Plans for new £1.5m road to improve cultural quarter in Sunderland city centre unveiled

  • Thread starter Deleted member 27897
  • Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.


I'm not a fan of trying to refurbish the current train station. Seems to be throwing good money after bad. The refurbishments look good for a few years then requires a new makeover a few years later.
I know it's very unlikely but I think building a new station would be more cost effective in the long run (but very expensive initially).
I know it was mentioned here previously but the space opposite the war memorial, (north of the civic centre) once housed the towns train station. This would be my preferred site.

Won't ever happen, far too expensive with virtually no economic benefit.

A well considered refurbishment of the current station would be fine. At platform level it's good, it's just above ground that effectively needs ripping apart and rebuilt. It doesn't feel purpose built at the minute.
 
Won't ever happen, far too expensive with virtually no economic benefit.

A well considered refurbishment of the current station would be fine. At platform level it's good, it's just above ground that effectively needs ripping apart and rebuilt. It doesn't feel purpose built at the minute.
It's terrible at platform level. It's dark and dinghy. The last refurbishment was a waste of money especially on that useless light show of people walking by. There are no toilets, cafeteria or other facilities like storage. It will never be suitable as there is no height or space to do anything with it. Don't forget we are a city of 300,000+ people who deserve so much better.

My opinion would be to relocate the station to the Monkwearmouth site where the old station museum is as there is lots of land around the SOL site to expand businesses, shops, storage etc. We also have a hotel adjacent to the SOL so it would be win win for travellers too.
 
It's terrible at platform level. It's dark and dinghy. The last refurbishment was a waste of money especially on that useless light show of people walking by. There are no toilets, cafeteria or other facilities like storage. It will never be suitable as there is no height or space to do anything with it. Don't forget we are a city of 300,000+ people who deserve so much better.

My opinion would be to relocate the station to the Monkwearmouth site where the old station museum is as there is lots of land around the SOL site to expand businesses, shops, storage etc. We also have a hotel adjacent to the SOL so it would be win win for travellers too.

It's actually pretty good at platform level. The lightwall thing is pretty cool and is a nice touch. It's like a modern tube station, and that's no bad thing.

Toilets, cafes and storage facilities would all be located on the surface anyway which is what I said needs to be redeveloped. A revamp up upstairs with a much (!!!!) better entrance would make the place about a thousand times more inviting.
 
It's actually pretty good at platform level. The lightwall thing is pretty cool and is a nice touch. It's like a modern tube station, and that's no bad thing.

Toilets, cafes and storage facilities would all be located on the surface anyway which is what I said needs to be redeveloped. A revamp up upstairs with a much (!!!!) better entrance would make the place about a thousand times more inviting.
I don't agree at all with your views but I'll give you one thing, you're unique amongst all the people I know as the only one who has said anything decent about that dump of a central station.
 
It's actually pretty good at platform level. The lightwall thing is pretty cool and is a nice touch. It's like a modern tube station, and that's no bad thing.

Toilets, cafes and storage facilities would all be located on the surface anyway which is what I said needs to be redeveloped. A revamp up upstairs with a much (!!!!) better entrance would make the place about a thousand times more inviting.

Ha'Way lad, have a word with yourself.

The "new" has been an embarrassing eyesore from the day it opened in the 60s. Platform is dark and dangerous, I've seen the walking light show working properly on only a handful of occasions, are there any toilets? Obviously, we can't be blessed with anything like up the road (geography is against us) but we've been a city for 25 years - you'd think part of the Sunderland master plan would involve a decent rail station! However, it's never even been mooted.

Anyone arriving at Sunderland for the first time is not really made to feel welcome. Upon leaving the main door, you've got Wilko, a bookies, Specsavers and Gid knows what else. And if you follow your nose, the first pub you enter could be f***ing Josephs!!

Long term plan for me (if it's ever on the agenda) is to rebuild Littlewoods as our mainline rail station in the manner of the old. High ceilings, glass roof, a little arcade of shops ... with the Specsavers end being used as a secondary exit.
 
Ha'Way lad, have a word with yourself.

The "new" has been an embarrassing eyesore from the day it opened in the 60s. Platform is dark and dangerous, I've seen the walking light show working properly on only a handful of occasions, are there any toilets? Obviously, we can't be blessed with anything like up the road (geography is against us) but we've been a city for 25 years - you'd think part of the Sunderland master plan would involve a decent rail station! However, it's never even been mooted.

Anyone arriving at Sunderland for the first time is not really made to feel welcome. Upon leaving the main door, you've got Wilko, a bookies, Specsavers and Gid knows what else. And if you follow your nose, the first pub you enter could be f***ing Josephs!!

Long term plan for me (if it's ever on the agenda) is to rebuild Littlewoods as our mainline rail station in the manner of the old. High ceilings, glass roof, a little arcade of shops ... with the Specsavers end being used as a secondary exit.

Where on earth are you going to get the money to do that? People aren't going to be put off visiting Sunderland because the station is a bit shit. Spending hundreds of millions redeveloping it would be fantastic but it wouldn't see an increase in visitors, it wouldn't generate anything for the economy (aside from the development itself) and therefore is a complete nonstarter.
I don't agree at all with your views but I'll give you one thing, you're unique amongst all the people I know as the only one who has said anything decent about that dump of a central station.

The station above ground is absolutely shite, at platform level it's perfectly fine. It's clean and modern looking. Yes there needs to be a few touch ups, i.e. fix the bloody elevators (!) and put a toilet in, but aside from that it's okay. The upstairs is the problem, if that looked more like a normal train station I doubt anyone would care about the platform level anyway.
 
Ha'Way lad, have a word with yourself.

The "new" has been an embarrassing eyesore from the day it opened in the 60s. Platform is dark and dangerous, I've seen the walking light show working properly on only a handful of occasions, are there any toilets? Obviously, we can't be blessed with anything like up the road (geography is against us) but we've been a city for 25 years - you'd think part of the Sunderland master plan would involve a decent rail station! However, it's never even been mooted.

Anyone arriving at Sunderland for the first time is not really made to feel welcome. Upon leaving the main door, you've got Wilko, a bookies, Specsavers and Gid knows what else. And if you follow your nose, the first pub you enter could be f***ing Josephs!!

Long term plan for me (if it's ever on the agenda) is to rebuild Littlewoods as our mainline rail station in the manner of the old. High ceilings, glass roof, a little arcade of shops ... with the Specsavers end being used as a secondary exit.
Spot on mate! I've been to many stations and most in the North of England but not one as horrible as Sunderland either below or above ground.
 
Where on earth are you going to get the money to do that? People aren't going to be put off visiting Sunderland because the station is a bit shit. Spending hundreds of millions redeveloping it would be fantastic but it wouldn't see an increase in visitors, it wouldn't generate anything for the economy (aside from the development itself) and therefore is a complete nonstarter.


The station above ground is absolutely shite, at platform level it's perfectly fine. It's clean and modern looking. Yes there needs to be a few touch ups, i.e. fix the bloody elevators (!) and put a toilet in, but aside from that it's okay. The upstairs is the problem, if that looked more like a normal train station I doubt anyone would care about the platform level anyway.
The current station is anything but ok at platform level, the original refurbishment was a cut price refurb, the original plan was to incorporate the hidden platform which would of enabled extra capacity for trains to stable (Grand Central and Virgin East Coast) there and not cause the lines to be blocked every few minutes due to the Metro, come on if you think this is ok, you must be easily pleased, it's a dark and desolate dangerous shit hole.
 
I love Sunderland, but the train station is shit. Don't see how anyone can think otherwise, would be okay as a metro stop.
 
The current station is anything but ok at platform level, the original refurbishment was a cut price refurb, the original plan was to incorporate the hidden platform which would of enabled extra capacity for trains to stable (Grand Central and Virgin East Coast) there and not cause the lines to be blocked every few minutes due to the Metro, come on if you think this is ok, you must be easily pleased, it's a dark and desolate dangerous shit hole.

It'll be desolate if it looked like Kings Cross as well.

Dangerous? How?

The platform is just a glorified tube station, it's adequate, with the light wall being a nice feature. It's really not the problem with the station.
 
Where on earth are you going to get the money to do that? People aren't going to be put off visiting Sunderland because the station is a bit shit. Spending hundreds of millions redeveloping it would be fantastic but it wouldn't see an increase in visitors, it wouldn't generate anything for the economy (aside from the development itself) and therefore is a complete nonstarter.

Hundreds of millions? You're miles out, lad.

Anyway, we could get European funding from some sort of redevelopment finance package.

Oh hang on, the fuckwit proletariat here voted for BREXIT didn't they?
 
I love Sunderland, but the train station is shit. Don't see how anyone can think otherwise, would be okay as a metro stop.

I think the same, a good revamp and it would make a decent metro stop. Monkwearmouth station museum should be made into the main railway station. Last time I was in Sunderland station some seagulls were hopping about inside and there was bird crap all over the place - lovely. As for the money, 20 million for Newcastle Haymarket metro and no idea about the refurb outside Newcastle central station but it won't have been cheap. Meanwhile, Sunderland gets a platform improvement and a fancy glass wall thing. It was actually better when it was open to the air and we had hanging baskets. I love the smell of burning fat from BurgerKing when you arrive at Sunderland - it probably is the worst city centre railway station in the country :(
 
Where on earth are you going to get the money to do that? People aren't going to be put off visiting Sunderland because the station is a bit shit. Spending hundreds of millions redeveloping it would be fantastic but it wouldn't see an increase in visitors, it wouldn't generate anything for the economy (aside from the development itself) and therefore is a complete nonstarter.


The station above ground is absolutely shite, at platform level it's perfectly fine. It's clean and modern looking. Yes there needs to be a few touch ups, i.e. fix the bloody elevators (!) and put a toilet in, but aside from that it's okay. The upstairs is the problem, if that looked more like a normal train station I doubt anyone would care about the platform level anyway.

Don't build roads that the city doesn't need, and you've got £1.5m in the bank to start.

I'm 51 years Sunderland born and bred, and that station is a fuckin embarrassment, always has been. You go up the road to theirs, or York, even Darlington and see the difference.
 
Exactly. In space of a very very short walk there will be the theatre with the biggest stage between Leeds and Edinburgh which is regularly home to touring West End shows, an £8 million quid renovated building with dance studios, Live Theatre, a heritage centre cafe and restaurant in it, a 450 seater/700 standing music auditorium, and a music/spoken word/comedy/theatre performance space above the Peacock, some decent pubs/bars, and more plans for future developments too.

And people piss and moan and talk it down. Nothing that could realistically happen in Sunderland would be good enough for them. Nothing.
What about moving Buck House and Parliament here brick by brick? May actually please some of the doommongers on here.Probably not though.
 
Don't build roads that the city doesn't need, and you've got £1.5m in the bank to start.

I'm 51 years Sunderland born and bred, and that station is a fuckin embarrassment, always has been. You go up the road to theirs, or York, even Darlington and see the difference.

You'd need about 100 times that to create a new station and divert the line.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top