Leamington Spa and Warwick Parkway Stations

[Philip]

I used Leamington Spa and Warwick Parkway Stations yesterday and noticed how clean, tidy and pleasant both stations looked; lovely cafe at both of them, smart ticket office/waiting area at Warwick Parkway and good waiting rooms at Leamington. Leamington Spa had a piano in situ and both stations just felt very clean, civilised and pleasant to use. I've used Oxford recently too, which was also good.

Why are a lot of other stations a far cry from this standard? Does this line have more DfT investment on its station facilities or are the local communities responsible for a lot of how the station looks and its amenities?

 

[AlterEgo]

Part the answer is you’re in Warwickshire where there are fewer problems with antisocial behaviour, litter and vandalism than at each end of the Chiltern route.

 

[Philip]

Part the answer is you’re in Warwickshire where there are fewer problems with antisocial behaviour, litter and vandalism than at each end of the Chiltern route.

Solihull and Dorridge both looked fairly tidy and pleasant from what I could see, albeit only from the train.

 

[John Webb]

Leamington Spa station wasn't quite so well looked-after - as a youngster visiting grandparents there in the 1950s I recall it as being a bit down at heel and gloomy. But recent years have seen it being appreciated for its 1930s design and a lot of help from the Railway Heritage Trust has resulted in major restoration works with impressive results.

 

[AlterEgo]

Solihull and Dorridge both looked fairly tidy and pleasant from what I could see, albeit only from the train.

Those are also very nice places to live!

 

[Snow1964]

A number of nicer areas have local community volunteers, that keep it nice. Some even have groups that work on stations, my local station does have a group tidying up, pruning the shrubs, fixing things and generally making it look good.

Possibly these stations also have them.

 

[The Planner]

Its all locally done by volunteers.

 

[SCDR_WMR]

A lot of stations to the east of Birmingham are well maintained by local volunteers and local railway funds, it does help having heritage buildings on the North Warwick and Dorridge lines. But they are also affluent areas with less antisocial behaviour and have great links to London which I would imagine helps.

Leamington itself has lots of well kept areas and parks etc so I'd imagine the local authorities try and ensure the stations are well kept too.

 

[Watershed]

Leamington Spa is one of the most underappreciated stations out there IMO. Lovely 1930s Art Deco design, with wooden waiting rooms and even gardens on the platforms. I think most of it is just down to volunteers that devote their time to it, and it really shows.

 

[12LDA28C]

Of course Warwick Parkway is unlikely to see much vandalism or unsocial behaviour as it's in at out-of-town location and you wouldn't go there unless you were actually catching a train. You'd be unlikely to see groups of youths hanging around causing trouble, unless they'd crossed the Warwick bypass especially to do so!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 31 Jan 2023 ==

Leamington itself has lots of well kept areas and parks etc so I'd imagine the local authorities try and ensure the stations are well kept too.

I'm not sure local authorities have stations within their remit, that would be down to the individual TOC, or NR at some larger stations. The friends of Leamington Station do a great job at Leamington, supported by Chiltern Railways. The flower beds are particularly well kept which adds to the pleasant environment.

 

[pdeaves]

Of course Warwick Parkway is unlikely to see much vandalism or unsocial behaviour as it's in at out-of-town location and you wouldn't go there unless you were actually catching a train. You'd be unlikely to see groups of youths hanging around causing trouble, unless they'd crossed the Warwick bypass especially to do so!

The original post was plain Warwick, not Parkway.

I'm not sure local authorities have stations within their remit, that would be down to the individual TOC, or NR at some larger stations

True, but the authorities can exert pressure on TOCs (etc.) if deemed necessary.

 

[MPC]

The nearby line to Stratford-upon-Avon also has a very active volunteer group maintaining flower beds and information displays from at least Birmingham Hall Green southwards.

 

[D6130]

The original post was plain Warwick, not Parkway.

Err....no it wasn't! It was Warwick Parkway.

I used Leamington Spa and Warwick Parkway Stations yesterday and noticed how clean, tidy and pleasant both stations looked; lovely cafe at both of them, smart ticket office/waiting area at Warwick Parkway and good waiting rooms at Leamington. Leamington Spa had a piano in situ and both stations just felt very clean, civilised and pleasant to use.

 

[Philip]

The place I left the train at, Birmingham Snow Hill, isn't a particularly pleasant station on the other hand. It feels a bit like Manchester Oxford Road in a down-at-heel sense, except that the toilets at Snow Hill seemed cleaner but the station front and facade is ugly compared with the superb Oxford Road. There were two lads forcing their way through the ticket barriers and abusing the barrier staff as I went through - again similar to Oxford Road.

 

[pdeaves]

Err....no it wasn't! It was Warwick Parkway.

Humblest apologies (reading what I expected, not what was there!).

 

[D6130]

Humblest apologies (reading what I expected, not what was there!).

No worries....we've all done it occasionally!

 

[30907]

Humblest apologies (reading what I expected, not what was there!).

No, you correctly read the thread title

 

[D6130]

No, you correctly read the thread title

So they did! Up to the OP to amend the title then to avoid further confusion!