Draughtiest stations?

[tavistock]

Platforms 1 and 2 at Preston. Always cold.

Spot on

 

[richieb1971]

I went Westbury once on a windy day. It was not a pleasant experience.

A few years later went to Doncaster and that was pretty bad also.

Been to both stations on normal days and found them normal to be honest. Surely its weather related and what you find on the day?

 

[317 forever]

Darlington is always freezing in the middle of summer. It's almost a perfect wind tunnel.

I changed trains at Darlington the Wednesday the temperature cooled, and noticed it more at Darlington station than anywhere else.

 

[Mat17]

Penistone station is the coldest place on earth in the winter it seems.

Huddersfield is a close second.

 

[Jamesrob637]

I'd love to see a photo of that station!

Sand with a rail track through it - you've got the idea!

 

[Andy Pacer]

I went Westbury once on a windy day. It was not a pleasant experience.

A few years later went to Doncaster and that was pretty bad also.

Been to both stations on normal days and found them normal to be honest. Surely its weather related and what you find on the day?

I think you've hit the nail on the head there!

 

[BeijingDave]

Depends how open to the elements it is though. As previously mentioned by others, you can get almost blown off the platform on Manchester Piccadilly 13/14. To give a local comparison, Warrington Central, though an awful station in many other ways, is enclosed by brickwork which seems to shield the platforms from the worst winds.

 

[Darandio]

I changed trains at Darlington the Wednesday the temperature cooled, and noticed it more at Darlington station than anywhere else.

I notice earlier in the thread that Darlington is a perfect wind tunnel which suggests this makes it cold. Darlington can have no wind whatsoever and be near sub-zero even in summer. It's got it's own weather system.

 

[Andy Pacer]

I notice earlier in the thread that Darlington is a perfect wind tunnel which suggests this makes it cold. Darlington can have no wind whatsoever and be near sub-zero even in summer. It's got it's own weather system.

I have to agree that Darlington does get bitterly cold.

 

[Darandio]

I have to agree that Darlington does get bitterly cold.

Have you seen the dispatch staff in winter? It's like they are geared up for an arctic expedition.

 

[Andy Pacer]

Have you seen the dispatch staff in winter? It's like they are geared up for an arctic expedition.

I don't know what it is about the place but I was absolutely frozen when waiting for Pacers a couple of years ago. Maybe you're right and it does have its own climate. I never remember being so cold in the town centre when looking at the buses.

 

[Darandio]

I don't know what it is about the place but I was absolutely frozen when waiting for Pacers a couple of years ago. Maybe you're right and it does have its own climate. I never remember being so cold in the town centre when looking at the buses.

It's been a running joke in my family for the 40 years i've been alive. Walk out of the main shed and it's positively balmy outside no matter the season, the change is incredible.

 

[Unstoppable]

Wembley Central even with barriers up on the fast lines when trains pass at 125mph! The turbulence is insane

 

[GatwickDepress]

Ashford International.

No contest.

Another nomination for Ashford Int'l here. I've spent many not so happy hours there waiting for the last Marshlink service home and the wind just goes right through you.

 

[Rick1984]

Ely. Cold winter Sundays with a long connection waiting for train to Norwich with everything shut and nothing nearby

 

[DaveF63]

Bristol Parkway. It seems it was designed to act like a funnel.

 

[stantheman]

Edinburgh Park

 

[AJG3]

Carlisle

Definitely; endscreens cause a Venturi effect at the south end if the windi s in the prevailing direction

 

[Kettledrum]

drafty does not equate to chilly. Hence my nomination for Tamworth, particularly London bound platform. The drafts are caused by
- the fast Virgin Pendolinos pelting by at virtually full speed
- the fact that the single "bus shelter" at one end of a 11 coach platform providing zero shelter for 90% of passengers and
- the platform is far too narrow so you feel the full force of the drafts, with no shelter.

 

[Deepgreen]

Much though I enjoy trivia threads, isn't this one just so unscientific as to be pointless? Everyone can mention a station where they've felt cold/wind-blown at some point, but there is absolutely no objectivity to it. What, also, does "draughtiest" mean in the context of countless stations being completely open to the weather? To me a 'draught' is an airflow which is not meant to occur, e.g. in homes under ill-fitting doors, etc., not windy conditions in open situations where they should be fully expected.

 

[peteb]

"Much though I enjoy trivia threads, isn't this one just so unscientific as to be pointless? "

Well, maybe but who said all threads on here have to be deadly serious!

 

[Horizon22]

Almost all newly constructed stations seem ridiculously windy. These include Rochester, Bromsgrove, Reading and most recently London Bridge P1-9. Must be something in the design that attacks you from all angles.

 

[Jozhua]

Piccadilly 13/14 are pretty damn cold, but I'd say Sheffield is even worse. Both subject you to temperatures previously thought un-survivable by man.

I'd say the worst bit about them is the lack of a warm waiting area. Stockport at least has some heated waiting rooms, whereas Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly waiting areas are absolutely freezing.

 

[peteb]

Piccadilly 13/14 are pretty damn cold, but I'd say Sheffield is even worse. Both subject you to temperatures previously thought un-survivable by man.

I'd say the worst bit about them is the lack of a warm waiting area. Stockport at least has some heated waiting rooms, whereas Sheffield and Manchester Piccadilly waiting areas are absolutely freezing.

Agree, and this was the point of the discussion, to seek views on draughty stations which are otherwise supposed to be covered or offer some protection from the elements!

With winter approaching anyone changing trains or arriving early needs to be alert to less than convivial waiting facilities, and dress accordingly.

 

[Dr Hoo]

<SNIP>

With winter approaching anyone changing trains or arriving early needs to be alert to less than convivial waiting facilities, and dress accordingly.

Precisely! No such thing as 'poor weather', just 'poor equipment/preparation'.

 

[backontrack]

Another nomination for Ashford Int'l here. I've spent many not so happy hours there waiting for the last Marshlink service home and the wind just goes right through you.

It's built to be like an airport, apparently.

I think they forgot that airports don't have railway lines running through the middle of them...

 

[STEVIEBOY1]

Ely. Cold winter Sundays with a long connection waiting for train to Norwich with everything shut and nothing nearby

Yes Ely can be cold as can Milton Keynes Central platforms, always seems rather a bleak place.

 

[Dr Hoo]

The 'airport' concepts works up to a point if there is a large 'departure lounge' where travellers can wait in relative comfort until advised by comprehensive information systems to proceed to the platform just before their train is due. For many airports the final movement is via an enclosed tube and on one level anyway.

Stations suffer from two challenges - firstly when, like Sheffield, the concourse and waiting rooms are completely unheated (even when open, pre-COVID) and secondly because passengers need to spread out along platforms to be opposite a wide range of doors appropriate to reservation or class of travel, often beyond canopied areas, e.g. at Tamworth.

There is a further problem if the 'lounge' is at a different level but only served by one lift. The bottleneck dictates an early move for many passengers with buggies, luggage, etc. leading to more prolonged exposure to the elements.

 

[backontrack]

The 'airport' concepts works up to a point if there is a large 'departure lounge' where travellers can wait in relative comfort until advised by comprehensive information systems to proceed to the platform just before their train is due. For many airports the final movement is via an enclosed tube and on one level anyway.

Stations suffer from two challenges - firstly when, like Sheffield, the concourse and waiting rooms are completely unheated (even when open, pre-COVID) and secondly because passengers need to spread out along platforms to be opposite a wide range of doors appropriate to reservation or class of travel, often beyond canopied areas, e.g. at Tamworth.

There is a further problem if the 'lounge' is at a different level but only served by one lift. The bottleneck dictates an early move for many passengers with buggies, luggage, etc. leading to more prolonged exposure to the elements.

Great post! I think Edinburgh Waverley is a little like an airport in terms of how folk wait for the train. It always surprises me how small the waiting areas actually are, too. The difficult part is that the Intercity platforms are often the furthest away from the actual waiting area.

 

[Deepgreen]

"Much though I enjoy trivia threads, isn't this one just so unscientific as to be pointless? "

Well, maybe but who said all threads on here have to be deadly serious!

Completely agree there, but there comes a point where it's just; "I felt cold at xxxxx"!