The UK’s Best Train Stations – And What Makes Them So Good

To figure out what actually makes a train station good, we used four different factors when collecting our research: station experience, performance and reputation, nearby food and drink, and surrounding amenities. So, which stations are the strongest performers in these separate categories? 

What is officially the best UK train station? 

Let’s now take a look at the overall rankings from our data, showing the top-performing stations in the UK. These stations are more than a place to catch a train; they offer an experience that makes customers want to return and truly enjoy their time there. 

The top train stations are as follows: 

1. London Liverpool Street – 91.65 

2. Glasgow Central – 91.45  

3. Glasgow Queen Street – 90.05 

4. Edinburgh Waverley – 89.50 

5. London Victoria – 89.02 

6. London Charing Cross – 88.23 

7. London King’s Cross – 88.05 

8. Leeds – 87.41 

9. Moorfields – 87.28 

10. Birmingham New Street – 87.22 

As we can see, London Liverpool Street just pulls ahead for overall train station experience. This isn’t simply because of one exceptionally high score, but rather because it scores well in the four different factors.  

For station experience, it earned a score of 96.40; performance and reputation received 87.00; the nearby food and drink metric achieved 98.20; and nearby amenities were rated at 81.10. 

Scotland punches above its weight  

These stations not only rank high in our index, but they are also popular among the consumers we asked in the social poll. When talking to actual travellers, it appeared that Glasgow Central was the fourth most mentioned station. But why is Glasgow Central so beloved by the general public? 

Well, we can see from our data that this station ranked exceptionally well for all four factors. With scores of 95.20 for station experience, 86.60 for performance and reputation, 97.30 for nearby food and drink, and 84.60 for nearby amenities, it is clear why this station is truly a fan favourite. 

The stations with the most to discover  

A big part of our index is considering the wider amenities that are approximately within a ten-minute walk from the station. This can include: 

• Attractions 

• Museums and galleries 

• Cinemas  

• Shops 

• Hotels 

• Convenience stores 

• Supermarkets  

The top stations for nearby amenities and their index scores are: 

1. Edinburgh Waverley – 94.80 

2. Glasgow Central – 84.60 

3. Glasgow Queen Street – 83.30 

4. London Victoria – 83.00 

5. London Liverpool Street – 81.10 

A pattern seems to emerge from these top-ranking destinations, and it’s that train stations close to major city centres tend to perform strongly in this category. This is because they put travellers within easy reach of more attractions, shops, hotels, and other amenities, so customers are discovering these areas after finally arriving at the station.  

This makes them the “best” train stations in Britain in the sense that there is a lot to do nearby rather than just being passed through for convenience. This supports our OnePoll findings as 25% of people said having plenty to do and see makes them see a station as more than a place to catch a train. This is also linked to the idea that some stations – like the ones that rank high for nearby amenities – act as gateways into destinations, compared to places where the journey simply ends. 

Laindon: The best station experience  

In our index, it’s important to remember that station experience carries the largest weighting in the overall ranking at 35%. Station experience considers things such as: 

• Accessibility  

• Lifts 

• Toilets 

• Baby Changing 

• Seating 

• Sheltered waiting areas 

• Wi-Fi 

• Refreshments  

• Shops 

• Mobile connectivity  

One station we want to highlight with station experience is Laindon, which has the highest station experience score (97.40). Despite this, the station ranks only 170th overall in the index. But why? 

This exact reason is why we have used four different categories in the index, as a station can perform extremely well for what it has inside, but then score less strongly for what is around it. 

Another great example of this is Wemyss Bay. This train station ranked well for station experience (88.70) and performance and reputation (88.60) but fell short when it came to nearby food and drink (28.40) and nearby amenities (6.70).  

This is a prime example of why the overall ranking is designed to look at the whole traveller experience, rather than just one aspect of the chosen train stations. 

Birmingham New Street: The UK’s best station for food and drink 

For the section of the index that focuses on food and drink, we only considered venues within approximately a five-minute walk of each station. The best-performing destination was Birmingham New Street, with a perfect score of 100.00 – the highest score in the dataset. 

Other top-ranking stations included: 

• Liverpool Central – 98.80  

• London Liverpool Street – 98.20 

• Glasgow Central – 97.30 

• Edinburgh Waverley – 96.70  

• Glasgow Queen Street – 95.90  

• Leeds – 94.90  

• London Fenchurch Street – 94.70 

We discovered from our OnePoll research that around 20% of people enjoy getting a coffee at the train station, and that’s what makes the station more than a place where you catch a train. Also, when it comes to the best train stations in the UK, having plenty of food and drink options is crucial for every type of traveller. Whether you need to grab a quick bite to eat before work in the morning, or if you are looking for somewhere to eat after a long journey, having substantial food and drink options will make the whole trip more convenient and make consumers remember the train station as a place they may return to. 

We can only infer one answer from our index, but what truly matters is the people riding the trains and arriving at the stations. This is where our social survey comes in. We asked a group of people directly which station they thought was the best, and the top five results were: 

1. London St Pancras / St Pancras International – 40 votes/16.90% 

2. York – 27 votes/11.40% 

3. Bristol Temple Meads and London Paddington – 12 votes/5.10%  

4. Glasgow Central – 11 votes/4.70% 

5. Newcastle – 8 votes/3.40% 

It is obvious that some UK railway stations would rank high in both our index and the social survey. Some of these include: 

• Glasgow Central – #2 data ranking / #4 public vote  

• London Liverpool Street – #1 data ranking / #9 public vote  

• London King's Cross – #7 data ranking / #7 public vote  

• London Victoria – #5 data ranking / #11 public vote  

• Birmingham New Street – #10 data ranking / #15 public vote 

Now this isn’t to say that one ranking is more accurate than another. Instead, this comparison highlights the difference between measurable station performance and people’s perception or experience. Just because a station looks impressive on paper, small issues can still affect a consumer's perception and put them off that station. 

St Pancras and York are perfect examples. These two train stations rank highly in the public vote despite not appearing in the index’s top ten. There must be something about these stations that keeps travellers coming back, even though they don’t seem to perform well in our index metrics. 

What do Brits actually enjoy about spending time at a train station? 

To figure out what Brits truly enjoy about spending time at a train station, we conducted a OnePoll study using 2,000 UK adults. This was to discover the more human side of train stations, instead of using amenities and food and drink stands.  

The top aspects people loved about spending time at a station were: 

• People-watching – 33%  

• Sitting down and relaxing – 24%  

• Watching trains come and go – 22%  

• Getting a coffee – 20%  

• Having some time to themselves – 18%  

• Enjoying the atmosphere – 15% 

This clearly shows that the best train stations in the UK are defined by more than amenities and how many hotels are around the corner. There are so many elements that go into making a station more than a place where you catch a train – it’s an experience, an event, and can be enhanced by rich history or a relaxing atmosphere. 

Some more elements we inferred from our social survey that made a station feel like more than a gateway to your next destination included: 

• Own character – 37%  

• Sense of history – 34%  

• Welcoming/friendly – 28%  

• Plenty to see and do – 25%  

• Calm and relaxing – 25%  

• Makes the journey more enjoyable – 23%  

• Connected to the local area – 22% 

It’s apparent from the survey that a great station is way more than practical facilities. There’s also an emotional side to the experience. Customers value a station that feels interesting, welcoming, relaxing, or connected to its surroundings and leaves a lasting impression. It’s much more than train tracks and bustling people. 

The surprising things people discover at train stations  

Sometimes, there are exciting things to discover when visiting a train station you have never been to. Even better, you can discover new places and areas of stations you have been to a hundred times; you just didn’t look hard enough. This discovery can enhance the station experience, as finding hidden gems can be very rewarding. 

The people from our OnePoll research agreed with this and even found some hidden gems themselves. The top discoveries from our research included: 

• A quiet spot to sit and relax – 9%  

• A historic feature – 9%  

• An independent café – 7%  

• A place to grab food – 7%  

• A hidden bar or pub – 7%  

• An interesting piece of art or display – 6%  

• A live music performance – 5% 

This research is only cementing the fact that there is so much to see and discover in train stations, some of them unexpected. You never know what you’re going to get, and taking the time to stop and actually look at what’s around you in a train station may even make your experience that much better. Train stations can be remarkable places if you take the time to appreciate what they have to offer. 

Our three sources of data make one thing very clear: a train station is more than a place you catch a train. It’s the whole experience, the facilities inside, the food and drink nearby, and the useful amenities that sit close to the station that truly make a great station. 

On top of this, our OnePoll research concluded that travellers value things that are harder to measure. This can include the character of the station, the history, atmosphere, comfort, things to discover, and the connection to the local area.  

The social survey we conducted then adds another element to the puzzle, showing which stations travellers actually associate with having a good experience – whether that sits in line with our data set or not.  

This dataset ranks 210 UK train stations, comprising the 200 busiest stations as well as a selection of popular smaller stations, based on how strong they are across the stations' quality, accessibility, performance, and the amenities in the nearby area. To do this, four different categories were used, made up of multiple individual factors. Once the data for the factors was collected, the data was converted to a comparable score out of 100, where binary factors were scored as either 100 or 0, existing rating and percentage-based factors were converted onto a 0-100 scale and count-based nearby amenity factors were log-normalised to reduce the dominance of built-up city-centre locations. The weighted category scores were then combined to give each station a total score out of 100, and stations are ranked from highest to lowest based on this total score. 

The categories used are as follows: 

• Station Experience - A combined measure of how well-equipped and accessible the station is. This category includes the step-free access rating, available lifts, accessible toilets, baby changing areas, seating areas, sheltered waiting areas, public Wi-Fi availability, refreshments, shops, and mobile connectivity, reflecting both day-to-day usability and overall comfort for travellers. 

• Performance & Reputation - A combined measure of how reliably the station performs, alongside how positively it is viewed by the general public. This category includes the station performance score, percentage of trains departing/arriving on time, Google Maps rating, and the number of Google Maps reviews. 

• Nearby Food & Drink - A measure of how well-served each station is by nearby food and drink options, within a 400m (approximately a 5-minute walk) radius of the station. This includes restaurants, fast food outlets, cafes/coffee shops, pubs, and bars, giving an indication of both convenience for travellers as well as the variety available in the local area. 

• Nearby Amenities - A measure of the variety of nearby amenities, within an 800m (approximately a 10-minute walk) radius of the station. This category includes hotels, visitor attractions, museums & galleries, cinemas, shopping outlets, convenience stores, and supermarkets, reflecting how the surrounding area supports both everyday travellers as well as visitors. 

The categories were weighted as follows: 

• Station Experience - 35% 

• Performance & Reputation - 30% 

• Nearby Food & Drink - 20% 

• Nearby Amenities - 15% 

The sub-factors were weighted as follows: 

• Station Experience - Accessibility 40%, Facilities 40%, Mobile Connectivity 20% 

• Performance & Reputation - Station Performance 60%, Google Rating Score 25%, Number of Google Reviews 15% 

• Nearby Food & Drink - N/A, all food & drink options were combined into a single log-normalised score 

• Nearby Amenities - Hotel Score 33.30%, Visitor Score 33.30%, Shopping Score 33.30% 

The factors were indexed as follows: 

• Binary (Yes/No) Factors - Yes is better. 

• Step-Free Access - Category A is ranked above B1, B1 above B2, and B2 above C. 

• All Other Factors - Higher is better.