Watford Junction station is getting a hard time after it was announced that it was on a shortlist as part of a Twitter 'World Cup of Stations'.

And the decision announced this week that all its lifts would be closed for four months for refurbishment will not have helped. One solution from the handbook of bad PR excuses was that disabled travellers who needed a platform with access could travel to Milton Keynes and back to get there.

But it's not all the station's fault, much of it is the roads. Anyone who has tried to use Watford Junction at rush hour knows the routine: Gridlock along Station Road and Clarendon Road, mayhem getting in and out of the long-stay car park, a trip round the block to get to the tiny short stay car park. Drop your friend off from the comfort of your traffic jam, because there is no safe place.

Read more: All three lifts at Watford Junction to be upgraded at the same time

'Knock it down and start again'

It's true the layout inside doesn't help. Nor does the cramped and dingy underpass to the platforms, and the aforementioned lifts, which do need fixing (though not all at once).

But the place still somehow works, in part because the staff are so helpful at getting people the right tickets and steering them to the relevant platforms.

Many of the access problems are supposed to be solved with the promised revamp of the station including, a new car park entrance from Imperial Way.

So many London stations have been improved enormously over the past few years, and Reading's has changed beyond recognition.

It's time Watford had the station it needs and its users - and staff - deserve.