British Waiting Rooms/Facilities - Some Room For Improvement?

[yorksrob]

The number of medium sized stations without toilet facilities for the majority of the public is a disgrace.

 

[Trainfan2019]

Can definitely agree about Sheffield and Derby stations waiting rooms being cold!

I've often wondered what passengers new to Sheffield station must think about the cold waiting rooms, no usb or mains sockets. Derby station is similar to Sheffield with the bad points. Only advantage with Derby is that it has ticket barriers to keep undesirables out.

One of the better medium size stations for facilities is Stockport or it was when managed by Virgin. Good selection of warm, clean waiting rooms. All have usb and mains sockets. There's a better waiting room at Stockport which is slightly different to the others there. I can't remember which platform it's on though. It's the one where there's a large timetable rack on the wall and mirrors I think.

 

[Skie]

Merseyrail waiting facilities at some stations, especially the exposed embankments, is shocking. Covid safe open sided bus shelters aon wind swept platforms is not a great environment.

 

[NoRoute]

At root I think it's a problem with the culture and priorities of the railways, the items which matter to the passenger's experience like the car parks, the waiting rooms and the platform facilities seem to be very much the poor-relation to the track infrastructure and the rolling stock, yet they are every bit as important to the passenger and to the success of the railway business as a whole.

It's not just waiting rooms, its really basic facilities like a roof over platforms to stop passengers getting soaked by rain while waiting for their train.

Even on the WCML there's stations where the platform facilities are non existent. West Coast route modernisation cost almost £9 Billion, poured into the track, signalling and electrical infrastructure and at some stations the passenger is expected to wait standing in the rain, or huddled under a bus shelter.