Trivia: Appalling stations next to better stations

[xotGD]

The intermediate stations between Stockport and Stalybridge don't quite match those at the two ends of the line.

Carlisle and Wetherall.

Darlo and North Road.

 

[backontrack]

Kingussie and Newtonmore?

 

[backontrack]

Carlisle and Wetherall.

Hmm. I agree that Wetheral doesn't have a high enough frequency, but I wouldn't describe the station as appalling.

(Not my photo)

A stark comparison can also be drawn between Haltwhistle and Brampton; despite Brampton being slightly bigger than Haltwhistle, the station gets far fewer trains than Haltwhistle and has less than a fifth of the annual usage as it's about a mile away from the town with no public transport links.

 

[ijmad]

Woolwich Arsenal and Woolwich Dockyard.
Crystal Palace and Birkbeck.

 

[159]

Victoria and Brixton
Ashford International and Lille Europe (French TGV stations miles better than anything we have here)
St Pancras and Luton Airport Parkway
Winchester and Micheldever
Tisbury and Salisbury

 

[telstarbox]

Sevenoaks and Bat and Ball (although latter is to become a local 'community hub') St Pancras intl and Stratford intl?

From a recent visit to Bat and Ball:

 

[MedwayValiant]

Definitely Folkestone Central is good. Central is useful is more useful as it is closest to the town centre. West is useful for people who live in the houses near by but is an annoying extra stop for everyone else on the train which is bad.

See, I much prefer West. Obviously much depends on just why you are travelling to/from Folkestone, but West is 5 minutes walk from the football ground.

Neither station is all that close to the town centre, although Central is certainly nearer. But the main issue I have with Central is that ramp. Going up, it gets longer every time I have to do it; going down, I always feel like I'm going to fall over.

 

[SwindonBert]

Stonehouse, 1 small concrete building on each platform & Stroud, originally dates back to mid 19th century - much more what one would expect on this line

 

[theageofthetra]

From a recent visit to Bat and Ball:View attachment 41301

Yes that sums up the local community. Knole is the local Comp.

 

[johnnychips]

Broadbottom and Hattersley.

 

[thenorthern]

Derby and Burton-on-Trent, Derby is not a brilliant station but Burton-on-Trent is really bad.

Grantham is much nicer than Peterborough.

Slightly off topic but I was told generally stations on the East Coast Main Line are nicer than stations on the West Coast Main Line as when the West Coast Main Line was electrified in the 1960s many stations were entirely re-built which meant that we have London Euston, Tamworth, Stafford, Wolverhampton, Congleton, Warrington Bank Quay, Wigan North Western and many other brutalist stations. When the East Coast Main Line was electrified in the 1990s the station buildings were left largely unchanged.

 

[50031]

Bristol Temple Meads and Stapleton Road; albeit not the closest station to BRI in that direction but it's the second closest, so not completely irrelevant.


Pretty obvious that Moor Street is better, although that wasn't always the case.

I would say that Stapleton Road is much improved. When I used it in the 90s every Friday evening, it was grim, but passing through it these days, it is adopted, has decent lighting and a colourful locally sponsored mural on the Northbound platform wall.

 

[bastien]

Bitton and Keynsham... Okay, they're not connected by rail. But it is funny how the one that hasn't seen a mainline service in half a century has infinitely better facilities than the one that still does!

 

[W-on-Sea]

Didcot Parkway and Appleford

 

[Mikey C]

On the tube Stockwell and Clapham North as the latter still has the horrible and quite dangerous single island platform (Similarly Clapham South and Clapham Common)

 

[james60059]

Bermuda Park and Bedworth.

Bedworth is in a bit of cutting so is sheltered from the wind, whereas Bermuda is raised and more exposed, although both stations do attract - shall we say - undesirables

 

[Parallel]

Cardiff Central and Grangetown (The former is a little run down but the second is very uninviting)
Barmouth and Llanaber (The latter is desolate and everything is rusty from the storm a few years ago. Lovely views if you are looking the other way though!)
St Erth and Lelant Saltings (Lovely location but the station has zero character)
Shrewsbury and Welshpool (The latter has lost more or less all of its facilities since the track was re-aligned years ago)
Abergavenny and Pontypool and New Inn (The only good thing about the latter is that it'd make a great setting for a zombie apocalypse)
Bridgend and Wildmill
Bath Spa and Oldfield Park (Despite having over 300,000 entries and exits, the station has absolutely nothing. Except a help point and a bus shelter)

And as previously mentioned by another user... Bristol Temple Meads and Bedminster, where the best thing would probably be to flatten the latter and start again.

 

[Harbornite]

How about TM and Bedminster? It's decades since I lived there, but I can't imagine it's been tarted up.

Bedminster isn't far off in that respect.

 

[greatkingrat]

It is hardly surprising that various minor suburban stations are not as impressive as the major termini they happen to be next to!

 

[gpmartin]

Derby and Burton-on-Trent, Derby is not a brilliant station but Burton-on-Trent is really
bad.

Derby and Peartree!

 

[birchesgreen]

Stonehouse, 1 small concrete building on each platform & Stroud, originally dates back to mid 19th century - much more what one would expect on this line

Stonehouse is worse at the moment, just a portacabin building - though work is ongoing to improve the station. It'll still be inferior to Stroud though, was at both stations on Saturday. Stroud is a lovely old GWR station.

 

[bastien]

Bath Spa and Oldfield Park (Despite having over 300,000 entries and exits, the station has absolutely nothing. Except a help point and a bus shelter)

There's also a ticket shed open in the mornings!

Oh, and the Royal Oak is 2 minutes walk away.

 

[Pseudonym]

Westgate isn't too bad is it?

 

[PR1Berske]

To be a bit silly, I could say Preston and Salwick, or Preston and Lostock Hall

Instead I'll nominate Blackburn (good) and Accrington (not so).

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Westgate isn't too bad is it?

Assuming you mean Wakefield as mentioned in the earlier post. The old Westgate was horrible but was often overlooked in these "bad station" discussions because of the sheer horror of Kirkgate. The new one is rather nice, but a bit soulless and less convenient for bus interchange than the old building, due to being further from Westgate (The road).

Kirkgate is much improved, but that isn't saying much! It's still intimidating once you step outside, it's a heck of a walk to get to the island platform, the café is hit-and-miss as to whether it'll be open (though it's very nice when it is open, and reasonably priced compared to the corporate SSP-outlets at Westgate)...

If the powers that be had sorted Kirkgate properly, comparisons between it and all neighbouring stations except Westgate would see Kirkgate as the "nice" one: none of Normanton, Streethouse, Darton or Mirfield are anything to write home about!

 

[yorksrob]

Ore and Three Oaks.

Three Oaks is still a delightful wayside country halt, seemingly little changed from my Thumper trips in the late 80's. Ore on the other hand, looks very run down and unwelcoming, with ugly looking security fences everywhere.

 

[Andyh82]

Surely all major city terminus and the next station adjacent which will be generally be in a rundown inner city area often with a poor service level due to being in a rundown area and practically in the city centre, will qualify.

 

[USBT]

On the tube Stockwell and Clapham North as the latter still has the horrible and quite dangerous single island platform (Similarly Clapham South and Clapham Common)

The island platforms are only at Clapham's North and Common. Clapham South is a regular station with two platforms.

I'm not sure that tube stations are relevant here but my choice would be Blackfriars (modern and step free) to Mansion House (feels like 300 stairs to street level though probably only about 60). MH is one to avoid if you have heavy luggage.

 

[AlterEgo]

Surely all major city terminus and the next station adjacent which will be generally be in a rundown inner city area often with a poor service level due to being in a rundown area and practically in the city centre, will qualify.

Probably. Newcastle and Manors come to mind.

 

[farleigh]

Ore and Three Oaks.

Three Oaks is still a delightful wayside country halt, seemingly little changed from my Thumper trips in the late 80's. Ore on the other hand, looks very run down and unwelcoming, with ugly looking security fences everywhere.

Great shout - Ore is very different to Three Oaks