And the staff at Milton Keynes Central and Crewe have always struck me as over-officious jobsworths - some of them anyway.
And the staff at Milton Keynes Central and Crewe have always struck me as over-officious jobsworths - some of them anyway.
You obviously have not made use of the Sheffield Tap and it’s beers
Ha ha! Da Finstock Mandem! It’s like ‘Another Country’.Hathersage - extremely dark, unsafe feeling, urine stains on the platform, one of the platform benches gave me diabetes
Warrington Bank Quay - Gateline staff KILLED MY HUSBAND
Charlbury - still bears the scars of the turf war with the Finstock Mandem. Battles to the death with sharpened forks were not uncommon
Kilburn High Road - infested by cannibal weevils
Mortlake - make sure you bring a sacrifice to the local tribe of Goat People or else
Frizinghall - stay on the platform for more than 4 minutes and get hallucinations that you killed Stalin. Very poor bus links.
Roughton Road - NOT THE BEES AHHH MY EYES
Prestbury - tbh just no
Liss - A pigeon looked at me funny
Yoker - here who’s he he’s no fae Yoker he’s got nae business being on this bus get his heid kicked man
Clunderwen - took two hours for my pizza to arrive it was cold and they failed to make my son’s anchovies gluten free. Won’t be using your business again
(This refers to the Sheffield Tap). I understand real ale fans might like it but the lager is German and expensive and not to everybody’s taste. Go to the top of the steel fountain to the Howard Arms instead.Not Everyone wants to drink £4/pint beer.
“I’ve got enemies in South Cerney, I’ve got enemies in North Cerney, I’ve got enemies in Cerney Wick”Ha ha! Da Finstock Mandem! It’s like ‘Another Country’.
My worst experience was Chinley.
During my coverage of all UK passenger rail lines I took the line from Manchester Piccadilly via New Mills Central to Chinley, with the expectation of a 15 minute wait for the chance to cover the line from Chinley to Stockport. It was a cold windy and showery late February morning. Chinley looked bleak but there was a sheltered area to protect myself from the wind and rain. No chance. Some filthy human had done a dump in the shelter and it stank. There was nowhere else to shelter. The fifteen minute wait became 25 minutes due to a delay. then 35 minutes, and another service ran straight through the station. Eventually the train arrived 40+ minutes late and I was wet and freezing. I have never been so pleased to board a train.
You obviously have not made use of the Sheffield Tap and it’s beers
I am old enough and too long in the tooth to be aware of the diffference.
Yes, BK was grotty (not unique for Germany) when I was last there several years back. Looking online, it has had a complete makeover with a footbridge and lifts - and a big gap in the middle where the station building was. The local paper says the work was finished a year ago and cost EUR37m.Extending the range to Europe, I've had the misfortune to change trains several times at Bad Kleinen in Germany (near Lubeck). There is no station in the UK that presents itself as such a derelict dump. It used to be in East Germany, and whilst many station in the old East have been magnificently restored, Bad Kleinen has been totally overlooked - it's dreadful. And it's a major interchange. (At least was about 2 years ago - maybe the renovations has caught up by now)
Sums up a lot of the woes in this country when you’ve 50min to wait for a connection as your inbound train was late “There’s a pub”The Sheffield tap is excellent, but that's not much use in the morning. Sheffield station looks alright from the outside, but that's about all it has going for it. As an actual train station it is atrocious.
Oh dear; I always seem to disagree with yorksrob.Idon't really understand the negativity towards Sheffield Midland.
There's plenty of cover if it's raining, plenty of seating, waiting rooms and toilets on all platform groups (and the toilets are usually clean and pleasent to use). There's always somewhere open to get something to eat and/or drink - and that's before I've even mentioned the pub (what I wouldn't give to be there right now ).
The footbridge is a bit cramped, but that's small fry.
One of my favourite stations to change at.
Oh dear; I always seem to disagree with yorksrob.
Sheffield always seems to be a miserable station to change at; usually cold, infested with pigeons, hard seats, logged with diesel fumes, pricey drinks in the 'Tap. Platform 2c for the Hope Valley takes the biscuit for a major city station.
I'll grant that the toilets are adequate and canopies reasonable (for vertical rain only) other than for Platform 2c, of course.
I will usually try to return from The South to the Hope Valley via Manchester Piccadilly, which is so much better even if it can add an hour to the journey.
When I often end up with 50 minutes to kill at Sheffield for a 'connection' I will usually pop into the City Centre if it is daylight. (But even then, knowing that someone got hacked to death with a machete outside a Sainsbury's Local in broad daylight hardly burnishes the steel city's welcome credentials.)
If you need to get to the DLR, leave the train at Limehouse, very easy interchange. As for accessing LUL, leave the Fen. St. platforms via the intermediate stairs & it's a short walk to Tower Hill station. Simples.......London Fenchurch Street is pretty nasty - Claustrophobic and there's no direct link to the Tube/DLR.
Oh dear; I always seem to disagree with yorksrob.
Sheffield always seems to be a miserable station to change at; usually cold, infested with pigeons, hard seats, logged with diesel fumes, pricey drinks in the 'Tap. Platform 2c for the Hope Valley takes the biscuit for a major city station.
I'll grant that the toilets are adequate and canopies reasonable (for vertical rain only) other than for Platform 2c, of course.
I will usually try to return from The South to the Hope Valley via Manchester Piccadilly, which is so much better even if it can add an hour to the journey.
When I often end up with 50 minutes to kill at Sheffield for a 'connection' I will usually pop into the City Centre if it is daylight. (But even then, knowing that someone got hacked to death with a machete outside a Sainsbury's Local in broad daylight hardly burnishes the steel city's welcome credentials.)
Upper Halliford must be in top 10
Opened in Second World War to serve a factory (British thermostat Company which was making bomb parts)
Second platform only added later
Both platforms narrow, just 2 concrete panels wide
Right next to M3 motorway so always noisy
Virtually no facilities
Negligible seating
Accessible by stairs from the road bridge over the motorway or a path
Virtually no protection from rain
No car park
Have got to go at least 7 stations before you can change trains for somewhere worth visiting
If you look on National Rail website, every single pictogram in the summary is greyed out as not available.
Agree with that one, even if they let you onto the concourse the offering is still dull.Another station to avoid if possible is Plymouth. It's well overdue for an up-grade especially on the platforms. Changing at Plymouth if you are heading to or from Cornwall is not a pleasant experience. The waiting rooms are seriously out of date and there is nothing on the platforms for a drink, snack etc.
Agree with that one, even if they let you onto the concourse the offering is still dull.
At the moment, there’s no service between Stockport and Stalybridge, so either walk or catch a busDitto Denton.
The city isn't up to much either, being a bit 60s concrete, but there is a Subway within a reasonable walking distance at least.
This much I agree with.
Sheffield is like Shang-ri-La compared to a lot of stations I've waited at with barely any shelter or facilities, although I grant you Piccadilly is a lovely place to catch a train - so long as it's from one of the platforms in the trainshed.
I guess we can be thankful that the canopies were designed before modern clearance standards required what seems to be about a meter an a half gap between them and the roof of the train !
Seriously though. Sheffield has everything one might need from a major interchange station - except perhaps a greasy spoon !
Yes, but how many of them were major city interchange stations?
I really don't like Sheffield station it is cold, draughty, dull, the waiting rooms aren't pleasant, it's a hotbed of low level criminality, the walkways are inadequate, the one-way systems are confusing so don't get followed making it worse, the busiest platforms are narrow so easily blocked by waiting passengers and the retail/catering offering is pretty uninspiring.
Positives: Sheffield Tap, M&S, the bay platforms I usually arrive on are conveniently located, it looks good from the front.
The city centre was designed by acclaimed post war planner Patrick Abercrombie. It only looks desolate now as all the big names (that are surviving) have moved to Drakes Circus. There are vending machines on the platform for those that need them.Plymouth city isn't up to much either, being a bit 60s concrete, but there is a Subway within a reasonable walking distance at least.
The city centre was designed by acclaimed post war planner Patrick Abercrombie. It only looks desolate now as all the big names (that are surviving) have moved to Drakes Circus. There are vending machines on the platform for those that need them.
...and very rarely do happen anywhere, in the grand scheme of things. Especially at the moment!It's a bit unfair to tarnish a place because of one incident, incidents like that can & will happen anywhere.