[urlhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8363621.stm[/url

'[iAlso on list are Warrington Bank Quay, Preston, Wigan North Western[/i'

Jesus tonight. What do you want apart from a platform and a paper/coffee shop?

TBH they are bad.

If I ever have to get the train from North Western then I try and nip into the Raven while I'm waiting. Problem sorted


Think Manchester Vic is cast in a bad light when compared to Piccadilly. As it goes I think Victoria is a nice old station.

Bank Quay's only just been done up.. But yeah, I agree with Robinson, a station is a station.

I usually get on the platform a few minutes before the train arrives, so I hardly have time to admire the scenery.

Trains on the other hand.. Especially Nothern Rail ones.

The Ravens been shut for about 3 years. You more likely go in the Swan & Railway...

Has it? Sure it was open last time I was back!
So what pubs have you got on the right hand side as you turn right out of the station and head to the centre?

Aha, the rail network - my chosen specialist subject! Generally, yes - a train station is a train station. It has platforms, trains come and go and that's about it. But when you use them regularly, you discover that they need a bit more than that. Somewhere warm to sit when your train's half an hour late. Somewhere to get a drink or a snack or something to read. A toilet (that works, with loo roll and everything). They need to be accessible for the disabled and visually impaired. But most of all they need to be safe - the number of times I've been sat at Salford Central, Deansgate or some other godforsaken place on my own save for some nutter/weirdo/tramp as company.

Victoria is a grand old station but it's in very poor condition - the roof is terrible and very often bits of the concourse are underwater and the bar/coffee shop is virtually a no-go area due to alcoholics and weirdos who've been in there all day. Both Wigan stations are pretty grotty but I don't spend much time there, most of my hanging around is done in Manchester.

Any money spent on the redevelopment of Wigan North Western is wasted money. There is adequate seating, a cafe (of sorts) and a newsagent. Wallgate on the other hand is pretty dire with no amenities to speak of and is seriously over crowded.

Even then though, I'm sure the people using the station would rather the money be put towards more frequent trains and a guaranteed seat on both legs of their journey at peak times...

I bet you also want a sink with hot and cold water, hand cleanser and a dryer.

Some girls eh.

She'll be pestering for light bulbs in there next.,,

All i want is a bog thats open. Don't care if it stinks or even if you have to pee in the sink you wash your hands in aslong as the thing is open.

Nothing worse then getting off the worlds fullest train back from Liverpool after a day session brasting for a wee only to find the bogs are locked

Back in the 1970s, some of the smaller stations used to be truly awful. Westhoughton, Ince, Hindley, Moorside, etc.

No protection from the (usually freezing 1970s) winter weather. Dank, decayed, dripping, pitch black. No staff of any sort on site. And, if it was late at night, weird looking people standing silently in the shadows.

Compared to those, the likes of Wigan, Victoria etc are very welcoming.

they spoke about this on Jezza Vine today and the minister involved - Lord Adonis, went to one of the stations to publicise they were doing something about this.

Guess what it wasnt Wigan he went to, nor Manchester but travelled all the way to Luton, probably 20 miles from London, which incidentally has 3 other stations all of which dont get on the list

now tell me there aint a North South divide

Having thought about this, and despite my above post, some facilities might not actually be a bad idea.

Say, a decent coffee/newspaper/sweet shop is on the station itself. If people are waiting around, even 10 minutes feels like a long time when you're doing nothing, so what will people do? They'll nip in the shop and spend money.

So, either the shops are rented out or Network Rail (or whatever they're called this week) run the shop themselves, they will make money. This should in theory at least, be put back into improving services and lowering fares.

Speaking of which, I would have thought that Network Rail would be awash with money. I mean, not only do they get a small fortune from the taxpayer, some bright spark years ago had the absolutely brilliant idea of turning the arches underneath bridges into retail, office and industrial units. As a result, Network Rail, under the guise of Spacia, are the UK's biggest commercial landlord.

So where does this money go?

Good news

that station is awful I go through it every day.

They have already started with the new car park which by coincidence covers the horrible buildings behind it so the people going through the station don't realise parts of Wigan are not very nice