Smartest and shabbiest stations

[Harlesden]

Excluding London termini, which is the smartest station and which is the shabbiest served by fast long distance services.
Aside from general appearance, also thinking about ambience and layout/ease of use.

 

[Golden Gripper]

Among the shabbiest I would probably include Shrewsbury. A lot of it looks distincly worn and battered. ATW have, for a number of years, been promising a revamp of the station, with direct access from the booking hall to platform 3 and the current waiting room and customer service point swapping round, so that you see customer services as soon as you come up the stairs.

The refreshment room is a spartan and echoy too, and poorly cared for. A couple of years ago there was a sticking door from platform 7; it took them nearly a year to fix it. People would walk in, leave the door to close behind them which would then stick about a foot open. It could produce some viscious draughts.

 

[rdeez]

I hesistantly nominate Stafford (and Wolverhampton, since they're of very similar design) for shabbiness. I say hesitantly because they're clean, but the 60s brutalism doesn't really do it for me and everywhere looks cold, dull and oppressive. The recent 'refurb' at Stafford brought natural light to about half the covered areas on platforms 3-6, but the rest remains dark and pretty dingy.

Smartest? A lot of really lovely stations out there. I'm fond of Moor Street in Birmingham and Great Malvern. They both retain their character and particularly at Moor Street you can see the effort that has been put into making them pleasant places to be - real plants for example.

 

[tsr]

Notwithstanding the electrical equipment and gravel area just outside the station boundary, Winchelsea is one of the smartest small stations I've visited (but sadly I haven't yet actually used a train to or from it!). The local schoolkids seem to have provided some decorations, it has a nice little help point amongst some planters/hanging basket-y things, and the overall decor was neat.

I have also recently been impressed by Marylebone's colour scheme, welcomingly efficient train service and overall cleanliness.

The beautiful restoration & maintenance of Battersea Park's ticket hall, with its lofty roof and airy open space, plus the neatly-laid-out facilities, is pretty smart.

I also find Rotherhithe to be a fairly nice station to visit. Yes, it's not big and has few facilities, but it's clean, relatively quiet and is nicely proportioned.

Bere Ferrers was quite welcoming & very characterful when I last passed by and had a glimpse. Naturally, I liked the old signage and the overall character, and the slight obscurity of the route in its present form.

One of the shabbiest I've ever used is Wanborough - I don't know if anything has been done very recently, but the last time I was there, the station buildings were thoroughly derelict, with peeling paint and rotting wood everywhere. The footbridge wasn't too bad, though, and the screens & TVM(s?) were working OK.

I was also deeply unimpressed by the lack of any warm or vaguely pleasant waiting facilities at Dartford during a rainstorm recently. I know it's being refurbished, but it was really quite putrid - random metalwork protruding from the platforms, missing roofing, grotty stairs & some pretty ugly architecture beyond the ticket barriers. Very little seemed to have been done to make it enjoyable!

Lastly, I was not amused by Paignton's NR station. Lots of areas which felt spartan and/or dirty. The footbridge was nice enough, though.

 

[DavidBrown]

Lastly, I was not amused by Paignton's NR station. Lots of areas which felt spartan and/or dirty. The footbridge was nice enough, though.

Weirdly, I would say that it was the footbridge that makes Paignton look a bit more run down than it actually is - overall the rest of the station isn't bad, if not high on the 'nice' list.

One definite for the shabby list is Exeter Central. The ticket hall has not long had a major refurbishment and expansion and now feels really quite nice. Sadly the rest of the station feels very decayed. The footbridge also had a bit of a refresh, but the new plain white tiles make it feel more like a refreshed public toilet than a railway station. The platforms are cold and unwelcoming, and the new waiting room on P3 very much has the feel of a temporary shelter that does nothing to shelter you from the cold.

 

[yorksrob]

Bexhill Central, Eastbourne, Lewes and Brighton all seem very smart. Alas, Redhill and Gatwick Airport seem less well looked after.

 

[noddingdonkey]

On the shabby front - Brighouse, Mirfield, Pontefract Monkhill... all served by Grand Central, all basic unstaffed halts where a bus shelter is about as much as you get by the way of facilities. Plus the infamous Wakefield Kirkgate, obviously.

 

[LouJ]

i hesistantly nominate Stafford (and Wolverhampton, since they're of very similar design) for shabbiness. I say hesitantly because they're clean, but the 60s brutalism doesn't really do it for me and everywhere looks cold, dull and oppressive. The recent 'refurb' at Stafford brought natural light to about half the covered areas on platforms 3-6, but the rest remains dark and pretty dingy.

Stafford station sadly suffers from 1960's architecture but does have the benefit of staff that really take care of what they have to work with. Spotlessly clean the station is a great place to commute from. The staff are also amongst the most customer friendly in the UK.

 

[CalderRail]

On the shabby front - Brighouse, Mirfield, Pontefract Monkhill... all served by Grand Central, all basic unstaffed halts where a bus shelter is about as much as you get by the way of facilities. Plus the infamous Wakefield Kirkgate, obviously.

Wakefield Kirkgate has to win this, hands down no questions asked.

Brighouse is... basic, but functional. I wouldn't call it shabby, it's simply absolutely no frills - which is due to it being reinstituted relatively recently and having to justify its existence with as much profit as possible.

 

[ECML180]

I'll second Moor Street as a very smart station, however I'm not a regular visitor to Birmingham and Snow Hill actually quite impressed me! In some parts it's dark and a bit dingy but it seemed very well kept and quite pleasant too.

 

[cf111]

Invergordon's murals are very interesting. Some of them are quite haunting as well. A quick Google search will show some examples.

 

[thenorthern]

Manchester Piccadilly is quite smart although I find platforms 13 and 14 are beginning to show their age. Newcastle station is allright inside and Stoke-on-Trent has a ok inside with loads of lighting.

I have to say the worst station I have come across is Coventry as it looks like its been left since the 1960's.

 

[tsr]

Alas, Redhill and Gatwick Airport seem less well looked after.

Redhill is gradually being refurbished, and improvements to come include a public footbridge, two new entrances, new lifts, new shops, better car parking, etc. Unfortunately, Southern had previously decided to refresh about half the facilities anyway, so it remains to be seen what they will do with those areas (toilets and new waiting shelters). Gatwick is in the middle of a refresh, with new signs, quite nice (even if dull!) gateline areas, and a new platform, plus new surfaces on the existing platforms, which are being added as I type. So I'm not really complaining about either, and I use both stations more than most people!

 

[ushawk]

Brighton is much nicer after the refurbishment and is much more open. The station building at Hastings is smart too, although the platforms aren't the nicest.

Moor Street in Birmingham is a good looking station too and the way it has been made to look like is very nice.

Portsmouth Harbour is quite a shabby station which needs some TLC - though it's position on a pier doesn't help things.

 

[47802]

Wakefield Kirkgate has to win this, hands down no questions asked.

Brighouse is... basic, but functional. I wouldn't call it shabby, it's simply absolutely no frills - which is due to it being reinstituted relatively recently and having to justify its existence with as much profit as possible.

I would a agree Wakefield Kirkgate virtually unchanged from when I was a kid in the 70's but it is of course finally being repaired and upgraded, but then its only in recent years its actually had a half decent service with more and faster trains on the Sheffield route and the GC Service.

 

[GRALISTAIR]

Among the shabbiest I would probably include Shrewsbury.

I tend to agree - and whilst slightly OT - I would fix it by electrifying Wolverhampton-Shrewsbury and while doing the work completely revamp the station and give through London -Shrewsbury electric service. (well I can hope!)

 

[6Gman]

I'll second Moor Street as a very smart station, however I'm not a regular visitor to Birmingham and Snow Hill actually quite impressed me! In some parts it's dark and a bit dingy but it seemed very well kept and quite pleasant too.

I'm afraid Snow Hill loses points because the station entrance and the station platforms are several miles apart!

[Slight exaggeration, and nothing to do with shabbiness]

 

[Ministry Man]

Agree about Redhill - grim. Dorking Main and Deepdene not much better. Manchester Piccadilly Platforms are 13 &14 really shabby, even the TV in the waiting area gave up the ghost. Hopefully Manchester Victoria will soon look better.

 

[theageofthetra]

I would rate Bat & Ball as one of the worst in the south.Of the good ones, Gipsy Hill has had a nice sympathetic refurb as has Crystal Palace post L.O, though Denmark Hill is still a favorite due to the lovely warm pub you can wait in which was technically once part of the station.

 

[Flamingo]

On the smartest, I would have to place Kemble. However, given the passengers that use it, it's hardly surprising...

Shabbiest for a long time was Swansea, but it's not too bad now.

 

[MK Tom]

Smartest... I'm probably going to opt for Wellingborough or Kettering for their unharmed Midland Railway architecture and generally pleasant ambiance. Brighton is also a very high ranker, as is Leamington Spa. The modernised Derby is also very smart.

Shabbiest... some of the 1960s WCML stations like Hemel Hempstead or Northampton, but that being said I actually really like Coventry and Stafford, both of which strike me as orderly, clean and tidy. Wolverhampton is a tip (the station, not the city which I find quite underrated), but the unexpected winner for 'shabbiest station I've visited' goes to Oxford. Overcrowded, dirty, ugly buildings, ugly surroundings, esepcially given the fact it's Oxford, and a lot of unused space lying derelict around it.

 

[rdeez]

Stafford station sadly suffers from 1960's architecture but does have the benefit of staff that really take care of what they have to work with. Spotlessly clean the station is a great place to commute from. The staff are also amongst the most customer friendly in the UK.

You are right, can't fault the cleanliness, or the staff. The station's Facebook presence is a particularly nice example of the good interaction between the staff and customers.

 

[alwaystouchout]

Stockport station always gets a bad press but I don't think it's too shabby. Bolton isn't much to the eye but functional, much like Macclesfield. Manchester Victoria is just abominable but that'll change with the refurb. Stalybridge station is tidy since the refurb and has a great pub at the platform.

Stoke-on-Trent station is smart but in need of a deep clean I feel.

What does Nottingham look like these days? I haven't been up since the station was remodelled.

 

[Morgsie]

Smart: Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham Moor St
Shabby: Southampton Central, Crewe, Stoke-On-Trent

 

[Manchester77]

Manchester Piccadilly is a very smart looking station and with the changes to the through lines and the addition of platforms 15&16 hopefully they too will be the same standard as the main station.
Buxton, in my opinion, is too quite smart looking with the midland fanlights but modern booking hall!
Llandudno when I was last there seemed shabby and unloved with its disused lines cut back roof. Has this changed much?

 

[thenorthern]

I think without Platforms 13 and 14 Manchester Piccadilly would win hands down for smartest station, I never get why 13 and 14 have never been refurbished though as the paint is blistering and last time I was there I think it still had CRT information board instead of LED ones.

Looking back though many stations such as Tamworth, Stafford, Wigan North Western, Congleton and Macclesfield were rebuilt during WCML electrification which make explain why they are shabby 1960s buildings.

Although not a major station quite a few people I have met say Kidsgrove is a station that looks like a rubbish dump.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Up until just before xmas, I'd have nominated Wakefield Westgate as a rather shabby station, especially considering it has 2 intercity trains to London each hour. I haven't visited the new buildings yet, but from photos they look to be a massive improvement on the old. Now, I'd say Doncaster is a bit of a mess considering it's importance.

Dewsbury is rather smart, and the recently installed lifts haven't ruined the smart old footbridge. The pub is also very nice, and thanks to it (the station, not the pub!) not having barriers (unlike Huddersfield) means it's far easier to grab a pint while waiting for a train. The only real downside is that once you exit the station, things go downhill rather quickly!

 

[dk1]

I'll second Moor Street as a very smart station, however I'm not a regular visitor to Birmingham and Snow Hill actually quite impressed me! In some parts it's dark and a bit dingy but it seemed very well kept and quite pleasant too.

Haven't 'Centenary' opened refreshment rooms or kiosk at Snow hill recently too?
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Smart: Manchester Piccadilly, Birmingham Moor St
Shabby: Southampton Central, Crewe, Stoke-On-Trent

I must disagree a little with Stoke. I always find it really pleasent. I like the brick effect in the 1st class lounge too but always think they need barriers for revenue protection but thats always a contecious issue on here.

 

[GWRtom]

Smartestt Pancras.
Shabbiest:Thornford.

 

[8J]

I think once the platforms are refurbished, Lime St could be up there. I like the architecture at that station and it looks very good at night. But for now, Man Picc or Glasgow Central I think.


Shabbiest... well there are loads really. Dont like Stevenage, Stafford or Coventry, but I think Crewe is the worst.