Stations on the up (better now than they have ever been)

[Cricketer8for9]

As a companion to the stations which have lost their previous higher status are there stations which are now as grand as they have ever been?

My candidates would be Stratford, King’s Cross and London Bridge.

Stratford has trains to places never contemplated in olden days - Heathrow, Reading, Richmond and (with the Underground) London Bridge.

King’s Cross may have lost some services but is as good architecturally now as ever before.

And I do like London Bridge - the space, the wider platforms and, to this Central Division passenger still the wonder of seeing South Eastern trains to the West when coming into London Bridge from the south.

 

[Mikey C]

Reading (as featured on Tim Dunne's programme this week) would surely count as another.

Or the likes of Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal which have gained new DLR services.

Cambridge is much more important than it was too.

 

[Eskimo]

St. Pancras (International) - the obvious choice.

Leeds? Remodelled/Rebuilt like a HbF and 24hr services.. still?

 

[D6130]

Edinburgh Waverley

 

[Lloyds siding]

Sandhills on the Merseyrail system is undoubtedly better now than in the past. When I was young waiting on the Ormskirk line platform was rather miserable. The platform was made of wood and literally leapt up and down when the locomotive hauled expresses thundered through. I don't remember any waiting room on that platform.There was a canopy. Now there is still a canopy, warm waiting room, well built platforms and ticket office...but no expresses. It looks better too.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Sandhills looks quite German or Swiss now.

Manchester Picc is pretty good in its more recent form.

I know there won't be agreement, but Birmingham New St.

 

[satisnek]

Bromsgrove must be a contender.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

St. Pancras (International) - the obvious choice.

Leeds? Remodelled/Rebuilt like a HbF and 24hr services.. still?

The 24hr services at Leeds started before the rebuild. Good shout though, it's a much nicer place to change trains than it was 25 years ago... though growth in usage has outstripped the capacity improvements!

Though coming from a very low starting point, Wakefield Kirkgate has (or had, pre-Covid) as good a service as it's had for years including London trains. The facilities still leave a bit to be desired, mind.

 

[plugwash]

Cambridge is much more important than it was too.

Unfortunately it also seems to be a place where heritage and/or cost considerations have won out over making the station convenient for passengers.

 

[Magdalia]

St. Pancras (International) - the obvious choice.

King’s Cross may have lost some services but is as good architecturally now as ever before.

Kings Cross is better now than before, with the removal of the old 1970s concourse from the front of the station and replacement with the new Western Concourse.

And the whole area around St Pancras and Kings Cross has been transformed, not just the stations.

I would also add Liverpool Street, though I appreciate that lots of people here won't be old enough to remember the old station!

Cambridge is much more important than it was too.

Unfortunately it also seems to be a place where heritage and/or cost considerations have won out over making the station convenient for passengers.

Cambridge has new platforms and, like Kings Cross/St Pancras, the area surrounding the station has been transformed. In that respect it is now much more convenient for passengers, at last having a taxi rank and bus stands that can cope with the traffic, plus bars and cafes. The heritage considerations are important, the main station building is listed.

A new nomination from me is Peterborough, which rapidly grew in importance after the remodelling completed 50 years ago this month, and it has been further expanded more recently. But the area around the station is not good and it was one of the winners in the recent levelling up grants announcement.

it's a somewhat old fashioned phrase which relies on someone knowing it relates to having worn through the soles of their shoe and walking on upper part, on their uppers.

Different from 'on the up' which means getting better and improving in situation.

Regarding the language, this is a good summary.

 

[daodao]

Manchester Picc is pretty good in its more recent form.

I know there won't be agreement, but Birmingham New St.

The main station at Manchester Piccadilly is good, and there are plenty of amenities. However, a large percentage of the train services call at platforms 13 and 14, which are appalling, and completely unsuitable for long distance services. These should either terminate in the main train shed at Piccadilly (from the south), or Victoria if entering Manchester via Salford Crescent or Eccles, leaving the ex-MSJ&A Castlefield line for short distance suburban services, for which it was originally designed. Manchester Victoria is preferable to platforms 13 and 14 at Piccadilly.

The concourse and amenities at Birmingham New Street are improved, but the platforms and access to them are as congested and unpleasant as ever.

 

[Falcon1200]

These should either terminate in the main train shed at Piccadilly (from the south), or Victoria if entering Manchester via Salford Crescent or Eccles, leaving the ex-MSJ&A Castlefield line for short distance suburban services, for which it was originally designed.

13 and 14 could indeed be far better, better still would be quadrupling the corridor, albeit rather expensive. But a number of the long distance trains can only run via 13 and 14, eg Manchester Airport/Scotland and Norwich/Liverpool, as can medium distance cross-Manchester links to the likes of Blackpool, Barrow, Windermere etc.

 

[daodao]

But a number of the long distance trains can only run via 13 and 14, eg Manchester Airport/Scotland and Norwich/Liverpool,

Long distance services such as Scotland to Manchester via the WCML should be diverted to terminate at Manchester Victoria, a far more suitable central Manchester station than Piccadilly platforms 13 and 14. The regional Manchester Airport should be served solely by trains originating from within the NW England region, i.e. historic Cheshire and Lancashire.

 

[Ken H]

Long distance services such as Scotland to Manchester via the WCML should be diverted to terminate at Manchester Victoria, a far more suitable central Manchester station than Piccadilly platforms 13 and 14. The regional Manchester Airport should be served solely by trains originating from within the NW England region, i.e. historic Cheshire and Lancashire.

The Scotland - Manc trains stop at a lot of Lancashire stations.

 

[LickeyIncliner]

I wouldn't claim it's grand, but as a smaller station which is physically better and better served than ever before, I'd nominate Bromsgrove:
- two platforms from Victorian era to the 1960s
- reduced to one platform with a Portakabin booking office/waiting room, which in turn was replaced with a bus shelter
- expanded (1990s?) to two platforms each with a bus shelter
- recently rebuilt slightly to the south (arguably, where it should have been built originally) with four platforms and proper buildings.

("Better served" is a generalisation about the situation since rebuilding and electrification - I'm not considering variations during/since the pandemic)

 

[daodao]

The Scotland - Manc trains stop at a lot of Lancashire stations.

Nearly all of which are served by Manchester-Blackpool trains.

 

[PTR 444]

As a companion to the stations which have lost their previous higher status are there stations which are now as grand as they have ever been?

My candidates would be Stratford, King’s Cross and London Bridge.

Stratford has trains to places never contemplated in olden days - Heathrow, Reading, Richmond and (with the Underground) London Bridge.

King’s Cross may have lost some services but is as good architecturally now as ever before.

And I do like London Bridge - the space, the wider platforms and, to this Central Division passenger still the wonder of seeing South Eastern trains to the West when coming into London Bridge from the south.

Bicester Village?

 

[Dr Hoo]

Edinburgh Haymarket
Bristol Parkway
Abbey Wood
Coventry
Gatwick Airport seems to be getting bigger all the time
Ely might not have grown structurally but probably has its best services ever

 

[steamybrian]

Canary Wharf- opened as a 2 platform station on the DLR and now a major interchange station used by over 40 million passengers per year.
Similarly Farringdon is now a major interchange station.

Outside London I would suggest Peterborough as the construction a few years ago of additional platforms to accommodate services around the country.

 

[DelW]

I'd say that Waterloo is better now than at any time since I've been using it, and probably better than at any time since WW2. I think that the roof repairs and reglazing done a few years ago finally repaired wartime bomb damage, following which many roof panels had been boarded over rather than having their glass replaced (understandable at the time of course).

As a result the platforms are much brighter than they used to be, especially on sunny days. The terrazo paving on the concourse also gives a brighter and airier feel, and the relocation of most shops to the mezzanine has made the concourse less cluttered and improved circulation.

The huge clock over the concourse was renovated and forms a real centrepiece, and the boarded-off area from the old Eurostar station has been sorted out and rejoined to the main station.

Overall it's been quite a low-key renovation programme over a number of years, but I think that the ambience has been greatly improved from a few decades ago.

 

[Cambus731]

Burnley Manchester Road is much improved with a ticket hall/waiting room on its eastbound side.
It used to be just two platforms with a bus shelter on each one.

 

[Elecman]

Burnley Manchester Road is much improved with a ticket hall/waiting room on its eastbound side.
It used to be just two platforms with a bus shelter on each one.

I was born in the former pub just outside the station ( now is/was an Ice Cream parlour)

 

[Revaulx]

Sandhills looks quite German or Swiss now.

Manchester Picc is pretty good in its more recent form.

I know there won't be agreement, but Birmingham New St.

If 13 and 14 weren’t so important, Picc would be pretty much perfect.

Birmingham New St is vastly better now for the passenger arriving and departing from there, but having to remember which bridge to use when changing is a major pain. And while obviously not the railway’s fault, the walk to Moor Street is just as nasty as ever.

 

[Brissle Girl]

Cardiff Bay (formerly Bute Road) used to have only a handful of peak trains back in the 70s, but now has 5 an hour for around 18 hours a day, and is about to get a major revamp including a second platform as well as a 6th hourly train.

 

[William3000]

Reading (as featured on Tim Dunne's programme this week) would surely count as another.

Or the likes of Greenwich and Woolwich Arsenal which have gained new DLR services.

Cambridge is much more important than it was too.

Cambridge is certainly bigger with two extra platforms but it’s always been fairly important on that line - as far as I’m aware there have never been any services (except those diverted) that are regularly timed that do not stop there.

Edinburgh Haymarket
Bristol Parkway
Abbey Wood
Coventry
Gatwick Airport seems to be getting bigger all the time
Ely might not have grown structurally but probably has its best services ever

There can’t be many places as small as Ely with as many direct destinations. From Ely one can get regular direct train services to Alfreton, Birmingham New Street, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Downham Market, Grantham, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Liverpool Lime Street, London King’s Cross, Leicester, London Liverpool Street, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Piccadilly, March, Melton Mowbray, Norwich, Nottingham, Nuneaton, Oakham, Peterborough, Sheffield, Stamford, Stansted Airport, Stockport, Stowmarket, Thetford, Warrington Central, and Widnes.

 

[Falcon1200]

Long distance services such as Scotland to Manchester via the WCML should be diverted to terminate at Manchester Victoria, a far more suitable central Manchester station than Piccadilly platforms 13 and 14.

I would very much disagree with that, there are good reasons why BR built the Windsor Link and diverted so many services over it, the connections at Piccadilly and the ability to run through to Manchester Airport being two. The problem really is that the through platforms are inadequate for the traffic, but as already mentioned resolving that would be hugely expensive.

 

[ChrisEL]

On a smaller scale, Motspur Park and Stoneleigh are due to get step-free access from both sides (they're both an island platform) imminently in the form of a new bridge with lifts.

Wessex Access for All schemes - Network Rail

We will be completing multiple Access for All projects across the region. The Access for All programme is a £350 million scheme to provide an obstacle free, accessible route to and between station platforms. Why is this work needed? We are working in partnership with the Department for...

www.networkrail.co.uk

 

[SteelWeelApeal]

There can’t be many places as small as Ely with as many direct destinations. From Ely one can get regular direct train services to Alfreton, Birmingham New Street, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Downham Market, Grantham, Ipswich, King’s Lynn, Liverpool Lime Street, London King’s Cross, Leicester, London Liverpool Street, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Piccadilly, March, Melton Mowbray, Norwich, Nottingham, Nuneaton, Oakham, Peterborough, Sheffield, Stamford, Stansted Airport, Stockport, Stowmarket, Thetford, Warrington Central, and Widnes.

Indeed I struggled to think of somewhere the size of Ely with as many destinations, before settling on Berwick upon Tweed (as far north as Inverness and south as Penzance). Anyway, that’s for another thread so I’ll leave it there.

 

[Fazaar1889]

Idk if it counts but Guildford station is getting redeveloped and the new design doesn't look half bad tbh. Going from a grey and empty site to a denser one is always good in my books.

 

[IanXC]

Pilning?

Now only on the Up, recently gained overhead wires and passengers up 10 fold in recent years.

Ba-dum-tss.