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Stations to avoid and why

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TheSel

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Manchester Victoria

...
- One way stair system not followed by most passengers
...

On my visits, I'm always tempted to burst into song [from 'If I was a Rich Man']

There would be one long staircase just going up,
And one even longer coming down,
And one more leading nowhere, just for show.
 
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Bletchleyite

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Manchester Victoria is utterly grim. The only hope I hold out for it is that the new Arena at Eastlands is so successful that the Nynex[1] closes and so the whole thing can be flattened and rebuilt as the kind of large station Manchester deserves, rather than the ******* son of what New St would be like if it was a third of the size and was mostly full of particulate-belching 1980s DMUs.

[1] I like showing my age :)
 

Llandudno

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Manchester’s principle stations do not portray a very good first impression when visiting this revitalised city:

Manchester Victoria as mentioned in previous posts, but add the potentially dangerous access to the Metrolink platforms from the main station especially for those from outside Manchester who not familiar with tram operation.

Manchester Piccadilly. Platforms 13 & 14. No comment necessary
The station approach to Piccadilly main entrance littered with dodgy looking characters

Oxford Road. Dismal and cold, poor waiting facilites and one of the platforms out of service because of no lift access.

Deansgate. Limited service with regular late running trains. Might be better closing it and focussing on an updated Oxford Road.

Salford Crescent. Now a increasingly important interchange station. But one island platform with virtually no facilites totally inadequate for the volume of passengers.

On the outskirts of the city the following stations are not particularly conducive to enticing car drivers out of their cars either:
Ardwick
Ashburys
Belle Vue
Levenshulme
Ryder Brow
Humphrey Park

etc...
 

AY1975

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Polesworth.

You are likely to have a long wait for a train as with the emergency timetable even the 1 train a day no longer stops .

Yes, and Pilning has only two trains per week on Saturdays only, eastbound only - not sure if they are still operating in the current emergency timetable.

Also Wedgwood, Barlaston and Norton Bridge: I think Norton Bridge has now officially closed (in any case the footbridge has been removed so the platform is inaccessible) but Wedgwood and Barlaston are currently nominally still open but again access to the platforms has been sealed off and no trains have called there regularly since the early 2000s, only rail replacement buses. See also these threads on NB, W and B: www.railforums.co.uk/threads/wedgwood-barlaston-and-norton-bridge-stations.197904 and www.railforums.co.uk/threads/the-future-of-barlaston-norton-bridge-wedgwood-railway-stations.136159/
 

PeterC

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St. Pancras: an overcrowded shopping centre which is rumoured to have some trains hidden in there somewhere.
Actually its a very nice shopping centre although the rumour about there being a station somewhere in the complex does create problems with crowding from time to time. Personally I don't believe it.
 

duffield

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St. Pancras: an overcrowded shopping centre which is rumoured to have some trains hidden in there somewhere.
St. Pancras is OK if you're changing between MML/HS1 domestic/Thameslink - you're not in the crowds for very long, typically I can get from the MML platforms to Thamselink in under 5 mins without undue rush.

Changing to/from the underground (or Eurostar I guess) is not so good though.
 

CaptainHaddock

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No mention for Wakefield Kirkgate as yet?

Despite the half-hearted attempts at renovation, it's still a rundown and dilapadated mess in a dodgy part of town and, since the subway has been closed at Kirkgate roundabout, it's even more difficult to get from and to the town centre. The shelter on platform 2/3 has been removed and building work on a replacement appears to have been stopped. And if that wasn't enough, the subway features a 30 second recording of either Jerusalem or Ilkley Moor Baht'at that just loops over and over again, to the great annoyance of anyone waiting for a train!
 

Trackman

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Manchester Victoria is utterly grim. The only hope I hold out for it is that the new Arena at Eastlands is so successful that the Nynex[1] closes and so the whole thing can be flattened and rebuilt as the kind of large station Manchester deserves, rather than the ******* son of what New St would be like if it was a third of the size and was mostly full of particulate-belching 1980s DMUs.

[1] I like showing my age :)

I don't think I've been there for over 12 months, but I can still smell it.
 

xotGD

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Middlesbrough.

If you leave the station you will find yourself in Middlesbrough. Reason enough! ;)

If you don't leave the station, however, the cafe does excellent coffee.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Another planet...
St. Pancras is OK if you're changing between MML/HS1 domestic/Thameslink - you're not in the crowds for very long, typically I can get from the MML platforms to Thamselink in under 5 mins without undue rush.

Changing to/from the underground (or Eurostar I guess) is not so good though.
The MML part is the worst IMO, cramped and feels like an afterthought even though it wasn't. Departing on Eurostar isn't too bad, as once you've got through security there's plenty of space and you get to enjoy the refurbished old train shed. Arriving back isn't great though, as once you go through the checks (fairly rudimentary ones most of the time, as passport control is done at the other end) you get unceremoniously spat out into the shopping centre.
 

61653 HTAFC

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Another planet...
Middlesbrough.

If you leave the station you will find yourself in Middlesbrough. Reason enough! ;)

If you don't leave the station, however, the cafe does excellent coffee.
Dewsbury, for the same reasons. It's all downhill once you leave the pub! ;)
 

Statto

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London Euston - simply because you stand an even chance of being denied boarding with a valid ticket; some gateline staff refuse to accept that they might possibly not know all permitted routes!


Definitely agree with Euston, the main concourse is far too small for a such major terminal with no seating, any even minor disruption & you're waiting outside as it gets that crowded, trains are often called minutes before departure so you get that mad rush from the concourse to the trains the platforms too feel like a bit of a hike from the concourse to the platforms, the area outside Euston is deeply unpleasant too, normally full of beggars
 

2L70

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Sheffield is poor for an Inter City station, always cold, not much to do.

Preston for the same reasons, plus if you leave the station you're in Preston City Centre.
 

BrianW

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I'm wondering if there's a way that these impressions/ evaluations get 'fed in' to considerations at 'HQ' about what if anything to do to improve matters?
I don't imagine that the 'authorities' want to treat customers badly.
Can anyone here help in that? It would be good if we were able to get results (though I understand why people might feel that's unlikely!).
 

Bletchleyite

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It isn't always viable to do anything. Manchester Victoria is somewhat "stuck" in terms of the Arena above it. Only getting rid of that will allow the improvements that are needed - just like it required carving out half of the shopping centre on top of New St to make that acceptable.

The other bit (Metrolink and the bays) has had a lot spent on it, but the "problem" bit (under the Arena) is too hemmed in.
 

BrianW

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It isn't always viable to do anything. Manchester Victoria is somewhat "stuck" in terms of the Arena above it. Only getting rid of that will allow the improvements that are needed - just like it required carving out half of the shopping centre on top of New St to make that acceptable.

The other bit (Metrolink and the bays) has had a lot spent on it, but the "problem" bit (under the Arena) is too hemmed in.

I agree. However ... is there anything that could be done to ameliorate it, a bit even?
I've not been travelling the country so much for a while, and never been to Manchester Victoria :frown: but certainly found Birmingham New Street so dark and gloomy- it was hard to imagine it could not have been made lighter and brighter. I can certainly see that platform widenings to accommodate the number of people not anticipated back in the 60s etc can't be done; nor more platforms; and of course short trains don't help ...
I can also recall XC pocket timetables that suggest changing at Wolverhampton or Birmingham International instead, and saying why.
I imagine there may be quite a few locations where maybe signage could be improved, seating, waiting rooms(?), toilets attended to and at no great cost.

A location I recall- Bicester North southbound- 'raised beds' with only weeds- perhaps it's too late now to hope Bicester Village would 'support' them since they got their own station!
 

trubla

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There was a Rugby to Crewe service that stopped there last Saturday, albeit at 0816, rather than the usual 0721.

There was a stopper all week at 08 17 except Sunday. Now there is none. National Rail planner showss a Saturday stopper but woth an advisory it might change.
 

bussnapperwm

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Mention of Smethwick Galton Bridge reminds me of an example of London Midland's apparent inability to think things through.
At the entrance to the lift on the lower level (which is, for those unfamiliar, on the New Street to Wolverhampton line) there was a London Midland sign that stated that, in the event of a lift failure, passengers should travel to The Hawthorns or Langley Green and use the lifts there.
Unfortunately, trains serving those two stations leave from the upper level; to reach the platforms there one needs to.. err... use the lift.
When travelling to the Severn Valley I did use SGB rather than walk from New St. to Moor St., but London Midland's habit of running trains non-stop from Snow Hill to Stourbridge if a few minutes late put me off that idea, as did their practice of (locking) the waiting shelter.
That was Central Trains who put that sign up
 

Parallel

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Severn Tunnel Junction isn’t an overly pleasant station. Feels rather isolated, cold and empty, especially at night.

I’m also not really a fan of Norwood Junction, the platforms are very narrow with a lot of trains passing at speed.
 

jamesst

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Overpool.
Unstaffed, not much more than 2 platforms and a waiting shelter. Hidden from the main road and very well populated by the unsavoury local clientele...
 

Jamesrob637

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Manchester’s principle stations do not portray a very good first impression when visiting this revitalised city:

Manchester Victoria as mentioned in previous posts, but add the potentially dangerous access to the Metrolink platforms from the main station especially for those from outside Manchester who not familiar with tram operation.

Manchester Piccadilly. Platforms 13 & 14. No comment necessary
The station approach to Piccadilly main entrance littered with dodgy looking characters

Oxford Road. Dismal and cold, poor waiting facilites and one of the platforms out of service because of no lift access.

Deansgate. Limited service with regular late running trains. Might be better closing it and focussing on an updated Oxford Road.

Salford Crescent. Now a increasingly important interchange station. But one island platform with virtually no facilites totally inadequate for the volume of passengers.

On the outskirts of the city the following stations are not particularly conducive to enticing car drivers out of their cars either:
Ardwick
Ashburys
Belle Vue
Levenshulme
Ryder Brow
Humphrey Park

etc...

The stations on the Airport line are just okay; at least the areas are relatively okay. Heaton Chapel likewise. Wilmslow station for the affluent area it serves can be a bit windswept.

Down where I was brought up, Devonport, Dockyard and Keyham can't be pleasant after dark. Even in daylight I wouldn't linger too long before I caught a train, and there aren't enough regular trains to justify standing on their platforms. St Budeaux is a little better but not much; at least I know that area as family lived there.
 
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OH I forgot to mention Moston station, When I used it some ten years ago -There were gangs of youths on the platforms at night drinking and smoking drugs. I used to wait at the top of the ramp-When I heard my train coming in I ran down to catch it.
 

ChiefPlanner

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London Fields used to be one to be careful on , especially when you had needle sharps boxes on the platforms. Area has somewhat improved now though.

Back in the day - when I ran the operations on the North London and DC lines , with a horribly tight budget - there was a string of bad stations - basically anywhere East of Caledonian Road could be challenging (bar Highbury and Stratford) , whilst Harlesden /Stonebridge Park to Harrow and Wealdstone could be a bit dodgy Carpenders Park had a special mention in dispatches. All much, much better now thanks to more investment and staffing. Even in the bad days , the superb team monitoring the CCTV did a super job in watching the turf, picking up never do-wells and watching out for vulnerable passengers like ladies travelling alone.
 
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