Stirling Train Station

I don’t really have much to say about the train station I got to work on. I will say that it’s not as overcrowded as it once was, they’ve got more carriages. It’s probably the only station I feel safe at by myself at night also, so that’s a good thing.

This review is just more of a heads up to those who don’t catch the train often and aren’t aware of the new systems they’ve installed
I haven’t caught the train since they introduced a standard $ 2 parking fee. So when I went the other day I completely forgot to have coins on me so I could pay for parking.
Yes that was my bad, but the frustrating thing is the setup of the whole thing…
If you need to exchange your notes into coins you have to walk over the bridge and up to the office where they have a «change machine».
The ticket machine isn’t spread out through the car park like others, its near the pick up and drop off section, which means a decent walk from your car to the parking ticket machine and then back to your car to display your ticket.
Lesson 1: Make sure to have a $ 2 coin on you if you plan on parking at the train station.
I then get up stairs to put more money on my SmartRider but they only accept notes! Which was so inconvenient as I just changed my $ 10 note into change for the parking ticket. I tried using my debit card but it was denying it so I had to borrow money off my sister. The machines minimum is $ 20, which is a lot especially if, like me don’t catch the train very much. I ended up buying a standard train ticket, which means I lost my student concession, but still better than having $ 20 on my SmartRider that I probably wont use again for a couple of months and my SmartRider expires in a month.
Lesson 2: have notes on you if you want to add money on your SmartRider
Overall lesson: make sure you have the appropriate forms of money before you get to the train station and arrive their ten minutes before you intend on getting on the train in case you have to do what I had to.