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Favourite non-UK station

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Jamesrob637

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Possibly Montreux from holidays in Switzerland - the few minutes each side to Lausanne and Villeneuve are among the best standard-gauge journeys anywhere.

Gare du Nord for the sheer activity pre-COVID: obviously most of this will recover as the French are a little less keen on WFH than we are.

Berlin Hbf for its vastness even if it won't win any awards for the amount of platforms/tracks

Milano Centrale for architecture.
 
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Bletchleyite

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Hamburg Hbf, good facilities and lots of memories associated to it from my year in Germany, though a bit "rough" in terms of people hanging around it as European main stations often are.

Or if you like architecturally interesting - how about the "Hundertwasser-Bahnhof" at Uelzen (lots of pics if you Google it)? A small and fairly insignificant regional station re-imagined by one of the quirkier architects Europe has to offer.

I agree with Milano Centrale's architecture - a veritable temple of transport. And Berlin Hbf - just impressive (and good facilities too, you can certainly get a decent Currywurst! :) )

Gare du Nord might be interesting, but it's just a dump. Flatten and start again would be the best plan, including much of the surrounding area. Same with Brussel-Zuid.

Possibly Montreux from holidays in Switzerland - the few minutes each side to Lausanne and Villeneuve are among the best standard-gauge journeys anywhere.

The Montreux Riviera line (if you'd call it that) is probably my favourite mainline journey anywhere in the world, and I was highly privileged to have it as my weekly commute for a couple of years around 2011, and much as I don't miss getting up at 3:30am every Monday to get there I do really miss the place. Interesting and scenic in different ways all the way from Geneve-Aeroport to Brig. But the stations themselves are generally fairly basic, though functional, and the facilities at them aren't great.

In terms of Swiss stations I'd probably go for Bern Hbf. It's a bit of a New St but done well, and of course no diesel to fug it up with fumes, because the Swiss have a bit of sense in that regard.
 
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lxfe_mxtterz

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I don't necessarily have a favourite, but I'm quite partial to rural/neglected Japanese stations. There's just something I really like about the unique eeriness and sense of abandonment paired with the tranquil surroundings. Though, one of my favourites would probably have to be the wonderfully straight-out-of-a-horror-film Doai station, which is showcased nicely in this video:

 

61653 HTAFC

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Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof isn't perhaps as grand and splendid some others in Germany (Frankfurt-Main and Köln for example) but I feel it has a particular charm about it. It's none the worse for lacking the overall roof of those mentioned above.

Praha-Masarykovo is another "characterful" station. It's a smallish city centre terminus that's a bit rough around the edges... rather like Marylebone in the early 1990s.
 
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Jamesrob637

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Nürnberg Hauptbahnhof isn't perhaps as grand and splendid some others in Germany (Frankfurt-Main and Köln for example) but I feel it has a particular charm about it. It's none the worse for lacking the overall roof of those mentioned above.

Praha-Masarykov is another "characterful" station. It's a smallish city centre terminus that's a bit rough around the edges... rather like Marylebone in the early 1990s.

When were you last in Masarykovo? It's been rebuilt since 2019.
 

43096

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As already stated, Olten for the sheer variety and frequency of trains passing through and Berlin Hbf as an impressive modern station.

In addition, I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Leipzig Hbf, particularly at night.
Leipzig.jpg
 

317666

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I think mine would have to be Köln Hbf. Seeing photos and videos of it always reminds me of stepping off an ICE from Brussels at the start of a holiday, either within Germany or heading further afield.
 

52290

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Douglas station IoM. Although I'd prefer it as it was when the full network was intact. The buildings are still impressive though.
 

YorkshireBear

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Köln or Berlin hbf for me. Køln because its the gateway not only to rail holidays but also my love of Germany. Berlin due to the sheer engineering. As a civil engineer I find it a marvel.
 

Iskra

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Milano Centrale is like a Cathedral of Railways, which wins architecturally for me.

Stockholm and Umea Ostra (particularly at winter and at sunset/night).

But my favourite is probably Reggio Calabria Centrale, just for all round interest and charm; it's got old historic rolling stock knocking around, plenty of current railway interest with many locomotives around, views of the Straits of Messina, views of Mount Etna/Sicily, views of aircraft landing at the nearby airport, there's a lot going on so I can happily wait there for hours.
 

raetiamann

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Spiez, Chur and Lindau Hbf all come to mind, but simply for photography I'd have to go with Schindellegi-Feusisberg.

The view of the train climbing into the station with Lake Zurich in the background is stunning and it's possible to get good shots and the trains come down the grade. I've not been for a few years, the Voralpen Express often had extra coaches added behind the pushing loco and on occasions a second loco behind the added coaches.
 

Richard Scott

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Used to like Troyes when complete with a CC72100! Lots have changed recently, old Lübeck station but probably the traction helped there. First time went to Angermuende back in 2003, was like being in a communist time warp! Old Belgrade station for watching them change points by hand and signal trains by hand. To pick just one would be hard, so many with great architecture.
 

JB_B

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I can agree with Madrid (Atocha), Berlin (Hbf) and Milan (Cent); maybe a bit obvious but I think Antwerp is up there.

Of course, some of harder to love stations are the actually most interesting - maybe Warsaw Central? - that might also explain...

Reggio Calabria Centrale, just for all round interest and charm; it's got old historic rolling stock knocking around, plenty of current railway interest with many locomotives around, views of the Straits of Messina, views of Mount Etna/Sicily, views of aircraft landing at the nearby airport, there's a lot going on so I can happily wait there for hour



... which didn't make a great impression on me - I must take a closer look next time I'm there!
 

Bungle158

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Kalk Bay on the Simonstown branch. Cape Town suburban system. Off the train and into the wonderful Brass Bell pub
 

Iskra

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I can agree with Madrid (Atocha), Berlin (Hbf) and Milan (Cent); maybe a bit obvious but I think Antwerp is up there.

Of course, some of harder to love stations are the actually most interesting - maybe Warsaw Central? - that might also explain...





... which didn't make a great impression on me - I must take a closer look next time I'm there!
The station itself it pretty bland, but I just take much interest from the surroundings.
 

67thave

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I'm obviously biased here, being as this is a station I'm quite familiar with, but Grand Central is deserving of much of the hype it gets and is probably my favorite - even if the track areas are pretty grim.
It's not a mainline rail station, but the elevated station at Coney Island (Stillwell Avenue) is also very unique.
 

Jozhua

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I'm obviously biased here, being as this is a station I'm quite familiar with, but Grand Central is deserving of much of the hype it gets and is probably my favorite - even if the track areas are pretty grim.
It's not a mainline rail station, but the elevated station at Coney Island (Stillwell Avenue) is also very unique.
Yeah, Grand Central is probably the most beautiful station building!

My favourite is probably Toronto Union, absolutely beautiful station building too, on a massive scale and a lot of really useful services (Go Transit, TTC, UP Express)
 
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