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Favourite non-UK station

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urbophile

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It's a few years since I was there, and my memory of it is impressionistic, but I found Marseille St Charles impressive. A bit like Liverpool Lime Street but at a higher level above the street and a splendid stairway up to it.
 
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cle

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There are many I love:

NY Penn (hate simultaneously but also so NYC, hot, hectic, electric)
Princeton Junction - sentimental reasons but also for the NEC racetrack, pretty exhilarating
Amsterdam Centraal - fantastic arrival and vantage on both sides, also a good experience to use. Loving the new blue/52 metro line too, such a game-changer.
Paris Nord - again, for the arrival. Excitement to be in Paris. Departing, I don't love it.
Cannes - used a lot for work. Moody, placed under a fly-over but such a classic exit and walk down to the sea. Nice is similar in feeling, but larger and classical.
Florence SMN - incredible architecture, and contrast to the city
Shinagawa - much time spent overlooking it from hotels. Station itself is meh (most Japanese ones are all function - and food!) - but watching all the trains weave through is mesmerizing. Tokyo doesn't have as many junctions, Shibuya is fragmented and developed over, Shinjuku doesn't have the shinkansen. So this is the one (and Ueno more is underground).
Circular Quay - what a setting. Train-wise and facilities-wise not so interesting, but who cares. Love Museum and St James for other reasons.
 

peteb

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For me its Kleine Scheidig between Wengen and Grindlewald. Junction for the Eiger railway. Spectacular views (google image it) and often busy with three trains and hordes of tourists one minute, then silence and eagles soaring overhead the next.
 

Bletchleyite

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For me its Kleine Scheidig between Wengen and Grindlewald. Junction for the Eiger railway. Spectacular views (google image it) and often busy with three trains and hordes of tourists one minute, then silence and eagles soaring overhead the next.

It's that sort of station (rather than the likes of Zuerich Hbf) where the Takt is most impressive - about 55 minutes (or whatever; I forget what the frequency is) of delightful quiet, then 5 minutes of busy activity.
 

raetiamann

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It's that sort of station (rather than the likes of Zuerich Hbf) where the Takt is most impressive - about 55 minutes (or whatever; I forget what the frequency is) of delightful quiet, then 5 minutes of busy activity.
Aside from the occasional freight and the Glacier/Bernina Expresses, Filisur's regular timetable is very similar.
 

cle

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It's that sort of station (rather than the likes of Zuerich Hbf) where the Takt is most impressive - about 55 minutes (or whatever; I forget what the frequency is) of delightful quiet, then 5 minutes of busy activity.
Single track fun! It's not fully Takt yet, but in a similar passing place spirit and hourly flurry of activity way: Voss in Norway is pretty special too.
 

Spamcan81

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Binz on the Rügenscher Kleinbahn because of the excellent restaurant and bar with a terrace adjacent to the platform. Quaffing good German beer while watching narrow gauge steam ply its trade.
 

davetheguard

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Binz on the Rügenscher Kleinbahn because of the excellent restaurant and bar with a terrace adjacent to the platform. Quaffing good German beer while watching narrow gauge steam ply its trade.

Would this be the place? Thanks for reminding me of a great trip.

33 View from our table of a Puttbus-bound train.JPG34 Inside the railway themed cafe where we had lunch.JPG35 Binz, as per 34..JPG
 

317666

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Binz on the Rügenscher Kleinbahn because of the excellent restaurant and bar with a terrace adjacent to the platform. Quaffing good German beer while watching narrow gauge steam ply its trade.

You've reminded me of Drei Annen Hohne on the Harzer Schmalspurbahnen. The pub doesn't have a railway theme like that, but does have some outdoor tables practically on the platform of one of the busier junctions on the network.
 

LSWR Cavalier

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Putbus is good, dual-gauge track to Lauterbach Mole
Not far off at Mukran there are broad-gauge tracks for wagons off the ferries
Three gauges on the small island of Ruegen
 
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Techniquest

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I've not read every post on this thread, I did get reminded me of a couple of memories though on the posts I have so far read.

It's a tough call for my favourite non-UK station. Sydney Central is stunning (once inside, the outside's nothing fancy) and in my view better than New York's Grand Central. I also like LA's Union Station, far nicer than Grand Central, and that pretzel place (I forget the name) serves some awesome food!

Liege is incredible from an architecture point of view, nice and modern as well as feeling really fresh and roomy.

More for the memories than anything, and it being my first continental mainland major station visited in my enthusiast career, Midi station in Brussels holds a special place in my heart.

Aachen in Germany felt impressive on my short visit, I'd like to go back and explore properly one day. Maastricht in the Netherlands is also quite nice. Connolly station in Dublin also holds a special place in my heart, it being the very first non-UK major station I visited way back in the mid 2000s. Nostalgia levels rising!

So I don't have a firm answer here. I have several I like, but none that make me feel like a kid in a sweet shop as much as London Paddington does. So far, that is still my most favourite station in all of the world
 

D6130

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For me it would have to be Milano Centrale, not only for the architecture and engineering, but also for the frequency and variety of both internal and international train services, the sheer volume and variety of human life passing through it....and the excellent new bar and restaurant showcasing local food and drink.
 

BrettSy96

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There are many I love:

NY Penn (hate simultaneously but also so NYC, hot, hectic, electric)
Princeton Junction - sentimental reasons but also for the NEC racetrack, pretty exhilarating
Amsterdam Centraal - fantastic arrival and vantage on both sides, also a good experience to use. Loving the new blue/52 metro line too, such a game-changer.
Paris Nord - again, for the arrival. Excitement to be in Paris. Departing, I don't love it.
Cannes - used a lot for work. Moody, placed under a fly-over but such a classic exit and walk down to the sea. Nice is similar in feeling, but larger and classical.
Florence SMN - incredible architecture, and contrast to the city
Shinagawa - much time spent overlooking it from hotels. Station itself is meh (most Japanese ones are all function - and food!) - but watching all the trains weave through is mesmerizing. Tokyo doesn't have as many junctions, Shibuya is fragmented and developed over, Shinjuku doesn't have the shinkansen. So this is the one (and Ueno more is underground).
Circular Quay - what a setting. Train-wise and facilities-wise not so interesting, but who cares. Love Museum and St James for other reaso

Was pleasantly surprised to see you have mentioned Princeton junction! I was actually coming into this thread to say metro park which I believe is on the same line!
 

AlbertBeale

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For me it would have to be Milano Centrale, not only for the architecture and engineering, but also for the frequency and variety of both internal and international train services, the sheer volume and variety of human life passing through it....and the excellent new bar and restaurant showcasing local food and drink.

Years back, I might have said Milano Centrale - the cathedral-like building is one of the most imposing of its sort anywhere. But more recently, the increase in barrier lines you have to go through in the platform area, and the increase in commercial outlets around the platform ends, can make the place an absolute nightmare; with so much congestion, the last thing you can do is admire the look of the place. Last time I was there it was shoulder-to-shoulder waiting for a long-distance through [actually reversing, of course] train to arrive, with the sort of unpleasant scramble you'd expect if you're a commuter at somewhere like Waterloo.
 

Ianno87

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For me its Kleine Scheidig between Wengen and Grindlewald. Junction for the Eiger railway. Spectacular views (google image it) and often busy with three trains and hordes of tourists one minute, then silence and eagles soaring overhead the next.

And mountain goats on the platform!
 

D365

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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)
In terms of favourite stations, do you reckon I could put a vote in for St.-Quirin-Platz?
 

Neptune

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Why not? U-Bahn stations count too, as do S-Bahn ones!
Well in that case may I present Cite and Saint-Michel on the Paris Metro line 4. If you read into their construction you will realise what a wonderful feat of engineering they are.
 

AJM580

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Favourites outside UK, Palo Alto in California, a lovely Art Deco station and from Ireland, Cork Kent and Kildare, happy memories of 071 bashing
 

alex397

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It's a few years since I was there, and my memory of it is impressionistic, but I found Marseille St Charles impressive. A bit like Liverpool Lime Street but at a higher level above the street and a splendid stairway up to it.
And a bit more Mediterranean than Liverpool! :D (Id still love to visit Liverpool btw)

I arrived at Marseille St Charles on a direct Eurostar train which I borded at Ashford (I’ve said this before, but a direct train from Kent to the Med is wonderfully bizarre). It certainly gave a great impression for my arrival, with stunning views over the city. The architecture of the station was really beautiful too. The platform area for the Eurostar was a bit grim though.
 

cle

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Was pleasantly surprised to see you have mentioned Princeton junction! I was actually coming into this thread to say metro park which I believe is on the same line!
I like Metropark too (and New Brunswick similarly for the density) - Metropark being luck enough to have both Regionals and Acelas pulling in off the main lines. Plus the huge business parks, like a mini-Stamford. GSP I can do without :)
 

Halish Railway

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I can’t think of any that stand out as the best, but I’d put forward:
- Amsterdam Centraal
- Delft (the new station)
- Utrecht Centraal
- Köln Hbf
- Bordeaux St Jean
- Paris Gare du Lyon
- Strasbourg
- Milano Centrale
- Madrid Atocha

I’d also put forward some of the various stations along the Lyon to Turin route for their position in a scenic part of the world, however, that is a bit of a vague suggestion.
 
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