Stations to avoid and why

[Horizon22]

Some strange choices on here. We have some pretty hostile stations here in inner south London, Brixton and Elephant mainline stations spring to mind. The list would have been a lot longer in years gone by but Southern in particular has done a good job with previously rough stations like Tulse Hill and Peckham Rye through gating and more staff. Other side of the Thames, Essex Road has a personality all of its own....

Brixton certainly isn't as bad as it was, later in the evening even isn't as bad especially when there's a gig on at the Academy as strength in numbers and all that.

I'd say Plumstead is one of the worst I've been to in London - fare evaders galore and unsavoury types always hanging around the station, not to mention pulling passcoms when they get on trains.

 

[Timmyd]

In general I think many inner London "zone 2" stations are probably nicer places late at night than they were say 20/30 years ago, as the areas just outside central London have tended to come up in the world and become much more vibrant.

Agreed, but to give credit where it’s due, the very quick removal of graffiti and better lighting, brighter painting etc have helped a lot. The Overground has had a very positive impact too, eg at Clapham HS

 

[greyman42]

The trouble is with Tap pubs, if you don’t like real ale, and I generally don’t, is that the lager is expensive and has a distinctive taste that might not appeal to everyone. That’s why I would recommend the Howard Arms in Sheffield, two minutes walk from the station; in York there is one under an arch in the city wall before you cross the river whose name absolutely escapes me at the moment but it has a good selection of lagers (and real ales if you like).

York has two station pubs. The other one, the Duke Of York, sells the more common beers you desire.

 

[Class800]

Never had issues at Plumstead - apart from with a malfunctioning ticket machine and staff who once said I had to go to Woolwich Arsenal to get a ticket to board, as the ticket office is closed and the machine out of service. I thought they'd have handheld machines. Woolwich Arsenal worse - once I got sold a ticket from Cambridge to London zones 1-4 and Woolwich refused it on arrival saying was tube only. I learnt years later they were wrong. No penalty, but had to pay single from London Terminals to Woolwich. Bad staff make bad stations. Generally those are the only issues I have with stations, not 'rough' ones

 

[adamt958]

Swansea. The high street outside the station is grim.

 

[Llandudno]

York has two station pubs. The other one, the Duke Of York, sells the more common beers you desire.

Usually plenty of seating in the Duke of York as it’s normally empty owing to poor beer range, whereas it can get quite crowded in the York Tap especially the fabulous seating area on the platform itself!

 

[Statto]

Walsall is not particularly pleasant station either, the surrounding area is grim, a multi story car park on one side, & a street that has a run down feel on the other, plus the station feels like a wind tunnel, although it has 4tph [2 fast, 2 stopper] i'd rather go to the bus station & get the X51 bus.

 

[chefchenko]

My local station of congleton isn’t the best after dark , it’s very remote being nowhere near town and unmanned past 13.00 , low patronage at night too , females must feel vulnerable,nearby queens head is a friendly gaff to wait for trains though

 

[rg177]

Goole after dark has never appealed. Been approached numerous times by odd-looking characters asking for money/a cigarette/etc.

Brinnington usually has some some of the local youth about- have had abuse screamed at me from them, though I was in the safety of a Pacer! When I ticked off Moston I was waiting with an eccentric army veteran the whole time, so didn't notice too much amiss, other than the drab nature of the station.

That said, I've never felt particularly intimidated by any station in the UK- you just take usual precautions later at night.

The worst I've ever been to was Marvila just outside of Lisbon, where the subway was seemingly dug straight through the ground as a dirt tunnel, and there were many local youth running around, topless, with weapons and a very loud boombox.

 

[Iskra]

Swansea. The high street outside the station is grim.

Yes, it's not a great first impression.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

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.

I've used it once, 2008/2009ish I needed to catch the now defunct Shropshire and Wrexham railways (open access operators) service that'd been diverted via BHM rather than the Snow Hill tunnels due to engineering works, I found the area around it, the station and the staff extremely miserable. Its like a wind tunnel on the lower platforms and the design of the station is confusing. It serves a purpose, it would be useful for a 5-10 minute wait for a train but nearly an hour you'll soon want to be out if there asap

 

[backontrack]

Strood is a piss-soaked hellhole.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

If you are a lager drinker who complains that your beer might actually taste of something then Tap pubs are not for you. But don't worry, over 95% of pubs in the country do sell tasteless ice-cold lager whereas rather fewer pubs sell well-kept real ale.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Yes, it's not a great first impression.

Reminds me of the scene from Twin Town... to paraphrase:
Greyo (Welsh copper): "Dylan Thomas also called Swansea an 'ugly, lovely town'"
Terry (Scottish copper): "I'd have called it a 'Pretty Sh!!!y City'. At least mine f*****g rhymes!"
Greyo: "Well, Thomas didn't do as much cocaine as you, did he?"

 

[Iskra]

If you are a lager drinker who complains that your beer might actually taste of something then Tap pubs are not for you. But don't worry, over 95% of pubs in the country do sell tasteless ice-cold lager whereas rather fewer pubs sell well-kept real ale.

I don't know where you drink, but pubs selling just lager are the ones that are closing. There's more real ale choice available now than ever in the last 30 years and that's the way things seem to be going.

 

[Purple Orange]

It’s just after 1:30pm; the sun is intermittently shining through the clouds. It is time to open a lovely bottle of IPA. Although it has been in the cupboard and not chilling in the fridge.

 

[Mikey C]

It’s just after 1:30pm; the sun is intermittently shining through the clouds. It is time to open a lovely bottle of IPA. Although it has been in the cupboard and not chilling in the fridge.

I'd stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours
a) to cool it a bit
b) to delay beer o'clock to mid afternoon

 

[Purple Orange]

I'd stick it in the fridge for a couple of hours
a) to cool it a bit
b) to delay beer o'clock to mid afternoon

Too late. It’s a bit of an old school type beer, so I’m too sure if chilling can mean the flavours are lost. Either way, cheers!

 

[backontrack]

Too late. It’s a bit of an old school type beer, so I’m too sure if chilling can mean the flavours are lost. Either way, cheers!

We need a variant of Godwin's Law. I'm going to posit a theory:

Every thread on RailUK, if it continues long enough, will eventually involve someone downing a pint or mentioning a pub.

I've just seen it a few times today while browsing the forum.

 

[py_megapixel]

I'm going to nominate a few:

• Southampton Parkway - the only indoor facilities are a few seats, the ticket office and a tiny hole-in-the-wall Pumpkin Cafe Shop. The platforms are very exposed and there are no facilities at all on the Bournemouth-bound platform.
  
  
• Filton Abbey Wood - I have no prejudice against Filton (why would I, I've never been out of the station) but National Rail advertises it as an interchange despite there being nowhere to wait. Additionally there are too many last-minute platform alterations.
  
  
• Meadowhall - The platform numbers were not clearly displayed, leading to me spending 20 minutes in a waiting shelter before having to run over to the other side as my 2-car Pacer rolled dragged itself, screeching, into the station. The shopping centre is nothing special and has a typical shopping centre layout designed to keep customers inside.

 

[Cheshire Rover]

Avoid Helsby if you are a person of reduced mobility. You can only access Platform 1 without having to resort to the footbridge. No lifts or barrow crossings. No station toilets.
That said it is a pleasant place to be and there is a nice tap room open from Thursday to Sunday.

 

[Revaulx]

Strood is a piss-soaked hellhole.

Indeed. What's the station like?

 

[Revaulx]

Reminds me of the scene from Twin Town... to paraphrase:
Greyo (Welsh copper): "Dylan Thomas also called Swansea an 'ugly, lovely town'"
Terry (Scottish copper): "I'd have called it a 'Pretty Sh!!!y City'. At least mine f*****g rhymes!"
Greyo: "Well, Thomas didn't do as much cocaine as you, did he?"

Pedant alert: Swansea only became a city 1969; 16 years after Thomas drank himself to death.

I'd say that the centre of Swansea overall is a lot nicer now than it was 20 years ago. The problem from the railway's point of view is that the centre of gravity has moved away from it.

 

[backontrack]

Indeed. What's the station like?

The station is 'in keeping with the local aesthetic'.

 

[greyman42]

• 
  
• Meadowhall - The platform numbers were not clearly displayed, leading to me spending 20 minutes in a waiting shelter before having to run over to the other side as my 2-car Pacer rolled dragged itself, screeching, into the station. The shopping centre is nothing special and has a typical shopping centre layout designed to keep customers inside.

Indeed, if you are not familiar with the station then it is not easy to navigate. It would be easy and cheap to put up some clear platform signage.

 

[backontrack]

Whenever a train stops at Ardwick, they should pipe Dies Irae in over the intercom.

 

[vlad]

b) to delay beer o'clock to mid afternoon

Why would you want to do that?

 

[Iskra]

Meadowhall - The platform numbers were not clearly displayed, leading to me spending 20 minutes in a waiting shelter before having to run over to the other side as my 2-car Pacer rolled dragged itself, screeching, into the station. The shopping centre is nothing special and has a typical shopping centre layout designed to keep customers inside.

Indeed, if you are not familiar with the station then it is not easy to navigate. It would be easy and cheap to put up some clear platform signage.

I agree that it can be initially confusing, but on a positive note; the platforms are all very close together for an interchange station and once you have 'worked out' the layout, it is actually very easy to use as the platforms are sorted by destination heading Eastwards and all trains Westwards go to Sheffield and call there so you can't really go wrong in that direction.

 

[agbrs_Jack]

My local station of congleton isn’t the best after dark , it’s very remote being nowhere near town and unmanned past 13.00 , low patronage at night too , females must feel vulnerable,nearby queens head is a friendly gaff to wait for trains though

Patronage is (in normal times) incredibly high on the last arrival from Manchester on a Saturday night.

 

[Skipness]

We need a variant of Godwin's Law. I'm going to posit a theory:

Every thread on RailUK, if it continues long enough, will eventually involve someone downing a pint or mentioning a pub.

I've just seen it a few times today while browsing the forum.

Now, where is that “like” button?