I have previously written about my mega train journey I took earlier this year. In that post I scored my train journeys. This post I’ll rank all the train stations I visited as part of the trip, then a little reflection on what I think makes a great train station.

Worst to Best

Here goes…

Zürich Hardbrücke

2/10

This is not the main station in Zürich but that doesn’t mean I won’t dunk on it. It feels like an underpass with a railway station in it. The sort of vibe where you might get stabbed and take no pleasure in having to wait for a train (thankfully you don’t need to wait long). It doesn’t seem to have many shops or places to hang out and the surrounding area isn’t immediately pleasant.

London St Pancras

3/10

This might be controversial but mainly it gets hammered for the Eurostar waiting experience. Arriving in St Pancras is lovely. Wonderful roof, free toilets, plenty of shops, well connected to get elsewhere. Totally opposite for leaving from St Pancras to continental Europe.

You often have to queue earlier than you’d like (thanks Brexit and the multiple passport checks) and even if you aren’t rushing late then you are stuck in the windowless hole that is the waiting area for the Eurostar. It feels cramped and sad. You have a Pret, a bar and some toilets and that’s about it. You could be excited for your trip then get told to go sit in a damp, dark shed for a bit before you’re let out. This could be a happier place.

Brussels Midi/Zuid

Day 2: 'Love at first sight', Belgium pic.twitter.com/j9ECeqBOc4

— Colin Pattinson (@ColinPattinson) April 8, 2023

4/10

Not overly offensive but mostly underground. So no natural light. Lacks soul. Considering Belgian has great beer, chocolate and food I think you could fill any train station with more interesting places to eat/drink.

Berlin Schönhauser Allee station

4/10

A small train station in Berlin, more for commuters so it’s a bit harsh to judge against some other stations but it’s basically just some platforms. I think also underground so there is no natural light (which clearly I must value since I bang on about it so much).

Ljubljana station

4/10

Absolutely lovely city and country for that matter. The station though is a bit run down and a disappointment. A bit of a walk north, so not the best location. Then there’s a load of buses outside which seem popular but don’t add to the beauty of the station. When you are at the station there is a McDonald’s and a coffee shop and you have to wander through underpasses quite far away from the main building to cross tracks and reach your train. It’s not terrible but not a great place to kill time. The main hall, despite being small, just feels very disconnected.

Villach station

4/10

Bit harsh as I didn’t spend a load of time here but just felt a bit industrial. Like I was waiting around with a bunch of freight trains. Didn’t have a ton of time to explore so perhaps it is much better. Nice view of mountains though.

Lyon Part Dieu

4/10

There was a ton of work being done to this station and it’s quite large. The big thing I remember along with being shonked around the building work (once spent 5 minutes walking down a corridor thinking I could get out only to be blocked from exiting the station and having to make a retreat)… was opposite the station is just a giant Westfield shopping centre. I don’t know why I find this odd. Just seems like Stratford has suddenly landed in Lyon.

Lots of trams outside which is good, as it’s not that close to the city centre. Lots of people milling about outside which become a hazard to all the directed traffic trying to get in and out of the station. Inside is busy and the vibe reminds me of Newcastle Arena oddly. Sorta falling down and industrial. Nice city, maybe it’ll be amazing after all the work being done to it.

Berlin Potsdamer Platz station

5/10

Another non-main station, well I say that but it’s quite popular given the location. It’s a giant block essentially. You descend into the block and then hunt around underground. The surrounding area is great, full of shops but the inside of the station is totally non-descript. Functional.

Wien Mitte

5/10

Similar vibe to the above. This is another, non-main station but in Vienna. It has a shopping centre above it and a park very close nearby. You descend underground to the platforms, totally nondescript and functional again.

Sargans Station

5/10

Wonderful scenery to gawp at (as it’s close to Swiss mountains that you can see in the distance) but other than that it’s nothing to write home about. Much like Villach station it kinda felt a bit out of the way and industrial. Not the place you want to be trapped in for a long stretch of time.

Zürich Hauptbahnhof

5/10

It’s absolutely massive. Almost bafflingly so. I am pretty sure I got on a platform number 42 at one point. So much of it is underground which I don’t love (but might love it in winter perhaps). The upstairs part feels somewhat empty which is sad but it has a beautiful front edifice (which also had a giant march going on out front).

One great thing is the amount of shops inside the lower ground labyrinth. You are awash with options no matter how lost you get. I found a nice spot to get a rice dish (which was a relief after having lots of bread throughout my trip).

Geneva Station

5/10

Very average. Has a big shopping complex vibe. A bit awkward to walk around but plenty of places to pick up a coffee or snack. Just connected in Geneva to another train so didn’t explore outside the station but Geneva is a lovely place so assume it’s nice.

Bratislava Station

5/10

This could be lower I think. It’s a bit grubby and run down. Very industrial vibe, with lots of freight trains. I remember a nice mosaic/artwork inside the station which gave me USSR-vibes. There was some food options but they looked a bit ropey. The station is also a bit of a walk from the centre although is connected by some trams.

Berlin Hauptbahnhof

6/10

Another labyrinth of a station. It’s quite beautiful in its topsy turvy nature. Lots of glass and elevators all over the place. It doesn’t feel cramped though and there are lots of places to pick up a coffee or brot.

It maybe drops some points because the help desk at the station wasn’t any use at all when I visited. I talked to a chap but he kept telling me the wrong information for about 19 minutes to palm me off before I could get through to him. Almost certainly an isolated case.

Zagreb Station

6/10

Perhaps a bit harsh but this is a beautiful building. A grand entrance and even grander outdoor plaza as you leave the main exit. It’s not underground which is good but I guess you could say it’s a bit worn down. The central lobby feels a bit dark and beaten up. Not a great deal of shops or nice places to sit. A sorta Croatian Gregg’s and that’s about it.

Perhaps my main gripe is the ticket office sold me double the tickets I needed (which might of been a language issue or they wanted me to pay extra) and the only reason I had to be at the ticket office is the Croatian railways wouldn’t let me buy seat reservations online. That being said it seems like buses are far more popular ways to scoot around the fabulous Croatian countryside over trains so perhaps that makes sense why the station felt under invested in.

Split Station

6/10

What I loved about this station is that you walk out the front entrance and BOOM there is the port and sea. Full of ships and just a short walk around the promenade to the old town. There is very little here apart from basically 1 platform, a ticket desk and I think a sandwich shop but it’s perfectly formed.

Negative was they made me take a rail replacement bus which was sad but the bus basically drove up next to the tracks and was pretty painless all in all.

Chur Station

6/10

Nice little Swiss station. Easy to transfer through, clean and outside was a nice cafe. The town was also a very short walk away so managed a little tour. Nothing remarkable but had everything you’d want.

Lille Europe

6/10

Used this station to transfer onto the Eurostar but did manage to do a day trip around the lovely city of Lille. The station is another big glass block but it has a nice park just outside to hang out in, not a long walk to the city centre and a shopping centre nearby if you wanted to kill some time.

Only gripe is finding the Eurostar entrance was a tiny bit confusing and they make you wait a fair amount before letting you into the waiting area which is better than St Pancras but a bit soulless. Other than that, worked pretty well, had quite a relaxing vibe about it.

Newcastle Central Station

7/10

A wonderful Victorian station. It has a mini first class lounge in there which is fine to grab a biscuit, water and coffee. Well connected as Newcastle has a metro system. Functions as you might expect.

Main improvements once could make would be a it’s a bit dark and the bridges over the to the other platforms could do with some love.

Berlin Gesundbrunnen station

7/10

Odd station this one. Not the best area, a friend & I nearly got run over with scooters down some dodgy alley outside. You can also go on a little bunker tour within this station (which I also did).

The station itself is sorta awful but loveable. It’s not underground which is great, close to a supermarket and does have a few choices for coffee and baked goods. It’s sorta run down but I liked it. Maybe because I was down in its bowels but it felt like an unloved cousin of the main station. Adorable.

Graz

7/10

I really like Graz. The station was a bit of a distance from the main part of town and to get into the Lounge I sorta had to follow in a couple which looked dodgy as the door wasn’t letting me in. These negatives are outweighed with the fact that it had a lounge at all (which is great as it was raining heavily the evening I was leaving). Nice artwork throughout the station. Also the station is small but has all the things you’d want and a nice little garden out front for when the weather is nice. It’s quite peaceful and efficient and has some decent tram links.

Winterthur

7/10

Barely remember this one but think it was just completely functional. Think I grabbed a coffee before a connecting train. Everything worked like clockwork and surroundings seemed nice.

St. Moritz

7/10

At the top of a mountain. Amazing views to get up there and when you leave the station the place looks magical too. Only negative is that it’s ever so slightly further down the mountain then you’d love, thus not much around it.

Obviously you are on a mountain so can’t be too harsh but the station is a bit out of the way and you have to head up the hill (through a car park no less) to get to the the thick of things in the town. It’s all very nice but you’d prefer not to be stuck just at the station for more than 45 minutes.

London King’s Cross

Day 29: 'Coronation', UK pic.twitter.com/8BoqYjIZvb

— Colin Pattinson (@ColinPattinson) May 5, 2023

7/10

When I returned it was adorned with rather tacky looking coronation decorations. That was fun in a sorta ugly way but the station is pretty great. It’s got a market outside, plenty of shops, a lounge and good transport links.

Its major downsides I’d say are that there are not enough bins and going up to say Wasabi the seating situation is a mess with people just dumping their rubbish and no bins available up there. The other being that it takes a while to declare a platform and the rush to get on the train is a bit of a pain once it shows up on the boards. There are worse stations guilty of this but King’s Cross suffers a little from this.

Wien Hauptbahnhof

8/10

Vienna central station. It’s big and a brilliant place to connect trains. It’s mostly all above ground (there is an underpass section that connects to some more regional services). Feels quite airy through most of it and plenty of shops. Local area is fine, has a bit of space out the front to stand in the sunshine and good transport links. Best thing is the lounge. Small but plenty of plug sockets, good wifi, coffee, clean loo’s. Everything you’d ask for.

Downside might be that it’s not really centrally located. A bit of a walk into the centre. The underground part can feel somewhat cramped too but overall a good station that you can kill time in. Some nice bits of art splattered around too.

St. Gallen

8/10

This station had a beautiful wooden shopping promenade inside it with very tall ceilings. Everything else was fine and functional but this inner shopping parade was wonderful and felt very premium. Not too far from the city centre either so you can take a little wander.

Cologne Station

9/10

A high score partly because of the view. It’s next door to the famous cathedral. As in you can see it from the platforms or even better if you have a few minutes you can literally walk outside and bam it is there. The station itself seems pretty good. Airy, lots of shops. Everything seemed fine for me to make a connection here and have a little wander between trains.

Luzern station

9/10

It’s right on a lake. As in you walk out and boom there is a giant scenic lake. The station has lots of nice old-y parts around it but is very modern inside. Lots of shopping within the complex (I bought a terrible salad here but this was my own fault). Wifi was great, it felt relaxed and efficient. Super close to some of the sights of Luzern.

Come to think of it I might of voted this a bit harshly it’s near perfect really.

What makes a great train station

After reflecting and writing all of the above I think I can summarise some key features that I think make a great train station:

• not underground
• beautiful ceiling/roof to admire
• high ceilings
• good central location so can walk into main town
• great view from the station or just outside of it
• connected to public transport
• accessible in the wider sense of the word (elevators, platforms that you don’t need a ramp to board the train, etc)
• not sketchy
• toilets that you don’t need to pay for
• a lounge, which has free drinks, some nibbles, sockets to charge devices and clean loo’s
• close to good shopping, especially having a good coffee and bakery spot closeby
• has character / a bit of romance about it (would it look good in a movie scene if a loved one come run up to you and hug & kiss you if you arrived from a long trip)
• wifi (ideally not use public wifi but in countries such as Switzerland that might not be on your mobile networks plan then it can be very handy to not pay £35 for 1mb)
• some outdoor space to enjoy if sunny (for smokers)
• not feel cramped or too dark indoors
• some interesting art to admire as you weave through the station
• no scooters raiding through the station
• lots of boards to show platforms/times
• a ticket office that remains open late
• walkways/bridges to other platforms aren’t grotty and either are entirely unmemorable or ideally pleasant to cross
• not too cold or not too warm, ideally feels like some fresh air making its way through the station
• beautiful edifice
• has an interesting history, maybe the odd statue to admire

Apparently if I do a search on what stations are like this in the world then it tells me New York’s Grand Central station is my match. A fine station indeed!