Worst (major) train station you’ve been to

[Geoffrey Howe]

Which is the worst (major) train station you’ve been to?

[Geoffrey Howe]

My experience of American stations (Boston South, NYC Penn Central) is pretty bad, but I think the biscuit goes either to Gare du Nord or Montparnasse.

[Santander]

NY Penn Station is hell, as was Beijing Station when I last visited in 2011, although being China, I wouldn't be surprised if it's come leaps and bounds since then. I agree Paris stations are notoriously horrible, but most of my train riding in France is out of Gare de Lyon, which isn't that bad. Clapham Junction is the worst through station.

[parochial boy]

I want to say Paris Montparnasse, not because the station itself is particularly unpleasant, but more because I pass through it three of four times a year and every, single time I wind up being massively delayed for whatever reason.

Shanghai was pretty mad the one time I visited it, but that was probably mostly me not understanding anything and being out of this world tired after an endlessely delayed flight and 36 hours without sleep.

Beyond that, Waterloo is terrible purely because it is just massively over capacity.

Clapham Junction and Wien Meidling are both pretty sad, but they are both mostly junctions, so are fairly functional in that respect

[Geoffrey Howe]

I want to say Paris Montparnasse, not because the station itself is particularly unpleasant, but more because I pass through it three of four times a year and every, single time I wind up being massively delayed for whatever reason.

Shanghai was pretty mad the one time I visited it, but that was probably mostly me not understanding anything and being out of this world tired after an endlessely delayed flight and 36 hours without sleep.

Beyond that, Waterloo is terrible purely because it is just massively over capacity.

Clapham Junction and Wien Meidling are both pretty sad, but they are both mostly junctions, so are fairly functional in that respect

I have a bad experience of Montparnasse (and the SNCF), but the TGV from Montparnasse to La Rochelle is excellent. The only other experience I have of French trains is Bordeaux St Jean --> La Rochelle which is a nice journey and St Jean is a good station.
Waterloo is the busiest in the UK; I haven't been taken many trains from there, but whenever I have it hasn't actually seemed too bad (though it wasn't rush hour). Clapham Junction is a total mess.

I think Paddington is excellent; Victoria is awful.

NY Penn Station is hell, as was Beijing Station when I last visited in 2011, although being China, I wouldn't be surprised if it's come leaps and bounds since then. I agree Paris stations are notoriously horrible, but most of my train riding in France is out of Gare de Lyon, which isn't that bad. Clapham Junction is the worst through station.

My experience of Chinese trains a few years back was pretty good. The train stations are like airports, and it's all a little surreal, but it's efficient etc.

[parochial boy]

I have a bad experience of Montparnasse (and the SNCF), but the TGV from Montparnasse to La Rochelle is excellent. The only other experience I have of French trains is Bordeaux St Jean --> La Rochelle which is a nice journey and St Jean is a good station.
Waterloo is the busiest in the UK; I haven't been taken many trains from there, but whenever I have it hasn't actually seemed too bad (though it wasn't rush hour). Clapham Junction is a total mess.

I think Paddington is excellent; Victoria is awful.

I do the Paris - Rennes TGV regularly because my parents have decided to retire out that way. The new high speed line is amazing - when it all works . To put it into perspective, the last time I did the journey, I was supposed to arrive at 7pm, and didn't actually get there till 1.30am. It's pretty much enough to ruin the start of a holiday.

Broadly speaking, the TGV's are fantastic, but regional and local trains are... well they're not a disaster so much as they basically don't exist. The TERs and stuff are just so infrequent and the lines are so sparse that they are completely useless for the purpose of travelling anywhere. Like I remember trying to get into Brittany from Caen one time, just not possible, I had to wait three hours at Caen station to eventually get a train that made it to Coutances. So not even out of Normandie.

I'm going to be boring and say St Pancras is the best London station. Kings Cross isn't bad, but it's surprisingly small given that is probably the single most famous terminal.

[vitoNova]

Union Station in DC, solely because of the restrooms.   I could swear I heard someone getting their cheeks clapped in one of the stalls.  

[Geoffrey Howe]

I have a bad experience of Montparnasse (and the SNCF), but the TGV from Montparnasse to La Rochelle is excellent. The only other experience I have of French trains is Bordeaux St Jean --> La Rochelle which is a nice journey and St Jean is a good station.
Waterloo is the busiest in the UK; I haven't been taken many trains from there, but whenever I have it hasn't actually seemed too bad (though it wasn't rush hour). Clapham Junction is a total mess.

I think Paddington is excellent; Victoria is awful.

I do the Paris - Rennes TGV regularly because my parents have decided to retire out that way. The new high speed line is amazing - when it all works . To put it into perspective, the last time I did the journey, I was supposed to arrive at 7pm, and didn't actually get there till 1.30am. It's pretty much enough to ruin the start of a holiday.

Broadly speaking, the TGV's are fantastic, but regional and local trains are... well they're not a disaster so much as they basically don't exist. The TERs and stuff are just so infrequent and the lines are so sparse that they are completely useless for the purpose of travelling anywhere. Like I remember trying to get into Brittany from Caen one time, just not possible, I had to wait three hours at Caen station to eventually get a train that made it to Coutances. So not even out of Normandie.

I'm going to be boring and say St Pancras is the best London station. Kings Cross isn't bad, but it's surprisingly small given that is probably the single most famous terminal.

Yes, to visit my uncle up near Morlaix from La Rochelle, you have to take three trains I think.
Kings Cross is indeed surprisingly small, and has surprisingly few major routes - it’s effectively just the LNER up to Edinburgh plus some local stuff around East Anglia.

[Torrain]

As someone who's Interrailed across Europe on several different occasions, I've seen a lot of stations in my time. Most have been pleasant experiences. The trains in Germany, Switzerland and Poland are a delight. Italy has world-class express trains, and fine regional lines. Scandinavia is pretty good too. The Czech Republic's infrastructure is quaint, but full of character.

But - I've lost more time and money in French stations than all the rest of the countries put together - thanks to issues with staff, poor maintenance and a lack of signposting. For contrast, I spent two days on French trains - in full, normal condition. I then travelled from Dover to Edinburgh in the UK, during a huge rail-worker strike that prompted delays and mass-overcrowding and the latter was still preferably to the French experience.

Gare du Nord in Paris is a particularly bad example. Thanks to the staff there, I ended up on a train that stopped over a kilometre short of my destination, and forced me to walk alongside one of the busiest motorways in the north until I got to the ferry port. I had no idea Paris-Calais would be such a nightmare.

[beesley]

Ugh, I resent the term 'train station' so much.

Relative to what it should be, NY Penn. I got more from railway stations in remote rural Thailand.

[Geoffrey Howe]

Ugh, I resent the term 'train station' so much.

?

[beesley]

Ugh, I resent the term 'train station' so much.

?

It's 'railway station' ('railroad station' is also acceptable).

[Geoffrey Howe]

Ugh, I resent the term 'train station' so much.

?

It's 'railway station' ('railroad station' is also acceptable).

Not sure about that - I think the argument that it is a stop along a railway not a train. But etymologically, station simply means a post/halt or a stopping place. So train station means a stopping place for trains.

Railway station is of course fine .

[Lechasseur]

I want to say Paris Montparnasse, not because the station itself is particularly unpleasant, but more because I pass through it three of four times a year and every, single time I wind up being massively delayed for whatever reason.

Shanghai was pretty mad the one time I visited it, but that was probably mostly me not understanding anything and being out of this world tired after an endlessely delayed flight and 36 hours without sleep.

Beyond that, Waterloo is terrible purely because it is just massively over capacity.

Clapham Junction and Wien Meidling are both pretty sad, but they are both mostly junctions, so are fairly functional in that respect

I’ve actually never been to the Gare de Montparnasse. I’ve taken the train at Saint Lazare, at Gare de Lyon and Gare du Nord, and then I’ve picked up a friend at Gare d’Austerlitz even though I’ve never taken a train there myself. That being said, the worst of those 4 imo seemed to be Gare d’Austerlitz, kind of a mess getting around and it clearly needs renovation. Gare du Nord is in the worst area though. I’ll probably go to Montparnasse by the end of the year though.

[Lechasseur]

The worst TRAIN stations I’ve been to are probably Bruxelles Gare du Nord followed by Lille Flandres

[junior chįmp]

Every train station in India I went to

[Mr. Smith]

Rome.

Kinda foreshadowed how underwhelming the city was going to be.