St Pancras International in London has been named the best railway station in Europe.
That’s the findings from the first European Railway Station index, ranking Europe’s most passenger-friendly railway station.
It was compiled by the Consumer Choice Center (CCC), which scored Europe’s 50 largest railway stations out of a possible 139 points.
The criteria included how crowded platforms were and accessibility, to the number of destinations and cleanliness.
CCC said: “Train travel has received a more important role in Europe in recent years. Policy makers and consumers have orientated toward train travel as a means of reducing carbon emissions.
“While we at the Consumer Choice Center stand for choice and technology neutrality, we want to use the rise of interest in long distance train travel as an opportunity to show which railway stations in Europe are the most convenient for travellers.
“This is the first annual edition of the European Railway Station Index. We reached out to Europe’s Top 50 railway stations and asked for relevant date, but also found data on the stations’ websites, online statistics, and conducted our own research to collect all necessary information.”
St Pancras tops the list
Commenting on awarding St Pancras top spot, CCC writes: “Its low number of strike days, high passenger convenience, and international connectivity helped take it to first place.
“The fact that it also hosts the longest champagne bar in Europe did not influence this ranking. Zurich and Leipzig Central Stations follow St Pancras in spots two and three. Roma Termini makes it to a respectable 4th spot.
“With Leipzig, Munich, Hamburg, Berlin, and Frankfurt, half of the Top 10 European railway stations are based in Germany. All of them shine thanks to low numbers of strike days, many destinations, accessibility for passengers in wheelchairs, and diverse food and shopping offerings to kill wait time.
“The European Railway Station Index features mainly northern European railway stations in the Top 10. Roma Termini and Milan Centrale are the only two southern European railway stations among the ten-best ranked stations and Moscow Kazansky as the only eastern European railway station to make the Top 10.”
Top ten list
Photo credit: Shutterstock/ Willy Barton
Table credit: Consumer Choice Center
