London's Worst Station

[wnr1990]

For me it's the Brixton southeastern station.

Aside from the fact that it's old, dirty, depressing, poorly located, not step-free and has no direct tube access, I have literally never seen a single staff member or BTP officer present there apart from the 1 person in the ticket office (which is closed most of the time).

It's especially bad at night when you have lots of homeless people hanging around the stairs (which feel like the setting for a horror movie). Brixton gets really busy on saturday and friday nights so there is really no excuse for no one to be patrolling it.

 

[Kite159]

And I dare say a hotbed of passengers who think payment is strictly optional unless they are traveling from one of the few stations on the South Eastern metro which have barriers.

 

[Mzzzs]

And I dare say a hotbed of passengers who think payment is strictly optional unless they are traveling from one of the few stations on the South Eastern metro which have barriers.

From experience i think thats a lot of south london

 

[DM352]

It may have improved recently but Elephant and Castle Thameslink

 

[Samzino]

Elephant and Castle definitely tops the list for me. Dilapidated, repugnant and a far cry from all the redevelopment in the area. It used to compliment the equally horrid Heygate Estate.

 

[wnr1990]

Elephant and Castle definitely tops the list for me. Dilapidated, repugnant and a far cry from all the redevelopment in the area. It used to compliment the equally horrid Heygate Estate.

The tube and thameslink stations are almost side by side yet after all these years you still have to walk all the way around New Kent Road and the very busy roundabout

 

[Recessio]

There's a lot of miserable, uninspiring stations on Thameslink. Elephant and Castle definitely springs to mind, but a whole host of them are just plain and boring places to wait with empty platforms and maybe a tin roof (e.g. most of the Sutton Loop, Mill Hill Broadway) , but that doesn't necessarily make them the worst.

My vote would be Essex Road. Has elevators which means you have to wait for them, but the station still isn't step free. It's dark and dingy, located in a somewhat crap area, and reminds me of the decrepit look that LU had in the 80s and 90s, having not received the decorations and upgrades most LU stations have since then. (You really notice this difference if you walk over to the GN platforms at an LU station such as Moorgate or Highbury and Islington), and being National Rail means the service interval on GN is massive compared to LU.

 

[TJM]

Euston. A picture tells a thousand words, need I say more? (Courtesy of Network Rail's "X" account)

 

[Techniquest]

For me, the worst that immediately springs to mind is Loughborough Junction. There's something seriously unpleasant in that whole area, I felt it when I ticked off the station years ago when 319s still ruled supreme and I felt it again last year. This time I had gone rather the wrong way on a cycle ride, and somehow ended up in the Loughborough Junction area. I was very glad to get away from there, I can assure you!

Brixton's definitely not very nice either, I don't often have need to use the station there on either Southeastern or LU, which is a good thing as I really don't like the mainline station at all. Not as bad as Loughborough Junction, granted, but I'd rather avoid the place at all costs!

 

[Tetchytyke]

Take your pick from any suburban London station tbh. I’d say South Bermondsey is the worst.

(Well, the worst now that Angel Road has shut, anyway).

 

[DarloRich]

Euston. A picture tells a thousand words, need I say more? (Courtesy of Network Rail's "X" account)

really? The worst station in London? It isn't even the worst station in Camden!

I’d say South Bermondsey is the worst.

i was going to suggest this - fairly bleak! Really grotty after the match on a cold January/February evening! ( it is next to the Millwall ground)

There is ( was?) a fenced off path straight into the away section!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Euston.

Nah! There's quite a lot wrong with Euston station, but London's worst, no chance!

My vote would also be for South Bermondsey station, particularly so after a Millwall FC evening match, but reckon there's quite possibly a few scary stations in the London area (that I've never actually been to, nor would ever want to) that are lot worse than that.

 

[NSE]

Hmmm depends. As a daily user of the Sutton loop, I’d agree that there is naff all there. No toilets, no staff, no lifts and majority of the Wimbledon side (Wimbledon excluded obv) don’t have a wealth of bus connections if you got stuck. That said, I don’t think the areas are that bad. Subjective, of course, but I think I’d rather hear my female friend tell me they’re stuck at South Merton then Peckham Rye.

I thought Slade Green was awful when I was there. The dark, dingy tunnel, that not very nice looking prefab station buildings you see across the network. Plus the people round there are not always the greatest. That’s certainly somewhere I don’t want a young female friend tell me they’re stuck.

 

[DarloRich]

particularly so after a Millwall FC evening match, but reckon there's quite possibly a few scary stations in the London area (that I've never actually been to, nor would ever want to) that are lot worse than that.

tbh i have never felt scared going to Millwall to watch the match but the station and area are pretty grotty. Even for someone from the north east..............

 

[TJM]

really? The worst station in London? It isn't even the worst station in Camden!


i was going to suggest this - fairly bleak! Really grotty after the match on a cold January/February evening! ( it is next to the Millwall ground)

There is ( was?) a fenced off path straight into the away section!

Nah! There's quite a lot wrong with Euston station, but London's worst, no chance!

My vote would also be for South Bermondsey station, particularly so after a Millwall FC evening match, but reckon there's quite possibly a few scary stations in the London area (that I've never actually been to, nor would ever want to) that are lot worse than that.

I can't think of many major stations where they've turned the main departure board into just a massive advertising display! Let alone the "Euston scrum", gateline/revenue staff attitudes, and all we've heard over the years..

 

[Tetchytyke]

I think it’s fair to say Euston is the worst terminal/main line station in London. It has been for a long time, even before the latest “improvements”.

Worst overall station in London though? Nah.

 

[TJM]

I think it’s fair to say Euston is the worst terminal/main line station in London. It has been for a long time, even before the latest “improvements”.

Worst overall station in London though? Nah.

I would argue it becomes worst just through the sheer number of people who are forced to interact with it! At least some lesser-known halts have an excuse..

 

[43066]

Elephant and Castle, East Croydon, Victoria (worst terminal in my view), Lewisham and Slade “Sludge” Green are all contenders.

Sludge is probably the worst. The last time I was there there was a dead rat on the platform, and a local chav sitting on a platform bench drinking a can of Stella at 10am. It’s an absolutely ghastly place.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I think it’s fair to say Euston is the worst terminal/main line station in London. It has been for a long time, even before the latest “improvements”.

I wouldn't agree. I dislike Liverpool Street far more, the layout is just kludgy and some of the platforms are no more "out in the open" than Euston, and the fancy architecture is mostly fake. I must be one of the few that think the forthcoming development will likely improve the place.

20 years ago or so I thought Paddington was worse still - amazing architecture, but totally ruined by it stinking of fumes, oil and human urine and faeces. But post-electrification and retention tanks I now quite like it. Plus the distant suburban platforms (worse at the time than Manc Picc 13/14 due to the narrow access) aren't used as heavily as they were post Lizzie.

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

Euston. A picture tells a thousand words, need I say more? (Courtesy of Network Rail's "X" account)

The picture shows a covered, indoors station with temperature control, toilets, shops, restaurants, large booking hall, a wealth of staff and a large police presence; I think one can do worse

 

[Bletchleyite]

The picture shows a covered, indoors station with temperature control, toilets, shops, restaurants, large booking hall, a wealth of staff and a large police presence; I think one can do worse

Euston is to me fine except three things:
1. The stupid new departure boards (fixed by putting it back the way it was).
2. The Euston scrum (fixable in lots of ways, it's had its own threads so no need to clog this one up with them). It's also not exclusive to Euston, all London terminals (and a few Scottish ones like Inverness) have a similar problem due to the method of operation.
3. The toilets stink and have a free bidet service due to the silly location of the flush sensor (both should be fixable easily enough by adding a higher level of extractor fan performance/ducting, and moving the sensors to the side so your body doesn't trigger them while seated).

 

[TJM]

The picture shows a covered, indoors station with temperature control, toilets, shops, restaurants, large booking hall, a wealth of staff and a large police presence; I think one can do worse

One doth protest as to temperature control and staff availability! Frozen in winter, barbecued in summer - and that's if you can even find staff who don't only want to give you a nice big penalty fare.. (or a regular fare, which are practically the same thing on that part of the network)

 

[TT-ONR-NRN]

One doth protest as to temperature control and staff availability! Frozen in winter, barbecued in summer - and that's if you can even find staff who don't only want to give you a nice big penalty fare..

I don’t deny that it’s (Avanti) staff are famously horrible, but even if ungracious I know I’d rather have staff at somewhere like Norbury or aforementioned Brixton.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Frozen in winter, barbecued in summer

Wha? I've never found the temperature on the Euston concourse an issue at any time of year. Unlike a traditional station, like Paddington, where it is indeed freezing in winter and excessively hot in summer.

- and that's if you can even find staff who don't only want to give you a nice big penalty fare..

Point of order, the problem staff at Euston work for Avanti, and Avanti are not a Penalty Fares TOC. The WMT staff are fine and are not PF-happy unless the Brummie revenue squad pays a visit, and even they prefer PFs to prosecutions.

I don’t deny that it’s (Avanti) staff are famously horrible, but even if ungracious I know I’d rather have staff at somewhere like Norbury or aforementioned Brixton.

I'm no fan of Euston's Avanti staff, but if you want really poor quality gateline staff who can issue PFs rather than just wrongly refusing boarding* try Victoria (they must all be ex-London bus drivers, they just grunt at you) or anywhere on Northern (cheap poorly trained contract security guards).

* I don't think I've ever seen Avanti check arrivals, so even if they did do PFs there's no scope for the Euston staff to actually issue them.

 

[stuu]

Loughborough Junction would definitely near the top of the list of "places I wouldn't want to be stuck after dark". E&C is horrible, and very surprising they haven't got any money out of the developers to improve it. A lof of the Southeastern inners is grim though, so narrowing it down to one is tricky

 

[bramling]

Elephant and Castle, East Croydon, Victoria (worst terminal in my view), Lewisham and Slade “Sludge” Green are all contenders.

Sludge is probably the worst. The last time I was there there was a dead rat on the platform, and a local chav sitting on a platform bench drinking a can of Stella at 10am. It’s an absolutely ghastly place.

Out of interest, what’s wrong with East Croydon? Apart from that changing platforms can be a pain due to the long ramps, I’ve never found the place too bad to use, and the clientele isn’t as bad as some of the other places on your list!

As for termini, for me it has to be Euston. It would be okay if not as busy, but it’s become one of those places where everything they have attempted to do to it has just made things worse. Even the escalators / lifts down to the LU ticket hall seem to be out of use half the time (which doesn’t bother me as I’m a fitness freak, but it does bother me that crowds then use the - sole flight of - stairs in consequence!).

 

[Bletchleyite]

Loughborough Junction would definitely near the top of the list of "places I wouldn't want to be stuck after dark". E&C is horrible, and very surprising they haven't got any money out of the developers to improve it. A lof of the Southeastern inners is grim though, so narrowing it down to one is tricky

Yes, they really are a poor relation compared to LO and LU. Perhaps they (stations and innersuburban Southeastern and Southern services) should be transferred to LO, at least that would resolve the issue of them being chronically underinvested.

Out of interest, what’s wrong with East Croydon? Apart from that changing platforms can be a pain due to the long ramps, I’ve never found the place too bad to use, and the clientele isn’t as bad as some of the other places on your list!

I've used it and it's definitely not the worst, though it suffers from the same "staff who only grunt at you" issue as Victoria at times.

 

[Islineclear3_1]

I reckon most stations in the Southern/Southeastern metro area due to decline in maintenance and especially the unstaffed/ungated ones where undesirables are free to roam and do as they please

 

[61653 HTAFC]

For terminals, my vote goes to the St. Pancras MML platforms. Crowded and cramped, and stuck out on an annexe in the corner like a ginger stepchild.

For smaller stations it's a little tougher, as I haven't done much suburban hopping for a while. Berrylands was always bleak and stank due to the nearby sewage works, but if you held your nose it wasn't so bad. There was always a rather foreboding atmosphere around Morden South when I used it semi-frequently.

 

[PGAT]

Stations between Sutton and Wimbledon, Stations on the Epsom Downs branch, and Loughborough Junction + Elephant & Castle are def at the bottom of my list