Trent Valley Mainline Stations - Embarrassing!

Llandudno · 1 Jul 2026

I have had reason to use a number of Trent Valley mainline stations in the past few months and quite frankly the passenger facilites are embarrassing for such a well used route.

The lack of proper waiting and other passenger facilities at Rugeley TV, Lichfield TV and Tamworth is appalling.
The stations with their narrow exposed platforms are scruffy and unloved and give a very poor impression of rail travel and possibly the town the station is serving!

RailUK Forums

birchesgreen · 1 Jul 2026

Does Lichfield TV no longer have the coffee shop? Rugeley TV is mostly an interchange station (or intended to be anyway) which i guess is the excuse, Tamworth is indeed pretty grim and has no excuse!

The Planner · 1 Jul 2026

Llandudno said:
I have had reason to use a number of Trent Valley mainline stations in the past few months and quite frankly the passenger facilites are embarrassing for such a well used route.

The lack of proper waiting and other passenger facilities at Rugeley TV, Lichfield TV and Tamworth is appalling.
The stations with their narrow exposed platforms are scruffy and unloved and give a very poor impression of rail travel and possibly the town the station is serving!

Rugeley TV is in the middle of nowhere effectively. I can't imagine anyone hanging around there.

Llandudno · 1 Jul 2026

The Planner said:
Rugeley TV is in the middle of nowhere effectively. I can't imagine anyone hanging around there.

You may have to if your train is running late or cancelled….?

The Planner · 1 Jul 2026

Llandudno said:
You may have to if your train is running late or cancelled….?

What do you expect to be there? There are shelters to get out of the wind/rain, or are you expecting a full heated building?

Llandudno · 1 Jul 2026

The Planner said:
What do you expect to be there? There are shelters to get out of the wind/rain, or are you expecting a full heated building?

Perhaps not, but with over 200000 passengers per annum and rising something more substantial than a bus shelter maybe more appropriate at a station with long distance trains to London?

Russel · 1 Jul 2026

Tamworth station is better than it was, but still awful and the ticket hall stinks of burnt toast from the coffee shop constantly.

Lichfield Trent Valley is alright, but not ideal when you have 30 minutes to wait if connecting from the Cross City onto the Euston service, it's a shame the cross city services couldn't be changed to arrive 5 minutes earlier really.

The exile · 1 Jul 2026

Russel said:
Tamworth station is better than it was, but still awful and the ticket hall stinks of burnt toast from the coffee shop constantly.

At least it’s got one.

Russel · 1 Jul 2026

The exile said:
At least it’s got one.

True, but I can't say I've ever been tempted to try it, the smell puts me off.

Parallel · 1 Jul 2026

I don’t find Tamworth that bad. There are decent waiting rooms on the high level platforms but they could perhaps do with longer canopies over the platforms, at least for the parts of the platform which are also the walkway between the low level platforms.

The Stafford bound platform is fine and has the most facilities and a large waiting room.

But I agree the Euston bound platform is very bleak, just a small waiting shelter and not a lot else. Getting to it is a bit annoying as you have to go up to one of the high level platforms and walk back down again. It can take a good few minutes to access the Euston bound platform.

I agree Lichfield leaves a lot to be desired though. It’s like a more desolate version of Tamworth. I haven’t used Rugeley Trent Valley so can’t comment on that one, but it sounds more bleak than even Lichfield.

Russel · 1 Jul 2026

Parallel said:
But I agree the Euston bound platform is very bleak, just a small waiting shelter and not a lot else. Getting to it is a bit annoying as you have to go up to one of the high level platforms and walk back down again. It can take a good few minutes to access the Euston bound platform.

Yeah agreed, what doesn't help is how busy the high level platforms get, it can take a while to weave through the sea of passengers and suitcases, if people spread out along the platforms rather than congregate around the waiting rooms it would help.

DarloRich · 1 Jul 2026

Russel said:
Tamworth station is better than it was, but still awful and the ticket hall stinks of burnt toast from the coffee shop constantly.

That's not true. That coffee shop is never open

Russel · 1 Jul 2026

DarloRich said:
That's not true. That coffee shop is never open

Yeah true, it does seem somewhat inconsistent.

The previous, independent café that used to be opposite the current coffee shop, where the disabled toilet is now, used to be much better.

DaventryRabbit · 1 Jul 2026

birchesgreen said:
Does Lichfield TV no longer have the coffee shop? Rugeley TV is mostly an interchange station (or intended to be anyway) which i guess is the excuse, Tamworth is indeed pretty grim and has no excuse!

Lichfield does indeed have a coffee shop. In the Main Station Building. Not sure of it's opening hours (or reliability thereof)

DarloRich · 1 Jul 2026

Russel said:
Yeah true, it does seem somewhat inconsistent.

The previous, independent café that used to be opposite the current coffee shop, where the disabled toilet is now, used to be much better.

A terrible place to have to wait when the XC is late so you miss the LNWR south. Soul crushing.

Russel · 1 Jul 2026

DarloRich said:
A terrible place to have to wait when the XC is late so you miss the LNWR south. Soul crushing.

I live between Lichfield and Tamworth and use it regular, so I fully agree.

Couple of decent micro pubs and a Spoons within a 10 minute walk of the station though.

Johnnie2Sheds · 1 Jul 2026

I've used all three stations for many years. My main concern is the narrowness of the platforms at Tamworth LL. On the downside in particular, passengers detraining from the HL platforms, walk with their back to traffic towards the exit. Surprising how a speeding intermodal can sneak up on unsuspecting people.

Russel · 1 Jul 2026

Johnnie2Sheds said:
I've used all three stations for many years. My main concern is the narrowness of the platforms at Tamworth LL. On the downside in particular, passengers detraining from the HL platforms, walk with their back to traffic towards the exit. Surprising how a speeding intermodal can sneak up on unsuspecting people.

It's okay, that problem has been solved by paying aa couple of agency staff in hi-vis vests to stand there all day scrolling TikTok and occasional looking up from their phones to tell people to move away from the yellow line...

Another good use of limited funds.

Noseygit · 2 Jul 2026

I once saw someone’s wig blow off on platform 1 at Tamworth when a freight train went flying through , I couldn’t stop laughing

unlevel42 · 2 Jul 2026

Connecting at Tamworth on my regular Sheffield to Bletchley all too often means waiting 55 minutes in the bus shelter on platform 2.
Advances permitting travel via London is preferrable and sometimes Stockport-but never Birmingham.
I really hope that the Bedford becomes a stop on the MML when Universal Studios/East West happen.
When engineering work south of Bedford (or Luton) terminates trains there it is a real treat.

DynamicSpirit · 3 Jul 2026

birchesgreen said:
Does Lichfield TV no longer have the coffee shop? Rugeley TV is mostly an interchange station (or intended to be anyway) which i guess is the excuse,

I imagine being mainly an interchange station would be a reasonable excuse for poor facilities if the interchanging services ran - say - every 5 minutes, thereby guaranteeing that noone would have to wait there more than a few minutes. But when the interchange services respectively run every half hour and every hour, which means people can easily have to wait up to 30 minutes, and possibly up to an hour, then you really need decent waiting facilities.

duffield · 5 Jul 2026

Noseygit said:
I once saw someone’s wig blow off on platform 1 at Tamworth when a freight train went flying through , I couldn’t stop laughing

This is why I always use Gorilla Glue and carpet tacks to hold mine on!

I change there frequently and I think Tamworth is just fine apart from the two defects pointed out (narrow platform and waiting on P2).

Of course, there's nothing to stop you waiting in the high level waiting room until just before your train is due on P2. And although the narrow platforms on the low level are not ideal, has there ever been an actual serious incident due to this?

Russel · 5 Jul 2026

duffield said:
This is why I always use Gorilla Glue and carpet tacks to hold mine on!

I change there frequently and I think Tamworth is just fine apart from the two defects pointed out (narrow platform and waiting on P2).

Of course, there's nothing to stop you waiting in the high level waiting room until just before your train is due on P2. And although the narrow platforms on the low level are not ideal, has there ever been an actual serious incident due to this?

Not that I'm aware of, but the number of people using the LNWR Trent Valley services does seem to be increasing, those that alight at Tamworth P1 are a 50/50 mix of exiting the station and heading to the high level platforms so you have a narrow platform full of people all trying to head in different directions, it can be overwhelming.

dk1 · 5 Jul 2026

Russel said:
Tamworth station is better than it was, but still awful and the ticket hall stinks of burnt toast from the coffee shop constantly.

There are worse smells

Plenty going on here too so time flies.

1D54 · 6 Jul 2026

Surprised Atherstone hasn't been mentioned. Only a population of around 10k but it is one hell of a place to have to wait in the case of a major delay, a shelter is there to protect you from inclement weather but that is it. A decent market town with some lovely pubs so you'd expect a little better for the many people who visit the place.

dk1 · 6 Jul 2026

1D54 said:
Surprised Atherstone hasn't been mentioned. Only a population of around 10k but it is one hell of a place to have to wait in the case of a major delay, a shelter is there to protect you from inclement weather but that is it. A decent market town with some lovely pubs so you'd expect a little better for the many people who visit the place.

With 113k entry/exits last year it’s not really that busy. Brundall in my village is close with 103k and exceeds Atherstone if you add Brundall Gardens a mile or so down the line. Neither have more than information screens and small shelters for cover.

The Planner · 6 Jul 2026

1D54 said:
Surprised Atherstone hasn't been mentioned. Only a population of around 10k but it is one hell of a place to have to wait in the case of a major delay, a shelter is there to protect you from inclement weather but that is it. A decent market town with some lovely pubs so you'd expect a little better for the many people who visit the place.

Only visitors it probably gets is for the mad ball game they have once a year.

Russel · 6 Jul 2026

The Planner said:
Only visitors it probably gets is for the mad ball game they have once a year.

Nah, most of them are locals!

I was in Atherstone the morning of the ball game earlier this year, it took me a minute or two to realize why all the shops had boarded their windows up on the high street.

The Planner · 6 Jul 2026

Russel said:
Nah, most of them are locals!

I was in Atherstone the morning of the ball game earlier this year, it took me a minute or two to realize why all the shops had boarded their windows up on the high street.

Sounds like a place where you don't make eye contact anywhere then!

Russel · 6 Jul 2026

The Planner said:
Sounds like a place where you don't make eye contact anywhere then!

That's a normal day!

Trent Valley Mainline Stations - Embarrassing!

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