How many 24 hr stations?

[Brush 4]

It wasn't long ago when the very idea of large stations closing for the night would have seemed ludicrous. Now, most seem to close to the public but, does that apply to all? I wouldn't have thought Crewe would close, as it is famous for its many connections.

This can also be a list of stations you have spent the night at, either waiting for a connection or, because you chose to do an all-nighter.
Mine are Waterloo, Temple Meads, BNS, Crewe, York, Doncaster. All in the 70's except Waterloo in 1988. All had a 24 hour buffet and waiting rooms. Doncaster had a small night buffet, closing when the daytime one opened. Trains of BRUTE trolleys clattered past at regular intervals, carrying newspapers and parcels. The station never slept, now it flakes out.

Can you still do this nowadays?

 

[JonathanH]

Can you still do this nowadays?

Many larger stations are now locked after the last departure, opening shortly before the first train, with any subsequent passengers arriving on overnight trains leaving through a managed night gate.

The question was last asked earlier this year.

[trivia] Which stations are open 24 hours a day?

And more specifically which stations would you run into no problems being at 24 hours a day? Presumably the thameslink 24hr stations, Derby, Reading, Manchester Airport, Manchester picadilly. Where else?

www.railforums.co.uk

Now, most seem to close to the public but, does that apply to all? I wouldn't have thought Crewe would close, as it is famous for its many connections.

Put in the context of the operator, having the platforms vacated at night is a much more attractive proposition than having passengers waiting there overnight.

 

[Ken H]

I stayed overnight in Carlisle a few times late 70's. Got the very late train from newcastle, slept in the waiting room and got the first train to Penrith the next morning. I had a thru Newcastle - Penrith ticket so no problems with BTP. Doubt i could do that now.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Neither MKC nor Bletchley closes overnight other than possibly on Saturday night. There is effectively an all night service - the unit that works the 0134 Euston to MKC doesn't "go to bed".

Obviously nor do minor unstaffed stations, but these two are fully open "indoors" other than the toilets.

 

[Brush 4]

It may be 'attractive' but, is not in the passengers best interests. Do they just wander the streets? From the link to the previous thread, it doesn't look as if any stations have 24 hr cafes any more, although a Costa machine is a good substitute, if there are any of those and if it isn't too cold on the concourse.

 

[JonathanH]

It may be 'attractive' but, is not in the passengers best interests. Do they just wander the streets?

Almost no one travels overnight by train with a three or four hour wait at an intermediate station. The railway certainly doesn't encourage it.

As 'Bletchleyite' pointed out, an overnight northward journey via Milton Keynes is possible - 0246 arrival for 0537 onwards - and the station is open all night, but even so it really isn't an attractive travel option.

 

[busestrains]

I reckon at least 90% of stations in the UK are open 24 hours a day. This includes pretty much all unstaffed stations and partially staffed stations. These remain open 24 hours a day and you can enter them at any time of the night. Most of them do not even have a gate or any way of locking them up. It is only the larger fully staffed stations that normally get locked up at night.

There are some larger fully staffed stations that remain open 24 hours a day though. East Croydon and Gatwick Airport and Three Bridges are examples of this. So a few do exist.

 

[Bertie the bus]

It may be 'attractive' but, is not in the passengers best interests. Do they just wander the streets?

Do who just wonder the streets? Are you suggesting making rail journeys that require a lengthy overnight stay on a railway station is common?

 

[Brush 4]

It used to be but, as we are seeing in other threads, even railway supporters are giving up on rail. I once did approx 1am to 5 am on BTM after arriving from BNS and waiting for the first Weymouth. The buffet on the platform outside the train shed (forget the number) was open and had 2 to 5 or 6 customers at various times through the night.

 

[matt_world2004]

Most of the main stations on the gwml mainline between reading and Paddington are open all night as the two hourly night service going in each direction means that it is pointless to close

 

[JonathanH]

Most of the main stations on the gwml mainline between reading and Paddington are open all night as the two hourly night service going in each direction means that it is pointless to close

Why is it pointless to lock up and make sure the station is clear? The doors just need to be opened up five to ten minutes before the timetabled time of the train.

 

[Bertie the bus]

It used to be but, as we are seeing in other threads, even railway supporters are giving up on rail. I once did approx 1am to 5 am on BTM after arriving from BNS and waiting for the first Weymouth. The buffet on the platform outside the train shed (forget the number) was open and had 2 to 5 or 6 customers at various times through the night.

It didn't used to be common at all. A fairly small number of rail enthusiasts did it, I was one in the 80s on all line rovers, but sitting on a station all night has never been common for normal passengers.

 

[Steve Harris]

I've done overnights on Bristol Temple Meads (very early 2000's to spot railnet stock) and Leeds in the late 80's on my way via the Settle - Carlisle line to Glasgow and hoping to get a class 58 for haulage.

Never had a problem at Bristol. But luckily at Leeds I got locked in the waiting room rather than being thrown off the station (it was February) as I was fast asleep on the wooden bench when they locked us in. I'd imagine nowadays that I would get turfed out, no matter what, into the cold night, as 2 teenage lads (a mate was travelling with me) in a waiting room would be viewed very differently (what with kids and antisocial behaviour labels) now.

 

[3rd rail land]

Why is it pointless to lock up and make sure the station is clear? The doors just need to be opened up five to ten minutes before the timetabled time of the train.

What would be the benefit of closing the station in between trains? If all the food & drink outlets are closed then I doubt many people are going to hang around the station. Maybe the odd person who comes in on one of night time services and is waiting for an early morning departure but is it really worth all the effort of telling them to leave the station and locking up the gates multiple times per night?

 

[Steve Harris]

It didn't used to be common at all. A fairly small number of rail enthusiasts did it, I was one in the 80s on all line rovers, but sitting on a station all night has never been common for normal passengers.

Indeed. I used to do all line rovers in the 80's and 90's. I can remember my plan to sleep on Inverness Station back in 1988. However I learnt there was a evening/late night southbound Glasgow service which you could catch to Blair Atholl and then get the overnight service back to Inverness, which I did, with me falling asleep and waking up as we pulled into Blair Atholl !! Luckily the northbound was running late so I didn't miss it.

Yes, most passengers don't do overnights. But when your young you tend to be more adventurous !

Besides, back then there was no Premier Inn/Travelodge or internet (to read reviews/ be able to book a room with so much ease).

What would be the benefit of closing the station in between trains? If all the food & drink outlets are closed then I doubt many people are going to hang around the station. Maybe the odd person who comes in on one of night time services and is waiting for an early morning departure but is it really worth all the effort of telling them to leave the station and locking up the gates multiple times per night?

I think the problem is what I alluded to in my above post, antisocial behaviour !!

If everyone behaved themselves then certain stations might stay open but I bet TOC's don't want to take a chance.

 

[William3000]

It wasn't long ago when the very idea of large stations closing for the night would have seemed ludicrous. Now, most seem to close to the public but, does that apply to all? I wouldn't have thought Crewe would close, as it is famous for its many connections.

This can also be a list of stations you have spent the night at, either waiting for a connection or, because you chose to do an all-nighter.
Mine are Waterloo, Temple Meads, BNS, Crewe, York, Doncaster. All in the 70's except Waterloo in 1988. All had a 24 hour buffet and waiting rooms. Doncaster had a small night buffet, closing when the daytime one opened. Trains of BRUTE trolleys clattered past at regular intervals, carrying newspapers and parcels. The station never slept, now it flakes out.

Can you still do this nowadays?

Small village unstaffed stations are effectively open 24-hours

 

[Brush 4]

It absolutely was commonplace. At BTM, BNS Crewe and York I was the only enthusiast. People came and went according to their connection, possibly sleepers, I didn't ask . The suitcases and trolleys were evidence of that. They weren't homeless. I recall the BTP coming in to check that each person was a genuine traveller. My BTM was a genuine travel connection, it was tipping it down all night so, apart from an occasional walk under the canopies towards Bath Rd depot, I stayed in the buffet. The main waiting room also had people sleeping on the benches or floor. The 1961 film Terminus shows exactly that in the waiting room at Waterloo. Of course with so many more services to the west then, beyond Exeter, there was far more choice to be had.

 

[david_g]

Going back a bit, my dad tells stories of returning to the REME at Wellington in Shropshire from Huddersfield after weekend leave while on National Service. The regular route was to catch the York - Swansea mail to Crewe, find an empty compartment or persuade a friendly guard to unlock one. This would preferably be on the stock for the first Crewe - Market Drayton - Wellington train in the morning which would get them back to barracks in time.
At that time (fifties) the railway would probably have been full of servicemen in similar circumstances overnighting in stations.

 

[matt_world2004]

Why is it pointless to lock up and make sure the station is clear? The doors just need to be opened up five to ten minutes before the timetabled time of the train.

Didn't say its pointless to look up and make sure the station is clear it's pointless to close the station because a two hour service in each direction. Becomes a one hour service when you factor in both directions . Indeed it would probably be a shorter closing time as the eastbound direction is more frequent than two hourly

Looking at Ealing Broadway throughout the night there appears to be a train roughly every 30 minutes

 

[Springs Branch]

What would be the benefit of closing the station in between trains? If all the food & drink outlets are closed then I doubt many people are going to hang around the station. Maybe the odd person who comes in on one of night time services and is waiting for an early morning departure but is it really worth all the effort of telling them to leave the station and locking up the gates multiple times per night?

As well as the antisocial behaviour aspect already mentioned, is there a chance that whoever manages the station in a large town or city wants to avoid the risk of attracting homeless people to sleep there.

There certainly are many more rough sleepers than in past decades, especially in London and the south-east, according to statistics. While there may nolonger be waiting rooms or buffets open all night, at least it's not hard to find a bench that's out of the rain on a larger railway station - or it shouldn't be hard.

Obviously a "station's closed now" rule means TOC, NR staff or BTP won't need to continually go around checking whether people on the platforms are genuine travellers, and having to move them on or deal with other 'fall out' that can accompany homelessness.

 

[Wychwood93]

Didn't say its pointless to look up and make sure the station is clear it's pointless to close the station because a two hour service in each direction. Becomes a one hour service when you factor in both directions . Indeed it would probably be a shorter closing time as the eastbound direction is more frequent than two hourly

Looking at Ealing Broadway throughout the night there appears to be a train roughly every 30 minutes

Looking at Twyford, 'one of those every couple of hours in the night' stations - it is only staffed, at best, from 0600-1900, so there would nobody there to do the rather pointless closure during the dark of the night. See: https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/TWY/details.html

 

[A S Leib]

When's Taunton open / closed? Returning via Taunton seems like more or less the only way to go from London to Fishguard and back without staying overnight in Pembrokeshire.

(London Paddington 0748
1034 Swansea 1058
1226 Fishguard Harbour

Fishguard Harbour 1905
1927 Clarbeston Road 1938
2209 Cardiff Central 2230
2336 Bristol Temple Meads 2348
0059 Taunton 0140
0504 London Paddington)

 

[Kingston Dan]

In the 1980s I once stayed overnight at Preston station waiting room waiting for my early morning connection (having left Aberdeen earlier) to Blackpool for the National Union of Students conference. Wasn't the only person trying to sleep in there wither. Not sure that can be done anymore.

 

[Jan Mayen]

Can't remember exactly, but probably about ten years ago London Victoria closed around 1am, then reopened 15 minutes before the 2am to Gatwick Airport, then closed until the next departure.
On one occasion, security refused to reopen the station as a lady by the gate was very loud in making her objection to being kept outside. The gate was opened with a few minutes to go.
Ever since then, I've tried to avoid Victoria for any departure after midnight.
Going back to this thread, I think St Pancras had Starbucks AND Pret open all night. This was pre-covid, not sure if it's the same now.

 

[Neo9320]

When's Taunton open / closed? Returning via Taunton seems like more or less the only way to go from London to Fishguard and back without staying overnight in Pembrokeshire.

(London Paddington 0748
1034 Swansea 1058
1226 Fishguard Harbour

Fishguard Harbour 1905
1927 Clarbeston Road 1938
2209 Cardiff Central 2230
2336 Bristol Temple Meads 2348
0059 Taunton 0140
0504 London Paddington)

I believe Taunton is accessible 24hrs (main entrance closed at 23:00 but side gate available) however the waiting rooms are locked (unsure what time, probably 23:00) and Starbucks closes at 19:00

 

[Metal_gee_man]

I'm thinking because of Thameslink Bedford would be open 24hrs as it has an all night service for Luton and Gatwick passengers, the same can probably be said about the other end of that service at Three Bridges.
Arguably Peterborough gets the same treatment as it has services throughout the night (albeit not as frequent as Bedford) and I think they employ security to empty the platform from inbound services and then shut the doors until the next departure

 

[Springs Branch]

One thing I recall about overnight train travel in the late 1970s / early 1980s is ticket offices being open very long hours.

I never did overnight festers at Carlisle or New Street, but I did use the northbound Bristol to Glasgow / Edinburgh Sleeper (in the seats) a few times to get an early start on Scottish jaunts from Wigan.

This called at 01:45 (give or take) and my modus operandi was to get the last bus into town from home, arriving at Wigan NW just before midnight.
The ticket office was staffed and I had no more difficulty buying an InterCity ticket with railcard discount from a man in a cardigan, or accessing the platforms at that time of night than I would doing so at mid-day.

I'm not sure how long the booking office at Wigan stayed open back then. Typically, there were departures at 00:10 (Stranraer), 01:45 (Glasgow/Edinburgh), 02:02 (Perth or Inverness), 03:02 (Euston ex Inverness & Fort William), 03:15 (Barrow, ex-Euston), 03:55 (Bristol) and 04:29 (Euston ex Stranraer). So maybe the booking office routinely stayed open all night for the trickle of passengers joining these trains - and if it did at Wigan, then ticket offices at 'overnight hubs' like Birmingham N.S most likely did too.

 

[NorthernSpirit]

It may be 'attractive' but, is not in the passengers best interests. Do they just wander the streets? From the link to the previous thread, it doesn't look as if any stations have 24 hr cafes any more, although a Costa machine is a good substitute, if there are any of those and if it isn't too cold on the concourse.

I fell asleep once in one of the toilet cubicals in Leeds after missing a connection there earlier this year, got to say it was a damn sight warmer than sleeping on the concourse as a handful of others had done. To be fair it was around half midnight and the station was quiet.

I've done overnights on Bristol Temple Meads (very early 2000's to spot railnet stock) and Leeds in the late 80's on my way via the Settle - Carlisle line to Glasgow and hoping to get a class 58 for haulage.

Never had a problem at Bristol. But luckily at Leeds I got locked in the waiting room rather than being thrown off the station (it was February) as I was fast asleep on the wooden bench when they locked us in. I'd imagine nowadays that I would get turfed out, no matter what, into the cold night, as 2 teenage lads (a mate was travelling with me) in a waiting room would be viewed very differently (what with kids and antisocial behaviour labels) now.

Leeds closes the platforms at around 0015 and reopens them again at 0445, meaning that you either have to sleep on the concourse or the alternative would be to walk it into the city centre to Premier Inn and book a bed for the night.

 

[Falcon1200]

When's Taunton open / closed? Returning via Taunton seems like more or less the only way to go from London to Fishguard and back without staying overnight in Pembrokeshire.

(London Paddington 0748
1034 Swansea 1058
1226 Fishguard Harbour

Fishguard Harbour 1905
1927 Clarbeston Road 1938
2209 Cardiff Central 2230
2336 Bristol Temple Meads 2348
0059 Taunton 0140
0504 London Paddington)

Not sure how many people would actually want to make a day trip between London and Fishguard, but there is a 1250 from Fishguard Harbour to Cardiff Central, connecting into a train from Cardiff arriving back at Paddington at 1840. And having passed through Fishguard a few times, 24 minutes seems plenty of time to see the place!

 

[Grumpy]

Manchester Airport station waiting rooms are open 24h