Citylab is at it again: the saddest-looking Amtrak Stations. In the opinion of their correspondent, of course, but I think most people would have to admit that many of the examples are pretty sad.

The saddest station, though, is the Amshack. Somehow, that isn't represented in Citylab's collection. Remember the old one in Madera CA - essentially a metal outhouse and a dirt platform? the current one is only marginally better. Then there's the basic bus shelter - they got close in South Bend, but Denair is the Real Deal (though a lot nicer now than it used to be - I remember something similar to the bust stop in front of the Merced station below).

OTOH, some stations have been fixed up fairly nicely, mostly with local funding not Amtrak's. Fresno, Merced, and Sacramento aren't half bad; Portland OR too. Some regional operations (especially California) have built completely new stations that are architecturally and functionally fairly nice (Oakland and Bakersfield for instance).

It's not the first time Citylab has gotten into railroad stations. See also (for example) America's Train Stations: An Architectural Explainer.