London St Pancras loses best train station title to Leipzig

Best European train stations revealed

(Getty Images)

The best train stations in Europe have been revealed – and London St Pancras has lost its title to Leipzig Hauptbahnhof in Germany.

The European Railway Station Index 2021 scores 51 of Europe’s biggest railway stations to come up with the ultimate ranking.

Looking at various factors which contribute towards a better customer experience, the Consumer Choice Center puts together the annual report.

While St Pancras was crowned the number one station in 2020, this year it has dropped two spots to third place.

Second after Leipzig was Vienna Hauptbahnhof, with Amsterdam Centraal and Moscow Kazansky joint fourth and the main stations in Germany’s Frankfurt and Munich coming joint fifth respectively.

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Factors that determine stations’ positions include the number of domestic and international destinations served, platform access and the quality of dining options.

St Pancras lost out in part because of the pandemic, which resulted in widescale cutbacks to its Eurostar services.

The index authors commended Leipzig’s facilities for passengers.

“The station offers the greatest number of domestic destinations and an array of shops and restaurants,” reads the report.

“Several different railway companies use Leipzig Hauptbahnhof, which made it stand out in the top five.”

Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, Magenta station in Paris came in last place, with the lowest score.

Other UK inclusions are Birmingham New Street (eighth), London Victoria and London Bridge (joint 11th), London Euston (12th), London Waterloo (17th) and London Liverpool Street (19th).

Europe’s best (and worst) railway stations

1. Leipzig Hauptbahnhof

2. Wien Hauptbahnhof, Vienna

3. St. Pancras, London

4. Amsterdam Centraal

4. Moscow Kazansky

5. Frankfurt (Main) Hauptbahnhof

5. Munchen Hauptbahnhof

6. Moscow Kursky

7. Milano Centrale

8. Birmingham New Street

9. Roma Termini

10. Gare Montparnasse, Paris

10. Bologna Centrale

11. Gare du Nord, Paris

11. London Victoria

11. Oslo Sentralstasjon

11. London Bridge

12. Dusseldorf Hauptbahnhof

12. Stuttgart Hauptbahnhof

12. London Euston

12. Hannover Hauptbahnhof

13. Napoli Centrale Naples

14. Zurich Hauptbahnhof

14. Hamburg Hauptbahnhof

15. Cologne Hauptbahnhof

15. Moscow Yaroslavsky

15. Nuremberg Hauptbahnhof

15. Torino Porta Nuova

15. Berlin Hauptbahnhof

16. Wien Mitte, Vienna

16. Gare Saint-Lazare, Paris

16. Dortmund Hauptbahnhof

17. Madrid Atocha

17. London Waterloo

17. Utrecht Centraal

18. Firenze Santa Maria Novella, Florence

18. Roma Tiburtina

19. Essen Hauptbahnhof

19. Bremen Hauptbahnhof

19. London Liverpool Street

20. Gare de Lyon, Paris

21. Helsinki Paarautatieasema

22. Ostkreuz, Berlin

22. Bern Railway Station

23. Berlin Zoologischer Garten

24. Berlin Friedrichstrase

24. La Defense, Puteaux

24. Haussmann–Saint-Lazare, Paris

25. Châtelet–Les Halles, Paris

25. Norreport, Copenhagen

26. Magenta, Paris