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Stations you don't want to go to/be at

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GatwickDepress

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I don't think there's really any stations that I don't want to go to/be at. I'm surprised Lewisham has been mentioned, it can get a bit rowdy at times, but I've never felt unsafe or never wanted to go there; or for that matter any of the Coastway stations (yes, even that perennial jewel of the South Coast: Ore.).

I agree that Euston, New Street, and any other 1960s carbuncle are totally rubbish though.
 
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VTPreston_Tez

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Going off fellow football followers, Brentford. All kicked off there with Wolves recently!
Par for me. Nothing there, no shops I believe, no facilities, weather can be a problem.
 

LowLevel

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My, there's some wusses on here if some of the replies are anything to go by. I must have spent time waiting at most of the stations on this thread yet never once have I felt unease or a threatening atmosphere, not even at Wakefield Kirkgate! I suspect most of the fear is in the mind of the traveller rather than in reality.

I disagree actually. Someone mentioned Wellington in Shropshire - this is the only station I've ever been waiting for a train on when I've gone and hidden. Late at night it is not at all pleasant to be around if you're not part of a group. It's a large, dark Victorian (covered over footbridge the lot) town station that is unstaffed after 1300, with all that entails - it's got a long history of violent crime including rapes and assaults ( a quick google search will show you a few of them). It's also well out of view of the street. Quite obviously the kind of place that was never designed to be unstaffed but it's fortunes changed since it was built. Unlikely many large stations that fell from favour it's never had it's buildings significantly reduced, however.

Mansfield Woodhouse station isn't the best place to be either - even the CCTV cameras got nicked!
 
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Minilad

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Glasgow Central on a Saturday night. You've got BTP dealing with drunks crowding on to the last local trains on the low level platforms, then running back up to the high level platforms to meet more drunks coming off the Virgin or XC services. Drivers sounding their horns as yet more drunks crowd the trains preventing them from leaving, the shouts as two groups come to blows... Then of course if you do need to take a train home, you have to deal with people fighting on the train as the on board staff stay in the cabs and leave things to work themselves out. Quite lovely.

I love the way you talk up your home town. Sounds positively wonderful :D
 
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Anything north of Spalding, including Spalding, or most stations in Lincolnshire in fact.

Nothing wrong with Lincolnshire stations, they are just lonely, depressing, run down, flat places.......

Oh and Gainsborough Lea Road rates as the most unwelcoming in the county if you ask me. (Though it is 20 years since I last used Central).
 

tsr

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I recently spent about an hour in total interchanging at Dartford on a cold, wet winter's day, like so many such days in the South-East over recent months.

It was, to be fair, a building site (refurbishments of some sort), but there was quite literally nowhere warm for a passenger to so much as stand. The entrance area was nice and modern but absolutely freezing, and unfortunately even the newer decor and suchlike were already beginning to deteriorate.

Funnily enough, the few staff around and the passengers were quite friendly - some sort of Blitz spirit going on, maybe. But I was very glad that my trains were all on time.
 

stanley T

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Loughborough Junction - not a nice part of London, and neither is the station.

I have never felt bothered at either Lewisham or Catford, despite the local inhabitants. If you want a dump of a place on the Hayes line, it's Lower Sydenham.

Wigan North Western - bleak and windswept. The town is better, though, as is Wallgate.
 

pitdiver

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At least at Berney Arms there's a reasonable pub a short walk across the field to ease the wait.

I must agree with davetheguard. As a fan of anything relating to Norfolk I think Berney Arms is somewhat quirky. As for Swale I looked at it on Google Earth what a remote and bleak place, why is there a station there anyway.
 

infobleep

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Until recently times I would have included Clapham Junction. The toilets were awful and the the entrances and exits over crowded.

It was on the top 10 list of worst stations. These all receiving money. I can't remember what the other 9 worst stations were.

Sounds like they need to compile a list of the next 10 and work on them.

In the mid to late 90s I went to Waddon station which had spaces for advertising but nothing in them. It was run down looking and definitely needed work to do it up. Not sure if they ever did anything.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk
 

Statto

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Problem with Euston is the concourse is well away from the platforms, & the train departure announcements are made a few minutes before the train departs so you get the rush from the concourse to the train, the other problem is trains at Euston have a short turn around time, which makes it worse when their is disruption.
 

Deerfold

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I don't understand that one. Annoying and irritating with flows of people trying to go through one another, yes.

But wouldn't want to be at? I've spent several nights (4-6 hours at a time) there (on both sides of the barriers) over the last 23 years and never felt unsafe.

Likewise on late Friday/Saturday night trains from there there's often mutters about the lack of enough seating but I've never come across anyone I'd dislike enough to not want to be in the same carriage.
 

HowardGWR

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I think we need to provide interesting reasons. I don't like xxxxxxx does not cut it. I was guilty about this regarding Newport, although on a separate thread we did deal with it there.
So, Lampshade, expand and discuss. :)
 

wasi

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London Euston for me too.... really is like something from the 1980's, nowhere near big enough and needs a full rebuild.... With HS2 im assuming?

Manchester Victoria..... Absolutely dreadful in every way..... Again will be alot better after the refurb.

I also find Coventry massively depressing. Dirty and poorly managed.
 

Tetchytyke

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Despite all the millions spent on the WCML, the Virgin-managed stations on that line are some of the worst Intercity stations on the whole network.

Preston and Carlisle are both big stations and important local interchanges, but both are grimy, uncomfortable and dated. The toilets on both stations are badly dated and unappealing, and quite why they think a bit of plywood glued to the toilet bowl is the same as a seat I don't know. The waiting rooms are non-existent, and the retail outlets are grim. Staffing levels are very low and waiting in these stations at night is not a pleasant experience.

Wigan North Western is a complete and total hovel, Warrington Bank Quay isn't a great deal better, and the likes of Coventry and Rugby are pretty depressing too. As for Crewe, well.

Compared with the EastCoast managed stations, they're stuck in a 70s timewarp.
 
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Despite all the millions spent on the WCML, the Virgin-managed stations on that line are some of the worst Intercity stations on the whole network.

Preston and Carlisle are both big stations and important local interchanges, but both are grimy, uncomfortable and dated. The toilets on both stations are badly dated and unappealing, and quite why they think a bit of plywood glued to the toilet bowl is the same as a seat I don't know. The waiting rooms are non-existent, and the retail outlets are grim. Staffing levels are very low and waiting in these stations at night is not a pleasant experience.

Wigan North Western is a complete and total hovel, Warrington Bank Quay isn't a great deal better, and the likes of Coventry and Rugby are pretty depressing too. As for Crewe, well.

Compared with the EastCoast managed stations, they're stuck in a 70s timewarp.

I was surprised to hear that Stockport had been rated one of the worst 10 back in 2009; I don't see what's so wrong with it? I remember it before the 2003 refurb, that was something else all together!
 

Emyr

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I was surprised to hear that Stockport had been rated one of the worst 10 back in 2009; I don't see what's so wrong with it? I remember it before the 2003 refurb, that was something else all together!

There's a distinct lack of announcements in the P3/4 waiting rooms and only a single departures display on a burnt-in CRT. No assisted-opening doors for wheelchair users or travelling cyclists.
 

southern442

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Problem with Euston is the concourse is well away from the platforms, & the train departure announcements are made a few minutes before the train departs so you get the rush from the concourse to the train, the other problem is trains at Euston have a short turn around time, which makes it worse when their is disruption.

It looks like I'm the only one that likes Euston. Yes, the main concourse is not great, and needs more seats (the Concourse is the one thing that needs changing) but everywhere else is quite nice (then again I do quite like grotty and hidden places) and there are plenty of places to go and have a coffee and a biscuit before your journey, and there are at least two WHSmith's. My favorite part of Euston is the passage to platforms 8-11, which is like a little concourse in itself, and has a rather cosy Costa.
 

yorksrob

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It looks like I'm the only one that likes Euston. Yes, the main concourse is not great, and needs more seats (the Concourse is the one thing that needs changing)

Actually, I quite like Euston, but the concourse is the only bit I like.

Yes, it's too crowded, but I like the style.
 

wasi

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Despite all the millions spent on the WCML, the Virgin-managed stations on that line are some of the worst Intercity stations on the whole network.

Preston and Carlisle are both big stations and important local interchanges, but both are grimy, uncomfortable and dated. The toilets on both stations are badly dated and unappealing, and quite why they think a bit of plywood glued to the toilet bowl is the same as a seat I don't know. The waiting rooms are non-existent, and the retail outlets are grim. Staffing levels are very low and waiting in these stations at night is not a pleasant experience.

Wigan North Western is a complete and total hovel, Warrington Bank Quay isn't a great deal better, and the likes of Coventry and Rugby are pretty depressing too. As for Crewe, well.

Compared with the EastCoast managed stations, they're stuck in a 70s timewarp.

I would agree with this, maybe with the exception of Rugby, which I think is pretty good.
 

CalderRail

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I don't understand that one. Annoying and irritating with flows of people trying to go through one another, yes.

But wouldn't want to be at? I've spent several nights (4-6 hours at a time) there (on both sides of the barriers) over the last 23 years and never felt unsafe.

There are two major problems with Leeds station. Firstly, it's in Leeds.

Secondly, it's least welcoming station I have ever been at (and that includes Wakefield Kirkgate), with a dark, artificial horribleness in the endless, soulless grey panelling and dingy, dank, poorly lit confusing array of platforms.

However, the real underlying problem is that whenever I'm at Leeds I really don't actually want to be there and I'm invariably either there late because of a late running Northern Fail Service, waiting for a late running Northern Fail connection, or both.
 
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thealexweb

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Bolton after 10pm. Only one (or two?) members of staff present that late in the day. On a station that big its really difficult for lone members of staff to manage the undesirables.
 
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