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Best Station (London)

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TrainBoy98

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Hi, I was wondering what people think the best station is in London Zone 1 and their reasons for this. This excludes stations on the London Underground and anything else non-National Rail. (See other thread for all other NR stations)

Thanks (maybe we could all actually come to an aggreement on which ones best...)
 
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A0wen

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Hi, I was wondering what people think the best station is in London Zone 1 and their reasons for this. This excludes stations on the London Underground and anything else non-National Rail. (See other thread for all other NR stations)

Thanks (maybe we could all actually come to an aggreement on which ones best...)

Of the 'terminus' stations - I think there are only two contenders:

In second: Marylebone - neat, compact, user-friendly, well kept.

First place: Kings Cross - a tribute to a good compact design, no traipsing miles to get from one platform to the other (Euston) decent Underground connections (unlike Euston, Waterloo or Fenchurch St) - yet handles a serious volume of passengers really well - and will look even better in a couple of years time when that horrible 1970s frontage has gone......
 

Mojo

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I'm not a fan of Marylebone; I think its facilities are fairly limited, although to be fair it is a fairly insignificant station compared to others. I also don't like the fact you seem to have to walk half way to Birmingham to get to platforms 4-6, and that Chiltern seem to wait until the last possible moment to announce the platform number for a train.
 

D365

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Definitely Kings Cross. A magnificent extension to the west and it's only going to get better. As a side note, I thought Platform 0 (soon to be 1) was underground when I saw a picture!
 

STEVIEBOY1

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I Went to London on Friday and saw the renovated Waterloo Main Line Station with the new balcony area being open, a few more shops up there will be trading soon. I thought it looked very good and hopefully it will enhance the station and ease congestion on the main concourse.

You can have a drink and, or something to eat, whilst looking down on the people below.

(The only scruffy area IMO was on the main course above the old eurostar area, where there were still some half dozen approx food stalls.)

I did note that there seems to be a big left luggage in the eurostar area too which I have not noticed before, maybe just for the olympic period.

St. Pancras is very good of course, I have not yet seen the new Kings Cross, (The only thing with the LUL station at KX.STP is that there are very long walks from the main line platforms to the LUL Entrances, then very long walks to the various deep level tube lines.)

Marylebone is good too, but I do agree with an above remark about the long walk to the newer reopened platforms, I guess there must be something in the way nearer the concourse which is why they they were built that way.
 

A0wen

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St. Pancras is very good of course, I have not yet seen the new Kings Cross, (The only thing with the LUL station at KX.STP is that there are very long walks from the main line platforms to the LUL Entrances, then very long walks to the various deep level tube lines.)

More a problem for St Pancras, particularly given the siting of the domestic platforms (both EMT and Thameslink) - which I think are far worse than they were when St P was solely domestic and KX TL was in use.

I don't think KX is too bad.
 

ATW Alex 101

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I'm going to have to agree with others, definitely Kings cross. Lovely design and trainshed. I don't like the layout of St Pancras, very complex in my opinion. Marylebone is small and lacks facilities and as Mojo says, the walk down to p5-6 you might as well walk to Birmingham!
 

craigwilson

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I don't usually have much reason to use KGX, but I was very impressed when I saw the new and improved station this April. I would agree its probably the nicest.

I use St Pancras a reasonable amount so I'm familiar with it, but I wouldn't want to give anyone directions to meet me in there. I'd agree with A0wen on this one.

Euston for me does what I need it to, but it's very short of places to sit, and I don't like having to use it at 6:30 on a Friday!!

As far as the Kent-bound stations go, my favourite would be Victoria for sure, nice, fairly simple layout, good on-station facilities. Cannon Street is a bit minimal, but I suppose does what it says on the tin - shepherds commuters in and out. London Bridge I have always found something of a maze.
 

DVD

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I would suggest Paddington, although Kings X comes a close second. And of course (as Professor Joad would have said) it all depends what you mean by 'best'. To me, Paddington retains an unbeatable atmosphere, grandeur and drama.
 

barrykas

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The refurbished Barlow trainshed and undercroft at St Pancras has to be a favourite. No love to the EMT platforms at same though, given their windswept construction and lack of capacity. Can't entirely blame London & Continental for that though, given they weren't allowed to "upstage" the original trainshed.

And no kudos whatsoever to the idiot who came up with the one way passenger flow at Kings Cross. If you alight from a bus at the bottom of Caledonian Road, or a bus or taxi in York Way, you have to walk all the way round the outside of the station to enter instead of going in through the York Way entrance. Not fun in the rain!

Cheers,

Barry
 

Mojo

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The Southeastern platforms at St Pancakes annoy me a bit, because the escalators seem to be the wrong way around. I'm not quite sure why they don't face the gateline, because at the bottom end they are the wrong way round for the entrance as well.

I was wondering if it was something to do with crowd management, but even in peak hours I've never seen it that busy.
 

calc7

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I too would vote for London Kings Cross.

St Pancras is nice but a bit too stuffy, and the walk to the EMT platforms is ridiculous. Also, the lack of proper concourse for those awaiting EMT departures to be announced gives a horrible crammed atmosphere at the top of the escalators.
 

6Gman

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St Pancras used to be a lovely station.

Slicing it up for Eurostar etc etc has made it (aesthetically & practically) a mess.
 

MrPosh

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And no kudos whatsoever to the idiot who came up with the one way passenger flow at Kings Cross. If you alight from a bus at the bottom of Caledonian Road, or a bus or taxi in York Way, you have to walk all the way round the outside of the station to enter instead of going in through the York Way entrance. Not fun in the rain!

Cheers,

Barry

The few times that I've been through, a couple of gates next to the York Way entrance are set up for departures.

Not sure if the screen in the corner is still there for platform announcements.

Kings Cross for me, too, but I do love Paddington - it has a feeling of grandeur.
 
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Fenchurch Street. For no other reason that it has - without doubt - the clearest announcements and the friendliest staff.
King's Cross, St. Pancras, Euston are all too big and impersonal. Liverpool Street I like for two reasons:
It's so much improved on the sh**hole that it used to be and it has a light airy open feel.
London Bridge (Central side) as above.
Victoria (Central) side is a lovely station now but I do wish that the staff wouldn't all b**ger off and hide when it all goes wrong.
Paddington is the mess that it's always been with little suburban platforms hidden away and a route march that doesn't seem to give you enough time to reach the train when it's been (inevitably) late in being displayed/announced.
Dunno about Charing Cross or Cannon Street - they're South-Eastern(shudder!).
 

TheJRB

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A tough call. I do like St Pancras. It's more like a self-contained town than a normal station with goodness knows how many shops and cafés inside the complex.

Although it hasn't been mentioned before, I quite like Charing Cross. It's got plenty of facilities and a handy set of steps down to Villiers Street for SSL Underground connections at Embankment. The lighting on the platforms is pleasant and it's not so big that it's a pain to move from one platform to another.

I understand the previous comments on Marylebone but there's a certain charm to the place that I really like and there's plenty of places to find refreshments too.

I really don't know which to call my favourite though!
 
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I would suggest Paddington, although Kings X comes a close second. And of course (as Professor Joad would have said) it all depends what you mean by 'best'. To me, Paddington retains an unbeatable atmosphere, grandeur and drama.

Sums up Paddington perfectly. Living in the North, I've always liked Kings Cross - new concourse is fantastic. St Pancras is beautifully designed too. Waterloo (another station I know well - not seen the new balcony yet) is also atmospheric. Favourite station? There are two Kings Cross/Paddington.
 

Harbon 1

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i would vote for kings cross, for one reason that most other stations havent got. the open space behind the gateline, with all of the trains visable, unlike many other stations, the trains are hidden behind a screen, with 3 or 4 gates to get everybody through, being able to see the trains gives it a more, and i know this sounds weird, stationy feel
 
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i would vote for kings cross, for one reason that most other stations havent got. the open space behind the gateline, with all of the trains visable, unlike many other stations, the trains are hidden behind a screen, with 3 or 4 gates to get everybody through, being able to see the trains gives it a more, and i know his sounds weird, stationy feel

That's a good point actually.
 

MK Tom

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Liverpool Street probably takes it for me. It has a romance to it and it's about the right size, pretty walkable, impressive architecture. Charing Cross and Canon Street I also like but for no real practical reason. I just find them odd and interesting.

Euston is impossible to walk around - many times I have seen platform alterations result in large crowds of frantically running commuters there. Marylebone is nice but really too small for me. I get lost in Kings Cross - I never know which part of the building I've come in through or want to be in.
 

370001

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Sums up Paddington perfectly. Living in the North, I've always liked Kings Cross - new concourse is fantastic. St Pancras is beautifully designed too. Waterloo (another station I know well - not seen the new balcony yet) is also atmospheric. Favourite station? There are two Kings Cross/Paddington.

Good points. Paddington enhanced further now that Span 4 has been restored. Much brighter over Platforms 8-12.
 

cle

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A tough call. I do like St Pancras. It's more like a self-contained town than a normal station with goodness knows how many shops and cafés inside the complex.

Although it hasn't been mentioned before, I quite like Charing Cross. It's got plenty of facilities and a handy set of steps down to Villiers Street for SSL Underground connections at Embankment. The lighting on the platforms is pleasant and it's not so big that it's a pain to move from one platform to another.

I understand the previous comments on Marylebone but there's a certain charm to the place that I really like and there's plenty of places to find refreshments too.

I really don't know which to call my favourite though!

Charing Cross I can't stand. The tube concourse below the station is horrible. A real disgrace.

The station itself feels quite cluttered but I guess people aren't there to linger. Very scenic though and ultimately the only terminus which is truly central.
 

TheJRB

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Charing Cross I can't stand. The tube concourse below the station is horrible. A real disgrace.
I've never been to the actual Charing Cross Underground station; I've always walked the short way down Villiers Street to Embankment (which is still much less of a walk then you'd get at St Pancras to any LU line).
 

barrykas

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Fenchurch Street. For no other reason that it has - without doubt - the clearest announcements and the friendliest staff.
King's Cross, St. Pancras, Euston are all too big and impersonal. Liverpool Street I like for two reasons:
It's so much improved on the sh**hole that it used to be and it has a light airy open feel.

All well and good but for one thing...Liverpool Street is bigger (in terms of number of platforms) than both Kings Cross and St Pancras, and the same size as Euston! And the Great Eastern side is still a dark depressing hole, as is the throat, because of the "raft" over it, as per the Central side at Victoria.
 

jopsuk

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St Pancras looks lovely- but it is a horrible layout, with effectively four separate stations, one for each operator, with poor connectivity between them.
 

pitdiver

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As a resident of Bedford I use St Pancras quite often. I find it a real pain to get from the FCC platforms to the LUL platforms. At least now you don't have to use the platforms adjacent to the EMT ones at weekends. However my favourite station is Waterloo. It brings back many happy thoughts of childhood and going to Weymouth and Portsmouth Harbour, for the IOW.
 

oversteer

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Nobody ever loves Victoria do they :D

Marylebone, because it is small, has a good selection of shops and you can get in and out quick, including onto the Bakerloo or to Baker St. Also, it has a dog toilet. What other station can boast that?

Downsides of Marylebone: Can't hear announcements over 67's idling. Walk from gate to platform 5/6, or even on a disruption day, the gate to 5/6 and then back to 1 (much groaning and tutting). Burger King does not accept Bite cards
 
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