What's your favorite train station?

[trainfan]

My favorite station is Jackson Mi !( the oldest active station on the Amtrak system!

6 Wolverine trains a day . The building is being restored, there is a lot of unused

space that I hope they will find a use for!

Trainfan

 

[Cristobal]

I haven't been to many but my local SJC is nice in a quaint kind of way (and serves a helluva lot of trains each day). PDX is pretty sweet too.

However, from what I've seen so far, Kansas City tops them all (even though Amtrak's actual presence there is not very big). That wonderful station even has some rather infamous history, the affects of which can still be seen outside today. :mellow:

 

[Jeff Geldner]

Richmond (Staples Mill) was a pretty early Amshack, no? (And not one of the better ones, I'd say from experience.)

Though only the trains which serve Williamsburg and Newport News use it, Main St. Station is a class act. The restoration work is top notch and the historic displays are museum quality.

 

[Nexis4Jersey]

I like Newark Penn station....its very nice in historic terms and the Muti-Modes of Transit that share the same building make feel like a train station...

 

[ThayerATM]

This is a really tough call for me, given the criteria that I have to choose from, and the limited number of stations that I've actually been IN. CHI is probably my favorite for "using/seeing," :unsure: NYP my favorite for "using/waiting," :unsure: and the SEA King Street Station my favorite for just kicking back and "soaking up the flavor."

I'll be reexamining SEA when we visit there this fall, and the folks in Seattle seem to be doing a great job of restoring that beauty to its original splendor. The staff is magnificent in SEA, and the station's not crowded. Granted... there's not a lot to do while waiting there, but with all the restoration going on, that's entertainment enough. I have a hunch that after they get all the work done in 2012, my vote for favorite will be the Seattle King Street Station.

 

[navybanker]

Washington DC Union Station -closely followed by Philadelphia 30 th Street for best architecture/ambience/convenience-- Old Saybrook, CT for whistle-stop simplicity.

St. Pancras, London for overseas

Grand Central in New York is far and away the best non-Amtrak station- and my candidate for best in show for architecture, shopping amenities, location, accessibility via radiating passages and subway.

 

[PA Traveler]

I have not been there for travel, but stopped in at the LA station once. I thought it was just beautiful. I remember liking Penn Station and WDC, but that was a long time ago, so I'm not sure they are the same, but LA about six years ago was really nice.

 

[DJ]

I like Kalamazoo Michigan. Beautiful architecture, over 100 years old. Heart of downtown. A respectable 8 trains a day. True intermodal, it has bays for intercity buses (Greyhound and Indian Trails) and is also the hub for the Kalamazoo Metro Transit.

 

[jis]

I like Newark Penn station....its very nice in historic terms and the Multi-Modes of Transit that share the same building make feel like a train station...

I agree. Newark Penn Station (NWK) is much maligned, but it has been beautifully restored and is convenient for getting to anywhere on the NEC and also to NY City via PATH.

Now only if we can get an Acela Lounge put in there! Afterall, all Acela Expresses stop there.

 

[rrdude]

I like Kalamazoo Michigan. Beautiful architecture, over 100 years old. Heart of downtown. A respectable 8 trains a day. True intermodal, it has bays for intercity buses (Greyhound and Indian Trails) and is also the hub for the Kalamazoo Metro Transit.

K-Zoo is nice, I was a student at WMU, and used it often. But how can you compare K-Zoo to Beaumont, TX? Slab wins, hands down. Location is also primo in Beaumont.

 

[JayPea]

I have several "favorites". Is listing all of them, instead of just one, permissable??

First off, I like Spokane's station, simply because it is the beginning and ending point of many of my Amtrak trips. It's nothing fancy, but it's larger than many stations that are located in larger cities. And it is located right at the edge of downtown Spokane, and is also the home of Greyhound and other regional intercity buses.

I like LA's Union Station, both for the building and the fact there is plenty to do there and in the area. And I like the station in Portland, OR, because the staff there is so friendly and helpful. The fact that it's, for me, anyway, a short walk to Powell's Book Store doesn't hurt. And I like Kansas City's station, for the architecture of the old building. It is beautiful, as far as I'm concerned, on the inside. I don't think Chicago's Union Station is too bad, though I'd like it better if the Great Hall were used to its full potential and if it had much easier access to the "L". I haven't been in any stations to speak of east of Chicago other than at Washington DC, which rates very highly in my estimation. I will be interested to see what Seattle's King Street Station will be like when(if) its restoration is complete. Right now, I don't think it's much of a station.

 

[sttsxm]

LA is nice ...they've added a coupe places to eat.....but IME the seating away from the open doors and birds (and bird doodoo) is always full....i wish they would have an actual place for sleeper pax other than TRAXX lounge which is only for 1st class on the CS....

WAS is nice as there is plenty to keep you occupied in the station, and the city is easily accessible.

CHI too is convenient to lots of things.

I would disagree about SEA and their staff being helpful. The station isn't in the best area, there isn't much around (though there is a tiny bar and grill outside that has really good food....it's kind of a dive, but it's clean and yummy!!) Every time I've been in that station recently I have gotten incorrect info...or NO info (re: busing on the EB when they KNEW in advance) and the agents are not always pleasant, understandable or helpful. Again, just my experience....

Also, I kind of like BOS....love the grilled cheese stand, the Club Acela is nice (but the WiFi is awful), and they seem to have their stuff together (we were bused to ALB for the LSL and we knew ahead, a conductor rode with us, and the boxed lunches we got were great!)

I guess my favorite station is whatever one I am currently in!! LOL

 

[Ozark Southern]

The Springfield, Missouri, Frisco station, 1890-1927:

Replaced by this station, 1927-1967 (when passenger service to Springfield ended):

The station was torn down in 1977, and to this day nothing stands on the site.

 

[PaulM]

My latest favorites among stations abroad are:

1. Berlin Hauptbahnof

The only station I know with its own beach.