Chester Railway Station really doesn't do a great, historic town in Chester any justice, Chester was once a Roman fortress, a battlefield in the North West of England, but the station which is a category B station just doesn't seem that. The walk into the city from the station I agree is poor, I personally ended up getting lost having to go down some sketchy pathways, which really didn't match the city which I found to be really nice overall, a lack of buses going to the station too (Stagecoach Gold do run an irregular service which doesn't seem to be used either as I was the only passenger on the entire bus - maybe it was just because it was a Monday afternoon?) It has 7 platforms and is served by Avanti, Transport for Wales, Northern and Merseyrail. I do find the station pretty hard to navigate too, I ended up using a lift which went to a bridge (between the platforms) after getting off the train, even though it was level access - to make it more confusing they had a gate which you could see the exit out of, but you had to walk all the way around the platform, to go back on yourself just to get in/out which makes little sense. They do have ticket barriers here, I'm not sure if it's the new thing but I noticed 2 or 3 people while at the station trying to get through the station barriers, even jumping through to do anything they could to evade the fare. Some key routes here include Transport for Wales services to many big cities in Wales, and the Avanti service into London, however, if you're going into London Euston, trains here run every hour (but for some reason, there isn't a train at 18:35 when there is at 15:35,16:35,17:35, forcing a two-hour gap with the next service than at 19:35, so you might be best going into Crewe depending on when you want to travel and it takes roughly the same amount of time. Even Manchester services are the same - for my journey to Chester I boarded an Avanti service into Crewe, and then another service from Crewe to Chester which used the London Euston - Chester line, I found this journey to be much more pleasant than other alternatives (It was even better than a direct service provided by Northern or Transport for Wales, the latter I used for my return), this means you spend less time on the train but obviously changing services with a 20-minute wait makes it less worthwhile, but still if you time t right it helps save some money too! There are a WHSmith and a small cafe/shop in a waiting area on Platform 4 but there isn't much else in the station sadly. I'm not sure if it was a problem on my visit but the announcements for train runnings didn't seem to be working very well at the station, for example, I nearly missed my train back into Manchester which arrived in early as I was in the waiting area at the time (luckily it was on Platform 4) It has a good number of services but for the overall consumer passenger experience, it has a long way to go to do justice for the great city that Chester actually is. 2* read more

Chester Railway Station - Train Stations Near Me - Chester, CHE

A cold station who are not the best organised. It has a WH Smiths and a Costa before the gate but a random coffee company after meaning if you haven't got you act together or you miss your train you are left with bad coffee and expensive sandwiches. They like to change platforms at the last minute and it isn't the easiest station to work out where the trains will arrive with split platform numbers (A & B). Good connections to London, Warrington, North Wales, Manchester and Liverpool. The station has that old time chiq look. Unfortunately it is one of the most depressing parts of my journeys. read more

The Rail Station in Chester has recently undergone a much needed refurbishment. This has made it much more pleseant and accessible - with a better ticket office and better access to information on trains etc. There are a couple of basic coffee shops here and a WH Smith which is useful. It gets cold out on the platforms and the waiting rooms still need improving - but isn't this the case with all British stations? Access to the city is excellent - it is easily walkable or there is a free bus service which operates every 10 minutes or so and will drop you off right in the middle of the city - an excellent idea. read more

The station is about 15 minutes walk from central Chester and unfortunately there is not much to divert you in and around the station. It could be worse I guess, but I am not a fan. read more

This train station is the best place to alight if you're heading for the historical town of Chester, and all the delights that the city affords. I actually really like this station. Compared to some main city stations, it actually has charm. And it also has little coffee shops and snack bars, which are essential to any pleasant journey if you, like me, need your coffee breaks and your chocolate boosts. There are also free public toilets. read more

I think I'm being generous giving it 3 stars. Chester is my home city so I've used this station more times than I care to mention. Despite spending millions on improvements, it hasn't improved at all. It's still a cold depressing place to be. The revamped carpark is chaotic and inadequately small. There is now at least a Costa coffee which is reasonable and another tiny cafe on the opposite side. There are also two tiny shops and occasionally a flower stall, but don't expect to be able to kill time waiting for your train here. Most platforms are adequate in size for the number of people using it and there are enough toilets. They have ticket barriers these days, which unfortunately even now most people don't seem to know how to use, so there is always congestion getting through both ways! If you were a visitor you would think Chester was awful going by the station and the walk into the city-thankfully it's lovely! read more

Chester Railway Station - Train Stations Near Me - Chester, CHE

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I used the Chester train system for the first time in ages at the weekend and was pleasantly surprised at the changes. The main foyer has been completely refurbished and there stands a Costa Coffee, a decent customer service office and finally an arrivals/departure board to replace the TVs that used to flicker and have many periods of being tempremental to say the least. It's quite light and airy now and they've also introduced a barrier system which I'm not too keen on however. During the busy periods this would slow down the traffic through the station and trying to fumble and reach your tickets during the busy period that I did wasn't very relaxing or helpful. However, I guess in the long run it is there to deter non-paying passengers since you can't enter without a ticket. I didn't get to use the restroom which is usually clean but not the most welcoming or sweet smelling if you catch my drift so I'm not sure whether these have been refurbished either. All in all, I like the electronic announcement board which has has a smaller verison on the platform that I was departing from, which again, was a huge improvement on the dodgy TVs. However, the little screen on the platform has a digital clock included and the other clock on the platform was covered up, therefore what happens in a powercut or during a software glitch will be interesting to see with no other clock now available for passengers. Perhaps the train companies are hoping that it will bring people closer if you need to ask other people the time during such a time. lol My daughter and I were rather excited at seeing an old fashioned steam train parked there on Saturday though and I have seen other such trains pass through Chester station too so it's a great station for train spotters I'm sure !! PS: I did notice that they still had the over-priced, but handy in an chocolate/light reading emergency, shop at the entrance and the taxi rank was still directly outside which is always handy. There are still buses but the one you want may be at the bus-stop across the road now, either outside the pub on the right or the hotel on the left. read more

chester train station has improved a lot like the way they now have inside waiting rooms and more cafes

I don't know if you guys are also aware when you enter the train station if u turn right and head towards where you purchase your tickets just before on the left is William Hill betting shop thats warm and inviting with really friendly staff who are always up for a chat. Plus free coffee if your betting no matter how big or small the stakes e.g a 50p bet or you could just pop in and pay 50p for one loads cheaper than the overpriced Costa CafenGo and WHSmith. why not :D read more