Worn Out Train Stations

[AlistairW]

Belper station, in Derbyshire is one of the best kept stations iv ever been to, and in contrast, Bottlesford station is the worst iv ever stopped at

It wasn't the same a few years ago, all of those new plants have been added recently and used to be thick undergrowth and the station became home to a large number of rats. But it has been tidied up and since 'Community Rail' started its been much more pleasant. I quite like the plant pots they had in summer. If anyone here who uses the line and has any comments that I could pass on to my dad who is part of the Friends of the Derwent Valley Line message me it'd be much appreciated.

[mountainmanUK]

Denton (in East Manchester), is an absolutely BEAUTIFUL station!!!!

Dave H.

(...and it only gets ONE train per week stopping!!!)

[johncas]

Why not rent out station buildings like you could have a shop in it and the sho keeper also sells tickets the rent would help look after the station think this has been done someware in wales

If anyone has been to switzerland you will notice all villiage stations are first class and are all staffed and the ticket office is open even at small village stations and what did we do close all ours or make them unstaffed if other countries and staff and run all villiage stations why cant we

[MuzTrem]

Because it's not cost effective.
Nice as it is to have staff at stations, the fact is that many of these lines are heavily subsidised already, the government just can't afford to pay wages for so many staff. An unstaffed station is better than no station at all IMHO.

[allypally]

Say that when you get your head kicked it at one of these unstaffed suburban stations!

Solihull station is fairly nice looking these days, good floral display etc, and while Warwick isn't 'good looking', I used it Halloween 2005 for the Castle celebrations thing, and it's 10 times better than 7 years previously in 1998 when it was Central Trains' responsibility.

[Elojikal]

All this outcry about unstaffed stations these days yet many of the suburban stations have been unstaffed at night or even during quieter parts of the day for twenty years or more now.

It started with BR and for all the acclaim that many rail enthusiasts (with a somewhat rose tinted view) give to NSE, the policy only accelerated under them. I think a lot more of the stations could be better lit of that there is no doubt, but staffing them at night will cure the symptoms but not the cause.

Railway stations are public spaces and staffing them will only drive the antisocial elements that can plague them elsewhere - most likely simply outside the station. The rise in concern over the safety of unmanned suburban stations is linked to the general concern over how safe people on the streets are at night and the rise in feral kids who hang the stations - often with mischief in mind, sometimes with malicious intent.

Everybody says "why isn't this station manned?" but nobody says "why aren't these children at home and why aren't their parents taking responsibility for them?"

[andrewtoplis]

Good point Elojikal, nostalgia does funny things! Isnt it strange though that TfL has just taken over North London Rail with a pledge to put more guys on the platforms!

Andy

[johncas]

Yes but you could rent out station buildings as shops so the local shop \ convenience store would be in the station no wages to pay the shop makes the money tickets could be sold to and thats means someone at the station easy as that and Network Rail get some rent so money to be made now twll me thats not cost effective.

[salopiangrowler]

Albrighton (Salop) ('bout 5 miles down the line from ally's codsall) is bad i must admit someone tries and makes it look nice but its building is borded up and theres barb wire running along the wall, and thats a country station.

Gobowen is a beautiful statioon looked after by morton hall girls (&boys now) school. Yorton is a beautiful station looked after by the people that live on it.

The worst station that ive had the pleasure (Displeasure) of being on was Glasgow Central underground before refurbishment in the 1990's. went up 2 years later and was lovely, especially watching 37275 hammering through light engine, goes to show when the air cons working you can do anything to an enclosed station.

[viperskil]

Why are the just blaming Network Rail and the TOC's it's more the passengers who drop litter and abuse the station and such persons as "chavs" who don't give a damn about what others think (or they'll "bang them up") who need to be given the suspicious eye.

[salopiangrowler]

since the stations that are a mess arre owned by network rail someones gotta blame them.

[allypally]

Latest initiative to make Wolverhampton look less like a lump of concrete:

They've finally pulled up the old disconnected track between platforms 1 and 2, and planted a row of trees there.

[Elojikal]

Yes but you could rent out station buildings as shops so the local shop \ convenience store would be in the station no wages to pay the shop makes the money tickets could be sold to and thats means someone at the station easy as that and Network Rail get some rent so money to be made now twll me thats not cost effective.

One of the biggest gripes you will hear from owners of late night convenience stores is the violent and antisocial elements that plague their establishments and of store owners who are verbally abused, intimidated and even in some cases physcially assaulted. My local station has a convenience store outside of it. Youths tend to congregate around there in the evenings sometimes in large numbers and sometimes can get up to mischief. While I was in there last Friday evening a couple who were bored came into the shop and ran around between the aisles, knocking some stuff over, mocking the staff and then running off out again.

The solution is to get these youths and any other anti-social element (and I try to differentiate here to a lesser degree) off the streets so that they won't even plague these public spaces to begin with.