Dulwich is a sea of grey paint and a rudimentary bus shelter on the (elevated) platforms. In the days of 2tph on that line it could be a horrible place to wait.

 

[Joba]

Sunderland must have the worst main railway station of a city its size in the country especially compared to the grand stations of its neighbours Newcastle and Durham.

I'm not overly keen on it either. The station itself is absolutely bleak and gloomy.

But I guess this begs the question of what qualifies as a bleak station. Is it the station itself, surrounding area, how remote it is from facilities?

Sunderland is right in the middle of the city centre, so grabbing food, drink or window shopping is very accessible. There is a park nearby if the weather is ok. At least you can escape the station until your train is due!

 

[camflyer]

Sunderland was bombed during WW2 and badly damaged

Indeed - Sunderland took a battering while Newcastle city centre got off relatively unscathed. Still no excuse for building a decent station in the subsequent 70 years.

 

[DarloRich]

Indeed - Sunderland took a battering while Newcastle city centre got off relatively unscathed. Still no excuse for building a decent station in the subsequent 70 years.

They built, to their mind, a decent 1960's "modern" station which reflected the architectural style and thought of the day. Regardless i have never found Sunderland a bleak station. Horrible, but not bleak.

 

[Whistler40145]

Carstairs is pretty grim and isolated

Does it ever stop raining there

 

[InOban]

I'm thinking of small, desolate, Highland stations, although with the scenery I've never been bothered by them feeling bleak or lonely.

In places like Altnabreac or Corrour there's not much more protection from the elements than a small wooden shelter which is quite open to the elements. There's no phone signal (though inexplicably Corrour has WiFi these days) and you're very unlikely to meet anyone else. If it's cold, wet, windy, then waiting on a train is going to be a really unpleasant experience. I've had to wait several hours for a train in Corrour a couple of tines in mid-winter (thankfully on calm days) and it was really quite difficult to stay warm.

I imagine there are a few stations in the Highlands where the consequences of a cancelled train or missing the last train could be quite severe actually. Being stuck overnight in Corrour during a winter storm could well be fatal if you're not so well prepared.

The OP's original criteria were for stations on mainlines with at least 3tph and to specifically exclude obvious stations like Corrour

 

[yorksrob]

They built, to their mind, a decent 1960's "modern" station which reflected the architectural style and thought of the day. Regardless i have never found Sunderland a bleak station. Horrible, but not bleak.

There are much better ones though.

Coventry is an obvious one.

 

[DarloRich]

There are much better ones though.

Coventry is an obvious one.

see I HAVE found Coventry quite bleak and cold several times, especially quite late at night. Strange.

 

[Bletchleyite]

They built, to their mind, a decent 1960's "modern" station which reflected the architectural style and thought of the day. Regardless i have never found Sunderland a bleak station. Horrible, but not bleak.

In ambiance terms it doesn't differ massively from Liverpool Central, which isn't really bleak either, and it's similarly suitable for Metro which is similar to Merseyrail in concept other than being light rail. Must be grim when a DMU is in there giving off fumes, though.