The Worst Amtrak Stations Youve Actually Seen?

[nferr]

NYP is not bad. Somebody mentioned seating - there's plenty of seating and you have to show an Amtrak ticket to get into the seating area. And there's plenty of food options too, plus newstands, so you can always pick up something to read. If you have time between trains you can always go out the main entrance and go up a block and visit the food court in the mall on Broadway. It's on the top floor of the mall and has a lot of options (I haven't been there in a few years so it's possible things are different). I do try to avoid the regular restrooms in Penn though, too many homeless in there. The Acela lounge is very decent and has it's own restrooms. Will be using that in October when I do my cross-country trip. Penn Station has been much improved from 20 years ago.

 

[transit54]

Haven't seen Port Kent, NY mentioned. Granted it's only seasonal. But still...

 

[Green Maned Lion]

I think NYP is showing itself to be either a hate it or love it station. I'm not shocked. If you don't know it, you hate it. If you know it, you probably love it. I actually took the trouble to show somebody how to get from the 1/2/3 to NJ Transit's concourse once, because they were planning on using it a few days later.

 

[The Metropolitan]

Some surprises in the list for me.

Sanderson, no surprise at all.

Harrisburg? Cleveland?

I've waited in both of these stations, and while neither is a monument on the par of Grand Central or Washington, one has to take into account that not every station can be this magnificent.

Harrisburg - right in the center of town with convenient intermodal connections, a rare historic train shed still in use, and perfectly decent shelter from the elements.

Cleveland - a rather easy reach by way of Light Rail, adequately sized for the traffic going through it, clean, with a respectable number of machines, and clean restrooms, no panhandling problems. I realize it isn't the terminal tower, but probably costs a fraction of what it would cost to operate trains in and out of there, which helps keep overall costs down.

There are lots of small stations out there that serve their communities rather well, where the handful to dozens of passengers have adequate, clean space to escape the elements while they await the arrival of the train. Greensboro, High Point, and Harrisburg come to mind as good examples of this.

As to the original topic, I don't seem to recall passing through any Amtrak Stations that were downright horrid - Durham was pretty sad being in a trailer, but happily that is no more. I would probably opine that Charlotte was the worst I've passed through: dismal, dowdy, and inconvenient to be a TERMINAL for a burgeoning metropolis - hopefully the Gateway station comes to be.

As far as "passings" go (seen from the train), the stations at Connellsville, Elizabethtown, as well as many of the tiny stops along the Western end of the Capitol Limited as well as much of the Cardinal route hardly look appealing.

 

[DET63]

Link to photo of Atlanta Amtrak station.

Well, compared to Sanderson, TX . . .

Speaking of which, here is a link to a picture of the town of Sanderson. Hard to believe such a highfalutin' town would have such a run-down station!

 

[RailFanLNK]

Winter Park sucks in CO. You pretty much have a platform and then a building across the street where a homeless guy who was drunk as you-know-what (he had urinated his pants) was sitting. The place was an abandoned building with a crappy couch in it. The bum was taking the #6 and I literally had to help push him up into the train. If he was going any further than DEN, I don't think they would have let him board, also the #6 that night was 10 hours late. WIP is the worst in my book.

 

[Guest]

Beaumont, TX?

 

[Todd L]

My son & I take the Silver Star from Tampa to Raleigh often.

There are some real contenders there...

Cary, NC (CYN)

Southern Pines, NC (SOP)

Hamlet, NC (HAM)

Camden, SC (CAM)

Denmark, SC (DNK)

 

[TampAGS]

I'd have to say the Okeechobee, FL Station is pretty wretched.

 

It only consists of a covered bench, which is bad enough, but it sits adjacent to the old 1924 Seaboard Air Line station building, which is completely boarded up and looks about as well as you might expect a disused, boarded up, former rail depot to look. It still appears structurally sound, though, which just makes it all the more depressing that instead of a proper station, the only seating available to you is this modified bus-stop. Enjoy that oppressive south Florida heat and humidity while you wait!

 

Though in terms of former stations, in Florida the title of worst would have to go the condemned former passenger depot at Sanford. It looks like it might have been bombed at some point in its history. They probably would have razed it by now, but I think everyone's too scared to go near it.

 

[amtrakwolverine]

BEN. This is from about 10 years ago, but I don't believe it's improved.

no when i took the train last year it was still like that when i looked out the train window. and whats wrong with the Detroit station. and don't say cause its in Detroit cause there are plenty of city's in other states that are just as bad if not worse. its a actual building with waiting area and shelter. and it is staffed.

 

[tp49]

Berkeley, CA hands down. Doesn't have a building at all and shelter is provided by the University Ave overpass. Up until a couple of years ago the platform wasn't even long enough to accommodate the entire train.

 

[AlanB]

Cleveland - a rather easy reach by way of Light Rail, adequately sized for the traffic going through it, clean, with a respectable number of machines, and clean restrooms, no panhandling problems. I realize it isn't the terminal tower, but probably costs a fraction of what it would cost to operate trains in and out of there, which helps keep overall costs down.

You're correct that Cleveland's Amtrak station is easy to reach via their Light Rail system, there is an official stop about a block away and one can request a flag stop right at the Amtrak station.

Unfortunately the LRT is largely useless to passengers trying to catch Amtrak trains, as it doesn't run at the hours that most of Amtrak's trains come calling. The only Amtrak train where light rail might remotely be useful for is the east bound Lake Shore, and then only for passengers arriving into CLE on the LSL. You could not use LRT if you were catching the LSL. And arriving passengers would still have to sit in the station for about an hour, assuming an on time arrival, before the first LRT train would roll by.

 

[AlanB]

Let me add one other comment to this growing list of bad stations.

Thankfully at least several of those noted here are getting Stimulus monies to help improve them.

 

[DET63]

Here's a picture of the Amtrak station in Antioch, California, which is also the station for Pittsburg. It's basically just a covered shelter.

Antioch has about 100,000 people, while Pittsburg has about 60,000. Trains serving this station (4 in each direction) are on the San Joaquins route.

Passengers traveling longer distances are more likely to go about 20 miles west and board at Martinez, which is a fully equipped and staffed station.

 

[AAARGH!]

Here's a picture of the Amtrak station in Antioch, California, which is also the station for Pittsburg. It's basically just a covered shelter.
Antioch has about 100,000 people, while Pittsburg has about 60,000. Trains serving this station (4 in each direction) are on the San Joaquins route.

Passengers traveling longer distances are more likely to go about 20 miles west and board at Martinez, which is a fully equipped and staffed station.

The link did not work.

 

[JayPea]

Granted my experience is limited, but I didn't think New Orleans was all that bad. I've seen worse. And after reading the history behind the Atlanta station, I understand more about it, but it seemed small inside to me.

 

[DET63]

Here's a picture of the Amtrak station in Antioch, California, which is also the station for Pittsburg. It's basically just a covered shelter.
Antioch has about 100,000 people, while Pittsburg has about 60,000. Trains serving this station (4 in each direction) are on the San Joaquins route.

Passengers traveling longer distances are more likely to go about 20 miles west and board at Martinez, which is a fully equipped and staffed station.

The link did not work.

Try this one

 

[espeefoamer]

Some stations on the Pioneer route were simply a glassed in bench which had an automatic lock which was set to unlock 30 minutes beforethe trains arrrival,and lock 30 minutes after departure.No mention was ever made as to what was done when the Pioneer was 3 hours late into Pocatello in February when it was 15 dgrees and snowing heavily. :angry:

 

[DET63]

Some stations on the Pioneer route were simply a glassed in bench which had an automatic lock which was set to unlock 30 minutes beforethe trains arrrival,and lock 30 minutes after departure.No mention was ever made as to what was done when the Pioneer was 3 hours late into Pocatello in February when it was 15 dgrees and snowing heavily. :angry:

And people wonder why the train lost so much money.

 

[had8ley]

I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Penn Station, New York in this category. What a dump that place is, and has been for as long as I can remember (and, yes, that includes the original Pennsylvania Station).
NYP is a haphazardly arranged maze that is crowded, filthy, and even dangerous. It's had more unsuccessful facelifts than Joan Rivers. There are few places to sit, and if you find a seat, you will in short order be solicited by one or more of the local "characters" that inhabit the facility. Food options are basic, and most are not in the Amtrak portion of the station. Need to use the facilities? Oh boy, are you in for a treat. I shudder to think of the female perspective of that issue.

I have not been in any train station or airport in the world worse than Penn Station, New York. If someone has to frequent NYP on a regular basis, AGR Select+ with its Club Acela access would be worth its weight in gold.

Years ago the A/C went out in Penn Station as we were waiting on the Crescent when the Southern still ran it. The stench from the subway toilets permeated the entire station. Thank goodness we found a bar called the Iron Horse that had it's own A/C system. They did quite a business that 90 degree plus day. Every time I pass through NYP I mean to look; wonder if it is still there?

 

[sunchaser]

Salt Lake City, Ut. The 'new' one is very small, ugly, needs to be fixed up bad inside. There are a couple of vending machines & bathrooms, the linoleum is a mess & bathroom fixtures are damaged too. It looks like a glorified bus stop inside. Which is weird, since SLC prides itself on preserving old buildings & keeping the city overall fairly clean.

Wish they would convert the 'old ones' back to train stations.

 

[user 1215]

I think that 10% of the stations are beautiful, 10% are lousy, and 80% are adequate.

Of the 80%, there are big and historical, yet uncomfortable (ie: NYP which I wouldn't necessarily call "worst"); there are funtional, clean, and modern (like most of North Carolina), and there are "adequate" (mostly built by the hosts pre-1971 and forgotten since).

The "Worst" would be like the shack listed above. It would include Jessup, GA and Mineola, TX. It would NOT necessarily include Williams because despite the lack of a station, there is NO lack of attention to the traveller.

Municipalities need to understand the benefit of Amtrak. But Amtrak is a funny thing for most towns to invest in. Take into consideration a post I made last year some time. Brunswick built a BEAUTIFUL terminal at Golden Isles. But their passenger count is only around 10,000 per year. Savannah gets more traffic than that at their Amtrak station, yet its woefully rusted out and there is no service to get into town except for a couple of shady cabbies.

But Amtrak needs to respect cities that DO build a facility and pay them rent. Its a win win win for everyone - Amtrak's image, City's reputation, and passengers comfort and safety.

 

[wrjensen]

Amtrak Station

11 West Baltimore at the corner of Woodward in

Detroit's New Center Area

​

More info

I thought that it was my bank, no wonder I could not get any money out of the ATM it just gave me tickets to Chicago.

 

[had8ley]

Granted my experience is limited, but I didn't think New Orleans was all that bad. I've seen worse. And after reading the history behind the Atlanta station, I understand more about it, but it seemed small inside to me.

The infamous rest rooms (or should I say homeless shower bath rooms) are presently closed and under renovation. They have parked trailers at either end of the station that are clean, well air conditioned and you don't have to worry about losing your wallet or your life just to use the facilities. The Amtrak ticket agent on duty quipped, "Yeah, they are going to take until after the first of the year to re-build those holes just so the same characters can ruin them again." I liked the trailers a LOT better...

 

[stntylr]

The "Worst" would be like the shack listed above. It would include Jessup, GA and Mineola, TX. It would NOT necessarily include Williams because despite the lack of a station, there is NO lack of attention to the traveller.
But Amtrak needs to respect cities that DO build a facility and pay them rent. Its a win win win for everyone - Amtrak's image, City's reputation, and passengers comfort and safety.

Mineola, TX built a new station a couple of years ago.

Take a look.