Favourite non-UK station

[EssexGonzo]

For me, any of the Cinque Terre stations in Italy. Not for the stations (which are basic and neglected), but for their locations and what they give access to. Although building the railway was probably no mean feat, I’m sure.

 

[morrisobrien]

Zurich Hauptbahnhof for its layout and facilities.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

I liked Toledo and Porto Sao Bento for their style and amazing decoration.

Flagstaff (Arizona) for a nice old-fashioned Santa Fe depot, with frequent mega freight trains charging through.
With blaring horns, loco and level crossing bells for raucous accompaniment.
Truckee (California) is much the same on the SP/UP, close to Donner Pass.

Leipzig Hbf for its transformation from war-damaged "black hole" to magnificent station/museum/shopping centre.
The Warsaw Centralna complex is pretty impressive too, in a New Street-ish way.
Köln Hbf for its central location between river and cathedral, and its heavy traffic and some good shops.
Alp Grüm on the fantastic RhB, not quite at the Bernina summit but with superb views of the local glacier and way down towards Italy.
Venezia Santa Lucia simply for being where it is, on the Grand Canal.

 

[swissrailpassion]

Leipzig for the architecture
Lausanne for the buffet
Olten for variety
Alp Grum for the view

 

[gordonthemoron]

Sydney Central

 

[43096]

Leipzig for the architecture
Lausanne for the buffet
Olten for variety
Alp Grum for the view

Not been to the buffet at Lausanne. But agree with the others. Food at Alp Grum is good, too.

 

[alex397]

Most of the main stations in German cities are brilliant, and I can walk around for ages just taking it all in. But my all time favourite is Berlin Hbf - incredibly impressive, lots of train activity and variety. Also, on one of my trips to Berlin I was quite depressed and the first day I was there I just spent the whole day at the Hbf - watching trains, eating bratwurst and having a beer. It helped perk me up for the rest of my trip, so lots of memories there.
I would talk about other Berlin stations too but this will end up a massive list.

Riga Central Station sticks in my memory too - with communist era architecture it was a time warp, and every single train was one of the ancient RVRs (including the modernised ones). And as the platforms are so low it’s good for photography.

Praha hn.l., the Budapest stations, Venezia s.l, and Wien Hbf are close contenders too...

 

[Austriantrain]

and Wien Hbf are close contenders too...

Staying in Austria (and I know we are not famous for our stations), I think the recently modernized Salzburg Hbf has turned out really well. An almost perfect blend of old and new. Not on the same level as Antwerpen, but still.

Wien Hbf is functional enough (and has done wonders for rail connectivity) but a missed opportunity IMO. Very bland architecture.

 

[Cloud Strife]

Budapest-Keleti is remarkable in a "not really changed since the 1990's" way, although it's absolutely horrific in most ways.
Warszawa Centralna is quite fine these days, with only really the connection to W-Wa Śródmieście needing to be cleaned up and sorted out. Otherwise, it's perfectly functional. Before the renovations though, it was a truly dreadful station.
Berlin Hbf is wonderful, but Leipzig has a sense of magnificence about it.
Hradec Kralove hl. n. is also a nice station, perfectly sized for the size of the city and yet very functional.

In Poland though, my favourite are the stations at Lubawka and Kamienna Góra. Both are relics of a bygone era that are now decaying away, and it's such a difference to see a typical Polish railbus turn up at these previously grand stations.

 

[nlogax]

For me probably it'd have to be either Milano Centrale or Secaucus Junction. Re. the former, it's quite beautiful and with a great variety of services. Re. the latter, it couldn't be more different in style and age to Milan's terminus but is a great place to hang about in the dry waiting for a NJT service while all the Amtrak NEC traffic thunders through.

 

[hexagon789]

Amsterdam Centraal

 

[alex397]

Staying in Austria (and I know we are not famous for our stations), I think the recently modernized Salzburg Hbf has turned out really well. An almost perfect blend of old and new. Not on the same level as Antwerpen, but still.

Wien Hbf is functional enough (and has done wonders for rail connectivity) but a missed opportunity IMO. Very bland architecture.

I was only at Wien Hbf briefly, so perhaps I’d have a different opinion if I knew it well. I just remember thinking how impressive it felt.

How could I have forgotten Antwerpen Centraal! That and Berlin Hbf are probably my top two favourite stations. Anterwerpen has combined mondernity and historic architecture really well - the lowest level almost feels like it’s in a sci-fi film especially with the blue lighting. And the historic building is a masterpiece, with its cathedral-like architecture. I didn’t look up the station before I visited, so it came as quite a surprise!

 

[ABB125]

Given that the only two major European stations I've visited are Salzburg Hbf and Barcelona Sants, I think I'm going to have to go with the former!

 

[Giugiaro]

In addition, I would thoroughly recommend a visit to Leipzig Hbf, particularly at night.

I was quite impressed with what I saw when I visited Frankfurt (Main) Hbf, but that station in Leipzig looks truly astonishing!

I don't know why but those vintage German main stations have something to them that just makes them extra cosy, especially when lit with warm lights.

 

[ricohallo]

Monaco Monte Carlo is a very impressive station too. Also Leipzig Hbf is indeed wonderful at night. Furthermore +1 for Antwerpen Centraal, Milano Centrale and Grand Central.

 

[Springs Branch]

My favourite station Down Under is Melbourne's Southern Cross (formerly Spencer Street).

Many might disagree on this choice - the station was redeveloped wholesale along with the adjacent Docklands (for which the station is a gateway) and re-named in the early 2000s, and there's no "old railway" or heritage feel about the place. Southern Cross now looks more like a signature airport terminal with an enormous (and hugely expensive) swooping curved roof.

But the two things I do like about it are:-

1) It's light and airy, with its Number 1 purpose clearly being a big city railway terminal - not some huge shopping mall, or office development with a few cramped, gloomy platforms hidden away somewhere underneath, as can happen with some redevelopments (looking at you, Manchester Victoria)
There are convenience stores, cafes and bars on the concourses, but no more you'd need for a "proper" railway station.

2) With modern railways around the world becoming more homogeneous, bland and "efficient", there's still quite a variety of railway operations to be seen at Southern Cross.
On one side there are through platforms with a continuous procession of EMUs running around the Melbourne city loop to suburban destinations (S-Bahn style).
Then there are terminal platforms with various regional / commuter DMUs to nearby cities like Geelong & Ballarat, and loco-hauled "inter-city" trains to more distant places in Victoria. At peak hours, these arrivals & departures are pretty frequent and can be easily observed from a pedestrian footbridge (without needing to swipe your Myki card).
At the eastern side of the station are platforms for interstate trains to Sydney and Adelaide. These last two, plus a few of the regional Victorian trains run on standard gauge, whereas most of the rest of the tracks are 1600mm broad gauge. So quite a bit of variety and interest there.

Southern Cross Station by Bidgee, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

[FatContr0ller]

I don't necessarily have a favourite, but I'm quite partial to rural/neglected Japanese stations. There's just something I really like about the unique eeriness and sense of abandonment paired with the tranquil surroundings. Though, one of my favourites would probably have to be the wonderfully straight-out-of-a-horror-film Doai station, which is showcased nicely in this video:

This station is crazy, imagine running late for your train there

 

[raetiamann]

I agree with pretty much all the comments about Berlin Hbf. A few years ago it was the second most visited tourist attraction in the city, but the posts got me thinking about the Stadtbahn in Berlin as a whole and the rebuilding of Bf Lehrte into the Hbf we know today.

Pre the electrification of the Stadtbahn, the wires stopped close to the eastern end of the platforms at Berlin Ost, which meant the trains coming in from the east entered the station coasting with pantographs down. The loco was then shunted to the eastern end and reconnected to its train.

 

[duesselmartin]

for Berlin I like L

Monaco Monte Carlo is a very impressive station too. Also Leipzig Hbf is indeed wonderful at night. Furthermore +1 for Antwerpen Centraal, Milano Centrale and Grand Central.

I can only second Monaco-Montecarlo.
Nice is also nice.
I do very much like Genova Piazza Principe.

 

[ABB125]

I would also add Monaco to the list; I'd actually forgotten I'd been there when I wrote my previous post!

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Leipzig for the architecture
Lausanne for the buffet
Olten for variety
Alp Grum for the view

La Tor de Querol-Enveig for the oddities!

 

[Bald Rick]

München Hbf, simply because the second best beer selling establishment in the world is just up the road, selling the world’s best lager.

 

[Jamesrob637]

München Hbf, simply because the second best beer selling establishment in the world is just up the road, selling the world’s best lager.

But as a station, München actually is nowhere near my favourite in Germany. If this thread were about cities, München would definitely be one of my tops (maybe because it's my former home town)

 

[Bletchleyite]

But as a station, München actually is nowhere near my favourite in Germany. If this thread were about cities, München would definitely be one of my tops (maybe because it's my former home town)

Muenchen Hbf is fairly unusual in Germany in being an end-on terminus - there aren't many of them - and this does make it easier to use than others because you can walk around it on the level.

 

[52290]

München Hbf, simply because the second best beer selling establishment in the world is just up the road, selling the world’s best lager.

The world's best lager is not to be found in München but you can catch a train to where you can find it, namely Bamberg.

 

[43096]

Muenchen Hbf is fairly unusual in Germany in being an end-on terminus - there aren't many of them - and this does make it easier to use than others because you can walk around it on the level.

Stuttgart, Frankfurt, Leipzig, Hamburg Altona...

I’d dispute München Hbf being easier to use: try getting from low numbered to high numbered platforms for a connection. It badly needs a bridge or subway part way down the platforms.

 

[Bletchleyite]

I’d dispute München Hbf being easier to use: try getting from low numbered to high numbered platforms for a connection. It badly needs a bridge or subway part way down the platforms.

I suppose it does have its own "Piccadilly P13/14" to try to find

 

[Richard Scott]

Muenchen Hbf is fairly unusual in Germany in being an end-on terminus - there aren't many of them - and this does make it easier to use than others because you can walk around it on the level.

But it takes an age to get from high numbered platforms such as 30 to the lower numbered ones such as 9 or is there a short cut I've been missing all these years?

 

[JonasB]

Not sure you could call it a station, but Sjisjka in northern Sweden on the Iron ore line between Gällivare and Kiruna. Built to connect the small village Sjisjka with the rest of the world, last figure I saw was that the village had 2 inhabitants. But since there is no road to the village a couple of trains per day still make a request stop there. And the stop is also used by hikers.

Photo: Aikputte (Wikimedia commons)

 

[Bletchleyite]

Not sure you could call it a station, but Sjisjka in northern Sweden on the Iron ore line between Gällivare and Kiruna. Built to connect the small village Sjisjka with the rest of the world, last figure I saw was that the village had 2 inhabitants. But since there is no road to the village a couple of trains per day still make a request stop there. And the stop is also used by hikers.

Looks more than a little bit like Berney Arms!