Trivia: Your least desirable station to wait at

[lxfe_mxtterz]

Certainly not the worst by any stretch, but having recently undertaken route learning in the Twickenham area with waits of up to half an hour when changing between trains, Twickenham struck me as a rather unpleasant place to wait for any extended amount of time. Cold and windy, not very much adequate shelter and very surprisingly for a station of its size, no waiting room to be seen!

 

[cjw714]

Bristol Parkway. Even after rebuilding it’s still a cold and windy place.
Talking of which can I be the first to mention Altnabreac, it’s no good asking anyone nearby for a hot drink!

There is a pub and other amenities in the surprisingly pleasant village of Stoke Gifford which is only about five minutes walk away!

Exton in winter wind and rain.

Likewise, there is a pub very close to Exton station which you could retire to if the weather turns bad.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 11 Jan 2026 ==

About 20 years ago my friend was driving me back down the M6 and rather than dropping me off as usual at Birmingham International for my train to New Street and onward from there for some reason we thought Cannock might be more convenient. With time to kill before my train I wandered into the nearby pub which felt incredibly unwelcoming. I then spent about 40 minutes pretty much alone in the dark on the station platform with no information on when or if a train might arrive. The first scheduled train didn't turn up but thankfully the second did and I was able with great relief to get back into the centre of Birmingham.

 

[jamesst]

Ellesmere Port or Overpool, both dumps full of the local clientele trying to trash the place.

 

[Torfaen]

Was initially going to nominate South Bermondsey, but, on second thoughts, how about any number of the rural stations on the West Highland line in Scotland, this on a summer evening, when all the midges in the locality are out and about in great profusion?!

I second the comment about the "wee beasties" in Scotland. I have been plagued by them on several occasions while waiting at Highlands stations. I've found they're less bad on the footbridge - if there is one.

 

[Ashley Hill]

There is a pub and other amenities in the surprisingly pleasant village of Stoke Gifford which is only about five minutes walk away

I’ve been to the Beaufort Arms and wished I had stayed at the station.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Ashburys. All the wind of Picc 13/14 but none of the facilities and a distinctly edgy feel.

There are probably similar examples in south London where you'd want your big coat and 999 on speed dial.

Kempston Hardwick also wouldn't be wonderful as there's nothing there, but at least it isn't unsafe per se.

 

[Kite159]

I'd imagine Bordesley would be quite unpleasant, and you'd likely be waiting a good while.

As for stations that get a regular service near me, I'd say Dudley Port is quite unpleasant, having a fairly thin island platform and a pretty old shelter.

Bordesley is one of those stations where you probably won't be waiting for long for a train on the platform as from memory it's a bit like Peartree in having access control.

Other stations not nice to hang around for connections, Preston for the endless announcements for delays/cancellations/platform alterations & lack of seats at the 3C/4C end. Similar when waiting for a LNR on platform 7 at Crewe which does have a lack of seating & canopy at the London end.

 

[pitdiver]

No one has mentioned my "favourite" station, Berney Arms.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Other stations not nice to hang around for connections, Preston for the endless announcements for delays/cancellations/platform alterations & lack of seats at the 3C/4C end. Similar when waiting for a LNR on platform 7 at Crewe which does have a lack of seating & canopy at the London end.

Fortunately most WMT Euston trains now use 12 instead (so they can be 240m long) which while it's a bit isolated does have proper facilities.

 

[Spaceship323]

in pitch black fog.

You could end up down an 'ole, with an owl!

Spent an hour at Ellesmere port last year, waiting for the northern service to Liverpool,I've never been so relieved to get on a train

 

[mmh]

A lot of the Overground stations on the East London Line aren’t very pleasant. Canada Water is a drab, windswept place late at night when waiting for the night Overground. With little seats. And Rotherhite, albeit atmospheric, has a very narrow and uncomfortable platform.

Canada Water is underground?

 

[rmHawk765]

Off peak, I find all of the in-tunnel part of the NCL to have quite a strange feeling to it, even with other people around, it all just feels a bit odd.

There are two reasons the whole off-peak oddity could be explained. One, the poor service levels at the minute (just 2tph off-peak down the two branches at the minute), leading to it indeed being rather quiet at that time. But also, it's the only line in London of its kind really, with dim lighting and Tube-like platforms yet served by mainline trains. The closest thing to it is the TL core which is all modern and fancy so it doesn't give the same effect, no matter how many people are at any given station.

 

[Sad Sprinter]

Canada Water is underground?

It’s just below the service I think. However it’s built, it can still get quite draughty down there. I’m guessing because Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe are close by

 

[fandroid]

Gomshall? Even though it's the station for the village I grew up in (happily btw!). It's hidden away and up on an embankment and dominated by the ugliest footbridge in Britain. For those in the know, there is a pub 10 minutes away, but that's not visible from anywhere in the station itself.

 

[D1537]

Purely on statistics, going from the BTPs 2024 data the 3 most dangerous stations to wait at were Charing, Tiverton Parkway and Shipley.

These were ones with 100K+ passengers and/or 100+ incidents, as otherwise the data was skewed - the "most dangerous" station was Johnston in Pembrokeshire with 10 incidents but only 7K passengers

 

[Tester]

Purely on statistics, going from the BTPs 2024 data the 3 most dangerous stations to wait at were Charing, Tiverton Parkway and Shipley.

These were ones with 100K+ passengers and/or 100+ incidents, as otherwise the data was skewed - the "most dangerous" station was Johnston in Pembrokeshire with 10 incidents but only 7K passengers

I didn't have those on my bingo card!

 

[satisnek]

Let's face it, any unstaffed/part-time staffed station without a nearby pub can qualify here. And sometimes the pub can be quite uninviting too.

 

[Djgr]

Bidston. Even on a sunny summer's day it's a desolate place to wait for a train.

Though unlikely than you will be waiting 60 minutes.

A reminder that a massive Tesco with cafe is five minutes walk away.

 

[Djgr]

Ellesmere Port or Overpool, both dumps full of the local clientele trying to trash the place.

Though a decent asian restaurant at Overpool and a nearby Spoons.

 

[Bletchleyite]

Off peak, I find all of the in-tunnel part of the NCL to have quite a strange feeling to it, even with other people around, it all just feels a bit odd.

It's a nice reminder of what the Tube was like before the massive station upgrades of the 1990s and early 2000s.

 

[Kite159]

Fortunately most WMT Euston trains now use 12 instead (so they can be 240m long) which while it's a bit isolated does have proper facilities.

And probably helps spread out loadings a little bit. Rather than everybody in the rear coach

 

[pokemonsuper9]

And probably helps spread out loadings a little bit. Rather than everybody in the rear coach

Not too much.
I used a 12 car from there in November.
coaches 1-4 were the busiest, followed by 5 - 8 slowly trending emptier.
And 9-12 were pretty much empty, I had the declassified first class to myself for quite a while, no one but me was in 11 or 12 leaving Crewe.
By Nuneaton where I got off people were standing in pretty much all of 1-8 (with 1-4 too packed to walk through), while there were about 5-10 people in coach 11.

 

[Llanigraham]

I'm amazed it hasn't been included, so.........
Dyfi Junction. especially if there's a cold and wet westerly blowing.

 

[BeijingDave]

Bordesley is one of those stations where you probably won't be waiting for long for a train on the platform as from memory it's a bit like Peartree in having access control.

Other stations not nice to hang around for connections, Preston for the endless announcements for delays/cancellations/platform alterations & lack of seats at the 3C/4C end. Similar when waiting for a LNR on platform 7 at Crewe which does have a lack of seating & canopy at the London end.

Either Crewe or Preston would be no problem IMO.

A few people around even late at night.

The bar on platform 6 at Crewe might still be open; not sure about Preston's amenities.

 

[Iskra]

Crewe. It's in a state of disrepair, is pretty bleak and has poor facilities with little charm. Even the waiting room feels like it should be in a hospital or prison.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Moston

 

[ChrisC]

Newstead on the Robin Hood Line. A desolate platform to be waiting on when the wind is blowing down the line from the north.

 

[Howardh]

Round my way, somewhere like Kearsley would be undesirable (exposed, little shelter etc) but it's only a short walk from a regular bus route (think the pub on the corner's closed?) and even petrol station for a warm drink.

There must be many similar stations fairly local to me which have nothing around them (Hosker/Bescar lane?) and too far a walk to any facilities if the next train's an hour away.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Corrour

 

[faltskog36abba]

Moston

You beat me to it, Its a horrible station at night and all the local riff raff hang around after dark. I wait on the main road and run down the ramp as the train approaches.