Amtrak's Most Disappointing City Station

[Lord Mkaiba]

I second Back Bay, compared to the open and pleasant South Station BBY is rather dark, smelly, and crowded. As a transit station it is sufficient but for anyone used to waiting at South Station it is sure to be very disappointing to have to wait in Back Bay, especially given the fact that all the good seats are usually gone after BOS. It might not be a terrible station, but it is certainly a very disappointing station especially compared to the historic South Station.

[Trainer]

Orlando

Now I realize I view things from the perspective of one who arrives somewhere, whether by train or plane, and is gone in a taxicab or rented auto essentially upon arrival. Possibly I should be more mindful that some, especially our younger members, are not yet qualified to rent autos and "get rides that show up when they show up" (yes, I too was once a college student) and have greater need for station facilities. But for my needs, the existing facility is quite adequate.

Your points are duly noted, Mr. Norman, and I cannot take issue with any. The station design itself is rather interesting, and the California-esque trackside design and smooth interior woodwork is worth a look by any railfan. However, I took the word "disappointing" in the topic rather literally. There are surely many, many worse stations on Amtrak's routes, but I expected Orlando to be something much better considering the tourist traffic. With the millions of folks who go to that city for vacations, the station reeks of "missed opportunity" for the traveling public. Most people coming from parts north don't even know that train service is available to Orlando... is it being kept "hidden" so that they will depart with their cars in Sanford instead? What a shame to see loaded Greyhound buses pulling in mucho tourists while only a small handful of folks get off the Silver Service. I believe people would ride if it were just a little more viewable, and just a little easier.

Oh, and "pothole" was used as a general northern catch-all term for "big hole in the road". To be specific, they were the result of haphazard water or sewer installation, not a by product of genuine frozen road syndrome.

[neroden]

Are you people even trying? You aren't even *close* to the most disappointing stations.

Beaumont, Texas: a crumbling slab of concrete with no shelter, and no proper platform. People should be surprised that trains actually stop there.

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/beaumont.htm

Somewhat better is Mt. Joy, PA: a bus shelter on a low-level platform in a trench.

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/mtjoy.htm

EDIT: or, if in keeping with the spirit of the previous thread, you're just looking at stations for BIG cities --

Phoenix, Arizona, because the station isn't even *in* Phoenix. And only gets 3 trains a week each way.

[LI Loco]

Some other candidates:

Rochester, NY - a boxy standard Amtrak building that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.
Springfield, MA - see above
Pittsfield, MA - an Amshack that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.

P.S. When Amtrak served Roanoke, the station was an Amshack instead of the beautiful modern N&W station designed by Raymond Loewy.

[Station Aficionado]

Another station that I don't think too much of is Richmond, Virginia (Staples Mill Road) in this case. The building is pretty small and with the number of trains and passengers using this facility, I have been in there waiting for a train north when there actually was not a place to sit down. In my opinion Richmond deserves better.

I travel to Richmond on business a couple of times a year. I used to take the train on occasion. Staples Mill Rd. Station (which is in Henrico Co., north of Richmond) is inconveniently located if you're headed for downtown. Also, it used to be the case that only a couple of cabs would meet each train, and you had to make a beeline to the parking lot to snag one. And local bus connections are poor. As Mr. Weaver notes, the station is now too small. It's the busiest Amtrak station in Virginia (275,000 boardings + alightings in FY 2008). Hopefully, the currently small ridership at Main Street Station will continue to grow, and take some of the load off of Staples Mill. On the plus side, there is at least some food service (vending machines, plus some sort of coffee stand the last time I was there), and the immediate neighborhood never felt unsafe. Of course, the biggest problem (and the main reason I stopped taking the train) is the unreliability of trains coming up from the south and headed to DC.

[Station Aficionado]

Some other candidates:

Rochester, NY - a boxy standard Amtrak building that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.
Springfield, MA - see above
Pittsfield, MA - an Amshack that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.

Pittsfield built a new transportation center, which (from the pictures, I haven't actually been there) doesn't look too bad, if you can deal with the the contemporary architecture:

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/pittsfield.htm

[korax]

I will "third" Boston's Back Bay.

It's situated perfectly and, if it were better maintained, Back Bay Station would look pretty good from the outside.

The MBTA Orange line platforms aren't too bad.

The upper level ticketing and waiting area aren't totally ugly - just way too small and uncomfortable, with low capacity escalators leading to the platform areas.

But waiting for a Washington-bound Amtrak train on the platforms can be an exceptionally awful experience. It's very dark and grimy down there, the air lacks proper ventilation, and is thick with diesel fumes from MBTA commuter locomotives.

[jamesinclair]

Beaumont, Texas: a crumbling slab of concrete with no shelter, and no proper platform. People should be surprised that trains actually stop there.

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/beaumont.htm
.

I nominate this as the winner.

As far as Miami is concerned, there may be some changes there down the road, it is in the works to combine much of the
transportation network in the area of the airport and I think this includes a new terminal for Amtrak but I am not positive about this one.

I posted a link to the google street view of what the station will be. The rental car center will open next year and the amtrak/trirail station in 2012

But waiting for a Washington-bound Amtrak train on the platforms can be an exceptionally awful experience. It's very dark and grimy down there, the air lacks proper ventilation, and is thick with diesel fumes from MBTA commuter locomotives.

You're not really supposed to wait at the track. All the announcements are made upstairs, where the seating and ticketing is.It does get crowded, but its much more spacious if you move out a bit (the building was designed to resemble a cathedral). I've always enjoyed the restrooms, as they use prison-style metal toilets and sinks (no exposed pipes or screws)

[Rail Boy]

While I've never really toured Back Bay, I do admit that the smoke and fumes from the T trains are quite unpleasant.

I totally disagree with the person who mentioned Seattle. While it is not a Grand Central by any means, it does it's job nicely while maintaining it's charm.

[george matthews]

Most people coming from parts north don't even know that train service is available to Orlando... is it being kept "hidden" so that they will depart with their cars in Sanford instead? What a shame to see loaded Greyhound buses pulling in mucho tourists while only a small handful of folks get off the Silver Service. I believe people would ride if it were just a little more viewable, and just a little easier.

I have seen both stations in Orlando. The Greyhound station is a truly horrible place. I doubt if there are many tourists there. There were crowds of people in slow moving lines and very few facilities.
The rail station has pleasant and well designed seating. Of course far fewer people use it (especially after the cuts in train services).

[LI Loco]

Some other candidates:

Rochester, NY - a boxy standard Amtrak building that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.
Springfield, MA - see above
Pittsfield, MA - an Amshack that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.

Pittsfield built a new transportation center, which (from the pictures, I haven't actually been there) doesn't look too bad, if you can deal with the the contemporary architecture:

http://www.trainweb.org/usarail/pittsfield.htm

Thanks for the heads up on the Pittsfield depot. It's quite nice. I'm sorry I didn't see if when we drove through Pittsfield (south on US 7) this summer.

[TomNelligan]

Some other candidates:

Rochester, NY - a boxy standard Amtrak building that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.
Springfield, MA - see above
Pittsfield, MA - an Amshack that replaced a beautiful old NY Central station.

As a point of history, the elegant old Pittsfield Union Station was closed by the NYC and demolished in the mid-1960s as part of a city redevelopment project, so don't blame Amtrak for that. The NYC moved the passenger stop to a small modular building at the North Adams Junction yard east of downtown. Years later, the stop was moved back to a point near the old Union Station site with an Amshack, and now the new trransportation center is there. It's more than adequate for a city that sees just one train a day.

In the case of Springfield, the old Union Station still stands and there are serious proposals for restoring it as a rail/bus station with commercial tenants, but the business and financial climate in Springfield isn't exactly thriving, so I don't know when or if that will happen. The current modular station is small but functional, and certainly better than the subterranean facilities in the former pedestrian subway under the tracks that served as Springfield's station in the 1980s.

[AgentSkelly]

Schenectady, NY - Where do I begin? I know Schenectady Union Station can be never replaced, but did they have to build the replacement station with the REMAINS of the old one? I do like the fact that the train goes OVER the station, but the building itself is just too small and very not practical anymore.

Rochester, NY - Even for your standardized Amtrak station layout (what do we call that? an AmStation? as its way bigger than a shack) , it feels like its just missing something on the inside. I think a good interior remodel would do the station wonders.

[NellieBly]

My nominee for all-time worst station is Houston, TX. Houston is now America's third largest city (yes, it's now larger than Chicago), and it has one train every other day stopping at a station that's smaller than an average fast food restaurant, with one platform track. It's also inconveniently located in a bad part of town.

Other candidates for "truly awful" include: Jacksonville, farther from town than the airport and totally lacking in amenities; Richmond, too small, badly located, and also farther from town than the airport; and Beaumont, simply a concrete slab.

At least Back Bay and Oakland have station buildings with roofs to shelter passengers from the rain!

Ah, Amtrak! Making travel truly an adventure.

[njtmnrrbuff]

How safe is the neighborgood around Schenectady?