The world's best railway stations

[electrogirl]

I really like Paddington station.

 

[teuchter]

Blimey.

How did I manage to miss that when I was there?

Probably because Stockholm's small enough that you don't really need to use it unless you're going out of the centre.

It's pretty cool though.

 

[quimcunx]

Did you sit down and weep?

I'm sure I would have done had I known the reference.





What's Vienna rail station like?

 

[teuchter]

I'm sure I would have done had I known the reference.





What's Vienna rail station like?

There are two and they are both relatively modern. One of them (westbahnhof I think) is modern in a sleek chrome and marble kind of way and I rather like it, especially the way its name is written in giant letters along the front.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Blimey.

How did I manage to miss that when I was there?

Well you could have been pissed but considering the price of beer there...

 

[laptop]

Well you could have been pissed but considering the price of beer there...

I do seem to remember wine being on the EU at dinner


Which opens the possibility that I did see it, but concluded that there must have been special mushrooms in the sauce with the reindeer steak. As one would, seeing that...

 

[frogwoman]

moscow tube withotu a doubt.

 

[miss direct]

I love Haydarpasa Station here in Istanbul. It was built by the Germans as part of their plan to create a Berlin- Baghdad railway.

 

[Isambard]

Leipzig Hbf is indeed the largest terminus station in Europe Teuchter.

This is my first time trying to upload pics from my new camera phone:
A Bratislava - Kosice train pulling into Poprad Tatry station in Slovakia last Saturday, one of my fave stations.

 

[_pH_]

I would suggest that Milano Centrale should be near the top of any list of great European terminii.

I'd agree with that. Quite surprised it's not on that list tbh

 

[plasticene]

I really like Paddington station.

yeah me too, the lighting is great and the roof is the best

 

[quimcunx]

lovely turkish stations there, miss direct.

Oh, and thanks on the vienna info, teuchter.

 

[lang rabbie]

A Bratislava - Kosice train pulling into Poprad Tatry station in Slovakia last Saturday, one of my fave stations.

I'm not sure that picture convinces anyone of anything. Is Poprad-Tatry the one with a vaguely Cabinet of Dr Caligari/Expressionist slanting roof ?

 

[Isambard]

The picture was just my first ever pic uploading so nah!

It's currently being reconstructed and admittedly is in mid 70s stalinist concrete but has:

Post Office
Newsagents
Barbers
Convenience Store
Skanky daytime drinking hole
Travel centre and tourist info with multi lingual staff
Quick ticket line
Left luggage
ATM
Currency exchange
Clean toilets
Cheap hotel next door
Bus station next door.
Supermarket a few hundred yards away
Cafeteria (under rennovaton right now)
Slightly less skanky nighttime drinking bar.

Top railway station in my book, arty farty decorations or not.

 

[Pie 1]

I would like to nominate the brand new central station in Berlin as one of the most disappointing (architecturally rather than purely functionally) in Europe.

I think it's pretty good.

 

[teuchter]

I think it's pretty good.

Well it's kind of OK, and it functions well and all that (and it's impressive as an engineering project) but I find it a bit bland in the end ... it doesn't really have much of an atmosphere to it, or anything really remarkable or memorable.

It just doesn't seem to live up to what you might expect to find when one of Europe's biggest nations, with one of the best rail networks, builds a totally new central station in their newly reunited capital city. You'd kind of hope it would be something really special.

There's not much to measure it against, I suppose; I can't think of any other completely new stations on that scale that have been built in the last twenty or thirty years. It's possibly more meaningful to compare it with airports in a way... maybe Barajas airport - I have to admit I haven't been there myself but it seems to have a strong character to it, something you'd remember and associate with the location:

 

[lang rabbie]

has:
Skanky daytime drinking hole
...
Slightly less skanky nighttime drinking bar.

So what is the difference? tablecloths? table service?

 

[teuchter]

The pictures of the Turkish stations reminded me of Sao Bento station in Porto, which has to be one of the most memorable and atmospheric I've seen in Europe. It suits the city it serves well.

 

[chilango]

The pictures of the Turkish stations reminded me of Sao Bento station in Porto, which has to be one of the most memorable and atmospheric I've seen in Europe. It suits the city it serves well.

YES! thats the one I was thinking of....

v.cool station.

 

[teuchter]

Another one that's just come to mind - Helsinki station is quite a striking building ... it was designed by Eliel Saarinen, the father of Eero Saarinen famous for designing the TWA terminal at JFK airport amongst other things.

 

[ATOMIC SUPLEX]

I've never seen what is so good about Grand Central Station, NY.

Yeah, I thought it would be really interesting but it's really rather dull.

 

[Bahnhof Strasse]

What about...

Huh?




If not, the work they did to Antwerp was ace.

 

[lang rabbie]

The pictures of the Turkish stations reminded me of Sao Bento station in Porto, which has to be one of the most memorable and atmospheric I've seen in Europe. It suits the city it serves well.

Good call. I've only bought tickets there as almost all the inter city services now use the characterless Estação de Campanhã on the outskirts.

 

[blossie33]

New Street station B'ham is probably the architectually finest station of modern times.

I presume this is a jest
Actually the original station was quite impressive.

 

[g force]

Yeah, I thought it would be really interesting but it's really rather dull.

agreed..but i think you can once see it's glamour of the main area...it's just today all the retail space and bar have removed much if it's original charm. At platform level once you go through the lovely doors it's no better than Birmingham New St.

 

[dodgepot]

templecombe gets my vote

 

[_pH_]

New Street station B'ham is probably the architectually finest station of modern times.

heh.





you ARE joking, right?

Moor Street in all its renovated finery is very nice though

even though it has got a GWR steam engine that can't go anywhere!

 

[laptop]

Moor Street in all its renovated finery is very nice though

But it's hardly Milan or VT, is it?

 

[davesgcr]

Lets celebrate my 1000 post ......

Apart from the shack at Effingham Junction , or the isolation of Sugar Loaf Halt - (26 passengers a year who paid)


It has to be the glorious , restored , ambience of Grand Central. The Oyster Bar and the Cheescake vendors does it , as well as the art deco information booth with clock , subway connections and stellar ceiling



Truly a ferrovian cathedral

 

[HackneyE9]

To be fair to Berlin, the architect did complain that as part of the cost-cutting, the DB cut long lengths of canopy of both ends - otherwise it would have looked more like a cool glass wrap-around slug, with tower in centre.

Also, there is a bit too much retail/shopping mall atmopshere inside, although looking at a departure board that has night trains to Moscow, Warsaw, Munich, Vienna, Rome etc is compensation. And it pisses on anything in Blighty, natch.

Rome station is quite an impressive 60s structure, from memory.

Los Angeles station is a small 1930s style villa, but very atmospheric. Used in films quite often. Proud to say the only time I've ever been to LA I arrived by train - bet not many people can claim that.

New Antwerp is all underground, isn't it??