Where is your local station?

[Mike C]

My local is Huntingdon or "Hunt-the-dog-down" as we call the town for fun.

Station has a nice large, open feel to it, 3 platforms, station Cafe/shop. Staff are friendly. Services usually run to time, esp south as we are only the second stop after departing Peterborough. When there is major disruption or engineering works, East Coast services stop either in place of or as well as Peterborough. Platforms are long enough for a North of London Eurostar (except #1 which is only long enough for an 8 car set).

The only thing that detracts from the locale is the A14 flyover that somewhat dominates the station and leaves the northern ends of the platforms in the shade, which contrasts to the southern end which is right on the edge of town and opens out to fields and countryside.

 

[blackettstreet]

apart from newcastle, i sort of have gateshead metro which isn't the greatest. not that i really like the T&W metro at all!

 

[Class172]

Well obviously my local station is Droitwich Spa. Good services to Bimringham and Worcester (3tph off-peak) though could be improved. Good facilities and a warm, heated waiting room; there is also a small café that sells a variety of food and beverages.

Only thing I'm not fond of is the architecture. The main building is a bland, single-storey brick building - I would like to see the original GWR buildings reinstated (à la Moor Street).

 

[Blindtraveler]

geographically, brunstain/newcraighall on Edinburgh crossrail although use niether as not the nicest or easiest to walk to and niether has a bus service.

In the days of 322 opperations on my rare visits to dunbar or even rairer ones to northberwick I would go to musselburgh by bus and take a service from there as going to EDB simply means backtracking
however as I am not a deziro fan the express bus to these 2 towns now gets my custom and is only a short local bus trip from my door to catch it.

For everything else its Waverley

 

[WatcherZero]

My local stations are Wigan Wallgate and Wigan North Western

Wallgate while rather compact for a station of its usage is visually quite attractive with many period features though I wouldnt say it was maintained to the highest standards. No retail at all now that the newsagents kiosk has been closed to make room for an expanded ticket office which is a pain as you then have to leave after if you want something before the train arrives after purchasing tickets/checking times. Very good frequency of service with a metro like turn up and go, no more than 10-15 minutes wait even if you just missed a train.

North Western is the complete opposite, the best thing you can say is it has a good choice of national services with a respectable frequency. The station however is poorly maintained, cold, horrible 70's styling with poor waiting room and refreshment facilities for the long distance (often long wait) customer. It has a nice if limited sized ticket office that was renovated about five years ago. The most annoying thing is the stations destination boards are at the entrance in a very small entrance lobby that gets very crowded and with no seating, as you leave this modern entrance area to get to the platforms you are back into 70's facilities.

 

[Clip]

Now I have moved, my locals are Cambridge Heath & London Fields. Depressing places but at least its quick to liv st.

 

[Madge Wildfire]

Mine is Nailsea & Backwell, between Bristol and Weston. It used to have a brick built station (on piers as the railway is above ground level) and signal box, but they have been demolished and only the brick piers remain as they are part of the railway foundations.

The station is midway between the two places it serves. The service is good, but as the car park is full before 9 a.m. and doesn't have spaces until after 4.30 p.m., it does not promote travel for those who live some distance away unless they fancy a half hour walk each way, or have someone to transport them.

No facilities other than a plastic bus shelter thing on each platform.

 

[gavinjustice]

my local station is Greenfaulds. there are lots of freight trains to places like Grangemouth, Longannet, Hunterston and Inverness. The only problem is that there is not much shelter so its very cold most of the time in winter

 

[Statto]

Leasowe, a metro style station with no real facilities other than a Ticket Office, although there is a Toilet which is locked, with a metro style service of every 15 min 7am-7pm Mon-Sat including most Bank Holidays, every 30 min at other times. First service about 6am[8:10am on Sundays] to the last about 23:50 & Ticket office open 7 days a week, except Christmas Day & Boxing Day, from before the first service till the last service.

The area itself is not too bad, although given it's about 1 mile from Liverpool Bay, as in Winter there can be a cold wind blowing off the Sea, especially if your walking down the Road heading in to Leasowe,, although it can be lovely & warm in Summer with a nice breeze comming in off the Sea.

 

[Bastiaan]

Mine is Zwolle in The Netherlands. It's a major hub station in the North-East of the country. The half-hourly Intercity services Groningen / Leeuwarden - The Hague / Rotterdam / Schiphol call here. Also there is a half-hourly Intercity to Arnhem, Nijmegen, 's-Hertogenbosch and other cities in the South.
There are excellent connections between Intercities, local trains and buses. Every half hour (at 15 and 45 past each hour) these Intercities arrive and depart at the same time, making connections with local trains (Sprinters) and buses possible.
Journey times are aproximately 50 minutes to Utrecht, 1h15 to Amsterdam and one hour to Groningen.
The station building is a nice historic building dating from 1866. The platforms are a bit of a mess at the moment, because the passenger tunnel under the platforms is being widened from 7 to 15 metres. We now have to use a temporary bridge over the railway lines, which makes the station looking rather British now. Also a new platform with lines 9 and 10 will be built (passengers are directed to a "spoor" (line/track) in stead of a platform). When these works are finished, the station will have 13 lines/platforms. This is necessary to cater for extra trains as a result of the opening of the Hanze-line, a new railway line from Zwolle to Amsterdam via Lelystad, which will open at the end of 2012.
The station has a sufficient number of shops. Every platform has its own "Kiosk", serving hot drinks, sandwiches and snacks. Also there is a supermarket (AH to go) with a large assortiment of salads and prepared meals. The station still has its own old-style refreshment room, but unfortunately it will be closed next year to make room for more modern shops.

 

[317666]

My local station is Cambridge. It's a nice station, with a distinctive station building. The service frequencies to London are superb, 3tph to Kings Cross (4 if you count the stopper which gets overtaken) and 2tph to Liverpool Street. Sadly, going the other way isn't quite as frequent. 1tph to Kings Lynn, 1tph to Ipswich, 1tph to Norwich and 1tph to Birmingham New Street. There is also 1tph to Stansted Airport.

Recently our new island platforms, 7 and 8, were opened. I'm one of the few people who don't mind it being so far away from the city centre - if it was in the city centre it would be even further away from my house than it is now

Only thing I don't like about the station is how busy it can get sometimes. The ticket hall at about 9 or 10am is an absolute nightmare.

 

[jonesy3001]

My local station is morecambe even though i live closer to the heysham port branch line which only sees one service a day.

 

[Temple Meads]

Mine is Tiverton Parkway, a regular service of mainly "big" trains, nice waiting area, great staff, and a decent shop.
Because it's 7 miles from Tiverton itself, you don't get yobbos hanging out there either.

 

[burneside]

Greenwich. It has a fine old station building which looks splendid from the main road, it's just a shame the inside doesn't live up expectations, the toilets have been "temporarily" closed for months.

 

[Gathursty]

Going off Google it would be Pemberton but taking into account footpaths, it's definitely Gathurst.

Pemberton is typical of a suburban TfGM station but it's a bit rundown. There's a design on the platform symbolising Lancashire's red rose I think but it's uncared for. There's shelters and seats too which are basic. Outside is a frequent bus service and The Railway Inn.

Gathurst can be picturesque in decent weather. It's set in the Douglas valley and the M6 viaduct is within view. I think the facilities are basic (shelter, some seats, lights, potted plants and some flowerbeds) but I'd rather wait in the pub next to the station which is quite nice.

At uni, Lancaster station is my local. The bulidings are quite impressive; very inkeeping with the castle behind it. It is staffed unlike the above two and has 4 placs to buy food, two of which you can sit down in. There's waiting rooms, lift access and is just outside of town on top of a hill. I think it's nice to spend some time in and the staff are great.

 

[ng1980]

Suwon (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suwon_Station)

 

[142094]

not that i really like the T&W metro at all!

Wash your mouth out!

Things in Gateshead would be a lot worse without the Metro - well things in Tyne and Wear would be a lot worse if it wasn't there.

 

[first_ade]

mine is Winchester. busy old place with SWT and XC services. all the SWt generally come down from Waterloo, but the destinations are quite a variety along the south coast. The XC services all come up from bournemouth and head to manchester or scotland. Good freight interest for the kids too. Station itself is ok, but not that great for such a busy and relatively wealthy city, there is no decent coffee shop just the characterless franchise and the ticket hall on both sides is pretty average. Staff also seem to be either really friendly or really unfriendly!

Network Rail rebuilt the north roadbridge last year, we used to have 3 lovely red brick arch bridges that framed the station; the view south is still lovely but the ghastly northern replacement is a stalinist concrete monstrosity.
good thing about the south bridges is that they give you a great view of the station, the kids love to watch from there.

our favourite station though is Eastleigh. Service wise its obviously similar to Winch with the additional interest of the 'teeny-tiny' (my 3 yr old sons description!) train to and from Romsey, the XC voyagers thundering thro and all the goods activity to the north and the gravel working by the station itself. the station building is also more characterful than Winch and much better than the modernist steel, plastic and glass of Airport Parkway just down the line.

 

[ValleyLines142]

My local station is Waun-Gron Park in Cardiff, on the City Line. It is served by a half hourly service on Monday-Saturday between Radyr and Coryton, departing at 12 and 42 minutes past each hour towards Cardiff Central, Queen Street and Coryton; and at 14 and 44 minutes past each hour towards Radyr, most trains do usually pass at Waun-Gron. Unfortunately there is no Sunday service, in fact, on the occassional services that do run on the Valley Lines on a Sunday, it is awfully dire, I'd say literally a third of what it normally is during the week. Main rolling stock is Class 142 and 143's, and the occasional 150. However, on Saturdays, rolling stock is usually a 153! We are the only line on the Valley Lines network to be served by 153's! Our line is important as a diversion if the main line via Cardiff Queen Street and Llandaff is closed. Two Treherbert services pass non-stop to Radyr via this line.

Waun-Gron Park is an unstaffed station with staggered platforms that sits on a busy junction in the Fairwater area of Cardiff. It is also the nearest station to the large area of Ely (and Caerau) too, just a walk over Ely Bridge. The station is basic, with a waiting shelter on both platforms, but we have recently had live departure boards installed on both platforms. When it snows, it is an absolutely beautiful scene! You can see trains approaching from Fairwater station if you look northwards towards Radyr, i.e. trains running towards Cardiff and Coryton; this is the case for me when I catch the 0712, the first train of the day, which is quite late starting! It's a lovely station and a really useful line, but could really do with an increased service, the reason it is half-hourly is because of the single line stretch between Heath Low Level and Coryton, but apart from that, I can't complain, and services are almost always on time.

 

[shinkansen1966]

Mine is Crouch Hill, north London.

Once served by a National Express Silverlink trains class 150s. Now it's back in state hands with frequency doubled, new class 172 trains and you can use your Oyster card - only £1.30.

I use this Crouch Hill London Overground service a fair bit. Seems to get busier with each trip. It's a great service for getting everyday people crossing north London so they can go about their everyday business.

 

[Harlesden]

Harlesden. One ticket machine, located actually outside the station (exposed to the elements) and impossible to use when the sun is shining on it due to not being able to see anything on the screen.
Ticket Office closed more often than it is open - despite London Overground promises of longer opening hours.
Very tatty signage at the top of the steps leading down to the station entrance.

 

[WestCoast]

Mine is Ansdell & Fairhaven, an unstaffed, single platform station on the South Fylde Branch Line. It features a small waiting shelter with timetable boards and not much else; there's no TVM or departures screen.

It's served once hourly by Northern's Blackpool South - Colne service, which is usually operated by a 142 Pacer or occasionally a 150 Sprinter. There's no Sunday service in Winter.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Mine is Ansdell & Fairhaven, an unstaffed, single platform station on the South Fylde Branch Line. It features a small waiting shelter with timetable boards and not much else; there's no TVM or departures screen.

It's served once hourly by Northern's Blackpool South - Colne service, which is usually operated by a 142 Pacer or occasionally a 150 Sprinter. There's no Sunday service in Winter.

Ahh you live by my favourite place EVER

 

[Smelly_Diesel]

My local station is Chester. Pretty busy station. Used to be a regular on the Miseryrail service into the Wirral. Got Pacers and 150's & 158's on the Mid-Cheshire line (A particular favourite of mine to travel along up into Manchester). Also get SuperVoyagers going to Holyhead and London, 175's doing the North to South Wales & To Manchester Piccadilly thing. Others that come to mind are the shufflers along to Crewe and it gets it's share of freight traffic. The Chester station experience isn't that bad....in the summer. Platform 7b is unpleasent in the winter but the ticket staff are generally very pleasant. Can't say I am much about the ticket barrier staff in regards to consistency when it comes to tackling fare evaders but that's just another posting entireley.

 

[alexjames]

Mine are Harrow on the Hill (doesn't really count because its a LUL entity although good German trains stop there) and Wealdstone. The latter has had a lot of refurbishment in recent years and is in quite good nick. It even has a discreet smoking area at the Southern end of P5 under the bridge. Or so I and one or two others have decided.

 

[Smelly_Diesel]

My local station is Chester. Pretty busy station. Used to be a regular on the Miseryrail service into the Wirral. Got Pacers and 150's & 158's on the Mid-Cheshire line (A particular favourite of mine to travel along up into Manchester). Also get SuperVoyagers going to Holyhead and London, 175's doing the North to South Wales & To Manchester Piccadilly thing. Others that come to mind are the shufflers along to Crewe and it gets it's share of reight traffic. The Chester station experience isn't that bad....in the summer. Platform 7b is unpleasent in the winter but the ticket staff are generally very pleasant. Can't say I am much about the ticket barrier staff in regards to consistency when it comes to tackling fare evaders but that's just another posting entireley.

 

[Proud Salopian]

My local is Church Stretton, which is a nice enough station but a shame that they demolished the proper station buildings! Now consists of a footbridge, two shelters, some information screens (that sometimes talk in a robot voice) and a plaque telling you the elevation and longitude of the station! :roll:

The gardens by the platforms are looked after by volunteers, which is something appreciated by visitors to the town. Free car parking on both sides of the station is also a good point.

As for trains: not a bad service, but the new timetable (May 2011 onwards) is pretty rubbish. Still, we have direct trains to Shrewsbury, Crewe, Manchester, Chester, Holyhead, Cardiff, as well as the Heart of Wales Line trains.

Occasionally a steam train passes through, which usually attracts a good number of townspeople to the station and the town's footbridges.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Stretton_railway_station

My nearest big station is Shrewsbury - which is one of those stations which should be looked after better/have more facilities but for some reason doesn't. Not even an ATM (and the nearest are quite far too, despite the station being in the centre of town). I suspect not much will have changed at Shrewsbury in 2025 or even 2035..

 

[Schnellzug]

Mine is Crouch Hill, north London.

Once served by a National Express Silverlink trains class 150s. Now it's back in state hands with frequency doubled, new class 172 trains and you can use your Oyster card - only £1.30. .

By State hands do you mean 50% owned by the German government?

 

[trainophile]

Mine is Hereford. Nice typical old fashioned buildings, the usual extremely draughty platforms all year round. Heated waiting room on south platform but on north there's only the cafe, so you have to be a bit cheeky if it's freezing, and wait in there without buying anything.

Could definitely do with a lift to get up to and down from the bridge. Bit tricky if travelling with large luggage - have to ask a staff member to escort you across the tracks a fair way from the platforms.

Toilets recently refurbed and now not as unpleasant as some, but still a bit basic. They close at something like 2130 which could catch out someone unfamiliar with the station who didn't bother to "go" on their train.

Pretty adequate services in both directions, and staff are friendly and helpful. One TVM in the ticket hall but counters are usually open except very early in the morning.

I also use Southport a lot when at my other place, and have nothing bad to say about it. Not that it's wonderful, but it serves my requirements fine. Oh except that the ticket office is in the shop so you have to queue up with people buying groceries to buy a ticket. Also barriers mean if you're waiting for someone you can't really go on the platform without major confusion, and there are hardly any seats in the huge hallway that the barriers discharge onto. Easily room for a couple of dozen more than the 6 (I think) there are.

 

[313103]

Wanstead Park on LO. When it was part of NR, it was horrible, a really foreboding place with no staff, no help points and no shelter!
Since TfL took over, it has been transformed with staffing, new lighting, PA, shelters, info screens and help points. And of course, new stock with the 172s.

Actually i should cut and paste this and just replace the station name to Crouch Hill. Freight is very active on this route as well.

That makes two of us on this line EM2. I have probably been your Guard a couple of times without knowing!