Should all major stations have a pub?

[Poolie]

Hmmmm........definition of a 'major' station?
Hartlepool usage 0.616 million?
It must have one of the smallest pubs in the country.....The Rat Race. No lager (thankfully), but decent real ale

 

[djpontrack]

If anyone is at Carnforth station, I can recommend the Snug Micropub on the closed Up Main platform near the ticket office. Five real ales and no lager.??????

 

[RichmondCommu]

Doric Arch is OK as is the Euston Flyer, but I always use the Bree Louise, about a minute or so's walk away from Euston. Decent food, extensive range of real ales and ciders plus 50p discount on a pint and £2 off their pies for CAMRA members (and students and teachers and military and Emergency Services - and anyone who signs up for their membership club!).

I'm a fan of the Bree Louise but nevertheless I do get the feeling that it could do with a deep clean! I agree that the range of beers on offer is fantastic but I'm a little wary of ordering beers from the stillage due to one or two bad experiences. Cracking pub though

 

[scott118]

I read in Rail that The Berney Arms is to be converted to a private house, which gives even less reasons for non-enthusiasts to use the station there.

that'll devastate the local taxi firm, that operates around there then...

 

[HarleyDavidson]

No, absolutely not.

As someone who has to put up with the drunken behaviour on the last trains out of Waterloo on a regular basis, I'd like to see the back of the pub that's on Waterloo for a start, along with the departure of Blurgghger King, who's products stink and smell even worse when thrown back up by a drunken Londoner or Surrey lout.

 

[yorksrob]

No, absolutely not.

As someone who has to put up with the drunken behaviour on the last trains out of Waterloo on a regular basis, I'd like to see the back of the pub that's on Waterloo for a start, along with the departure of Blurgghger King, who's products stink and smell even worse when thrown back up by a drunken Londoner or Surrey lout.

To be fair, I suspect even caviar and fois gras will smell bad when thrown back up by a drunken Londoner or Surrey lout.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

I always dread the 0009 & 0027 on a Friday and Saturday night, it's not uncommon to find piles of vomit, pools of pee and the occasional hot steaming brown one. in a seat bay or corridor connection.

 

[yorksrob]

I always dread the 0009 & 0027 on a Friday and Saturday night, it's not uncommon to find piles of vomit, pools of pee and the occasional hot steaming brown one. in a seat bay or corridor connection.

Would these be a 455 ? It always used to enrage me when they put these on the Readings instead of a slammer (which had bogs) when I was living down there.

 

[HarleyDavidson]

The 0009 is a 455, 0027 is usually a 450.

 

[cjmillsnun]

The 0009 is a 455, 0027 is usually a 450.

Problem is the bogs tend to have full CET tanks by then so are locked out of use.

 

[Bookd]

I can't dispute the comments on the late trains from Waterloo, although it would be better if the toilets were working, but I disagree about the pub. It is open until midnight, so I have used it for a nightcap while waiting for a train; it is not cheap, and in my experience is never very busy and the customers are not the type who would cause the problems mentioned on the trains.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Further to my previous note it might be less anti-social if the last Reading was 8 coaches rather than 4!

 

[Mikey C]

I certainly find a decent station pub to be a real asset, when waiting for a train.

Hull Paragon would definitely benefit from a Wetherspoon/Head of Steam, as there's surprisingly little in the area in terms of decent pubs

 

[onlinespotting]

Fairly certain every major station has a pub within a two or three minute walk anyway, except maybe Stoke on Trent (although I've not been there for a few years so this might have changed).

The pumpkin café sells beers and wines and there Is a bar in the North Stafford hotel opposite (which interestingly may count as wasn't this [or the frontage at least] part of the original station complex?)

 

[yorksrob]

I certainly find a decent station pub to be a real asset, when waiting for a train.

Hull Paragon would definitely benefit from a Wetherspoon/Head of Steam, as there's surprisingly little in the area in terms of decent pubs

The Royal Hotel has a nice bar which I often use. However, being primarily a hotel, its fairly pricey and the choice of beer is a bit limited.

 

[johntea]

I certainly find a decent station pub to be a real asset, when waiting for a train.

Hull Paragon would definitely benefit from a Wetherspoon/Head of Steam, as there's surprisingly little in the area in terms of decent pubs

There is a fairly large Wetherspoons (and many, many, many other pubs for that matter!) literally a 3-5 minute walk from the station so I can perhaps understand why a pub doesn't exist in the station.

I did notice Birmingham New Street doesn't seem to have a pub in the station which seemed quite surprising.

 

[yorksrob]

I did notice Birmingham New Street doesn't seem to have a pub in the station which seemed quite surprising.

There used to be one on the overbridge where one could buy a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, however it seems to have been swept away for all the modern tat.

 

[Iskra]

I like a good pub as much as anyone. Some of my local stations have great pubs on them (Dewsbury and Huddersfield).

But, I really don't feel every station needs or should have to have one. Maybe a cafe is a more appropriate shout.

Late last night I travelled on an EMT HST (full of drunks and littered with cans) from Wakefield Westgate (dry station) which was reasonably civilised for around 11pm on a Saturday night to Leeds (two pubs) which was absolute carnage, and had a very unpleasant atmosphere.

At the end of the day, railway staff are not employed to clear up the various fluids people deposit, nor are they there to act as security/bouncers, be abused, pick people off the floor, be assaulted, act as temporary social workers or put incapacitated people on their last train home.

 

[yorksrob]

I like a good pub as much as anyone. Some of my local stations have great pubs on them (Dewsbury and Huddersfield).

But, I really don't feel every station needs or should have to have one. Maybe a cafe is a more appropriate shout.

Late last night I travelled on an EMT HST (full of drunks and littered with cans) from Wakefield Westgate (dry station) which was reasonably civilised for around 11pm on a Saturday night to Leeds (two pubs) which was absolute carnage, and had a very unpleasant atmosphere.

At the end of the day, railway staff are not employed to clear up the various fluids people deposit, nor are they there to act as security/bouncers, be abused, pick people off the floor, be assaulted, act as temporary social workers or put incapacitated people on their last train home.

The problem with cafe's is that they tend to be closed in evenings and at weekends when you're most likely to need them. A good station bar tends to have more of an evening-y profile, so it's more likely to be open in the evening when its cold and dark.

Would Leeds be any different without its two station pubs ? I very much doubt it, given that the metropolis of Leeds is on its doorstep.

 

[Iskra]

The problem with cafe's is that they tend to be closed in evenings and at weekends when you're most likely to need them. A good station bar tends to have more of an evening-y profile, so it's more likely to be open in the evening when its cold and dark.

Would Leeds be any different without its two station pubs ? I very much doubt it, given that the metropolis of Leeds is on its doorstep.

But, are the cafes closed on weekends and evenings in part due to anti-social behaviour and drunkenness? It's something of a vicious cycle.

There would still be drunk people due to the city location, yes. I think the wing where the Spoons is would certainly be more welcoming without it in the evening (I'm not actually in favour of closing it down though).

Perhaps a cafe that stocks a small selection of wine and craft ale is a solution?

 

[fowler9]

Hmmm, the last trains out of Lime Street on a Friday and Saturday evening can be quite unpleasant but it isn't the Wetherspoons or the White Star on the station that the drunk people are falling out of on to the trains. I really don't think having a pub on the station has a massive negative impact on anti social behaviour.

 

[yorksrob]

But, are the cafes closed on weekends and evenings in part due to anti-social behaviour and drunkenness? It's something of a vicious cycle.

There would still be drunk people due to the city location, yes. I think the wing where the Spoons is would certainly be more welcoming without it in the evening (I'm not actually in favour of closing it down though).

Perhaps a cafe that stocks a small selection of wine and craft ale is a solution?

Maybe. The cafe at Chester is similar to what you suggest, and is very good, as well as open weekend evenings, so you may be on the right track.

That said - I don't think cafe's close in the evenings and weekends because of anti-social behaviour so much - just that there isn't such a market for tea and cakes of an evening. Station pubs tend to be a bit more self-sufficient from passenger traffic, so you're more likely to have somewhere warm and open of an evening.

I don't think the Wellington concourse would be more welcoming without the Spoons. I think it might feel a bit deserted.

 

[Old Yard Dog]

In all honesty, although I enjoy a pint (and I'm a member of CAMRA) I don't think pubs on major stations is a good idea. Intoxicated travelers on trains is a recipe for trouble and pubs at all major stations would only make things worse.

And as much as I admire the Wetherspoon's business model, given that they sell beer at cheap prices that would only increase the problem of drunken behavior.

Wetherspoons are a catalyst for pub closures - pubs tied to breweries or one of those dreadful pub owing companies cannot complete on prices.

In Ellesmere Port, the Wetherspoons' Thomas Telford is now the only pub we have left in the town centre proper (plus the keg-only Station hotel if you stretch it a little), which is a disgrace for a town of 60,000 people.

Milton Keynes is as bad I seem to recall.

 

[yorksrob]

Wetherspoons are a catalyst for pub closures - pubs tied to breweries or one of those dreadful pub owing companies cannot complete on prices.

In Ellesmere Port, the Wetherspoons' Thomas Telford is now the only pub we have left in the town centre proper (plus the keg-only Station hotel if you stretch it a little), which is a disgrace for a town of 60,000 people.

Milton Keynes is as bad I seem to recall.

Ashford in Kent is in a similar position. We have to go to the Weatherspoons because there's not much else.

The sad thing is, two of the pubs that I used to like weren't even killed off by competition - they were busy and well used to the day they closed. One was sold by the brewery to become a building society, the other was demolished to make way for a hotel (that never materialised - the site is still empty) in connection with the international station.

 

[colchesterken]

I haven't been there for ages but there used to be a bar on the platform at Maningtree very nice drink trainspotting all anyone could want

 

[IanD]

Perhaps a cafe that stocks a small selection of wine and craft ale is a solution?

Craft ale is never a solution to anything!

Milton Keynes is as bad I seem to recall.

Central Milton Keynes does suffer from a lack of good pubs but there are currently 4 Wetherspoons 2 of which are 5 and 10 minutes walk from the station. The station area itself is, however, bereft of bars of any sort. Hopefully, we'll still be able to hold the beer festival in the old bus station this year so at least for 4 days of the year there'll be beer close by!

The rest of Milton Keynes has plenty of half decent pubs too. The Milton Keynes CAMRA area has 138 real ale pubs (and dozens more pubs and bars that only sell keg and lager :cry: )

 

[D1009]

There used to be one on the overbridge where one could buy a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale, however it seems to have been swept away for all the modern tat.

Yes, and it wasn't very good, and neither was the Slug and Lettuce which was also swept away. Decent ale pubs in the vicinity are now the Wellington and the Post Office Tavern, which are about 5 mins walk, and going slightly more upmarket in terms of beer, the Craven Arms near the Mailbox.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Do all these pubs on major stations also offer tea and coffee to those users of these railway stations who would prefer non-alcoholic drinks?

 

[yorksrob]

Do all these pubs on major stations also offer tea and coffee to those users of these railway stations who would prefer non-alcoholic drinks?

I would have thought all of them do.

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Do all these pubs on major stations also offer tea and coffee to those users of these railway stations who would prefer non-alcoholic drinks?

Wetherspoons is good for coffee, the Head of Steam in Huddersfield has a proper coffee machine but I imagine that asking for a tea in the King's Head would be met with howls of laughter!

 

[Mikey C]

There is a fairly large Wetherspoons (and many, many, many other pubs for that matter!) literally a 3-5 minute walk from the station so I can perhaps understand why a pub doesn't exist in the station.

I did notice Birmingham New Street doesn't seem to have a pub in the station which seemed quite surprising.

The pubs near the station generally weren't places where I'd like to wait for a train with my luggage (though weirdly I managed to not notice the nearby Wetherspoons at all!), and it's far more relaxing to be able to relax at the station itself, where you can see the correct travel information etc

The pubs at York and Sheffield are great assets to the stations, and having frequented both, both seemed very civilised places, unlikely to cause anti-social behaviour on the trains later (unlike the more clubby places in town or people who stocked up in the off licence). And far nicer ways to wait for a train than on a platform