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Through and bay platforms

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PMN1

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Are there many stations that have bay platforms that would be more useful now had they been built as through platforms?
 
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sw1ller

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Chester. Forever shunting stuff out the bays to go in the opposite direction.
 

adamedwards

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One could argue these days Manchester Piccadilly is a very small through station with 12 bays attached.
 

swt_passenger

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Fareham. If the middle platform was still connected in the Portsmouth direction, (ie track layout reverted to as built condition), then it would be much easier for Southern’s short workings when running late, which they do on a regular basis.
 
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pieguyrob

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How about Ormskirk! It was a through platform that is now two bays, so is the opposite way round.
 

Aictos

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How about Bedford? Bearing in mind it only has three platforms capable of taking 8/12 car EMUs, by remodelling the station and extending the bay platform though the ticket hall to take 12 cars that surely would be less expensive then remodelling the layout and building a extra platform for the Up Fast?

Also Hertford North and Gordon Hill were built with two island platforms with the outer faces as bays, by making them though platforms both stations can be used to loop services.

As to unbuilt, how about Stevenage platform 5? I think it’s got passive support to be converted to being a though line in the future?
 

ajs1981

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Perhaps Leamington platform 4? Sometimes there seems to be a queue for P3 during disruption. Although it might just move the delay further along the line as there is only one track in each direction until further along the line?
 

Ianno87

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One could argue these days Manchester Piccadilly is a very small through station with 12 bays attached.

You could probably add every London terminal! If you were planning railways from scratch today, you wouldn't have come up with a ring of terminals around London for every suburban route! Hence Thameslink, Crossrail and Crossrail 2 to fix this historic constraint.
 

Ken H

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You could probably add every London terminal! If you were planning railways from scratch today, you wouldn't have come up with a ring of terminals around London for every suburban route! Hence Thameslink, Crossrail and Crossrail 2 to fix this historic constraint.
the victorians took fright at the idea of railways crossing London. Which is why KX, Ss P, Euston and Marylebone are on the marylebone Road, and the southern stations just got over the river and stopped. Dunno how what is Thameslink snuck through!
 

Wirewiper

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the victorians took fright at the idea of railways crossing London. Which is why KX, Ss P, Euston and Marylebone are on the marylebone Road, and the southern stations just got over the river and stopped. Dunno how what is Thameslink snuck through!

It had the Metropolitan Railway as a precedent - the idea of railways crossing Central London in tunnel had gained acceptance.
 

swt_passenger

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It had the Metropolitan Railway as a precedent - the idea of railways crossing Central London in tunnel had gained acceptance.
...and I suspect the rationale was originally more about getting livestock and produce to Smithfield than a through passenger service as we know it today.
 

xotGD

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Swansea

Glasgow

And another vote for Bradford
 

Ken H

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...and I suspect the rationale was originally more about getting livestock and produce to Smithfield than a through passenger service as we know it today.

Ludgate Hill was overground and busy. right by st pauls cathedral
 

vlad

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I think Stoke has had several bays in its time (now reduced to just the one) but it's only ever had the 2 through platforms. If everything runs to timetable then there aren't any problems but how often does that happen?
 

edwin_m

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...and I suspect the rationale was originally more about getting livestock and produce to Smithfield than a through passenger service as we know it today.
Ludgate Hill was overground and busy. right by st pauls cathedral
However what is now Thameslink avoided the really expensive areas in the City itself, passing through a gap of relatively cheaper land between the City and the West End. That's probably why Smithfield was there as well.
 

30907

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It had the Metropolitan Railway as a precedent - the idea of railways crossing Central London in tunnel had gained acceptance.
It wasn't called the Metropolitan Widened Lines for nothing! And interestingly no other full-sized railway was built across Central London until Crossrail, though there were some post-WW2 (and other) plans.

Back on topic - pedant mode, do pure terminus stations have bay platforms? I would only use the word to describe short platforms like the one-time parcels sidings/docks/bays between 11 and 12 (now 14) at Waterloo.

Leeds has bays 13/14 which could in theory be connected, but it would cause enormous circulation problems.
 

Surreytraveller

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You could probably add every London terminal! If you were planning railways from scratch today, you wouldn't have come up with a ring of terminals around London for every suburban route! Hence Thameslink, Crossrail and Crossrail 2 to fix this historic constraint.
In fact, all the Underground lines that have been extended into the suburbs taking over existing lines after The War could be considered as early versions of Thameslink, such as the Central to West Ruislip/Epping etc
 

mark-h

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Nine, I think, thanks to the wonders of double length platforms and cross-overs. Also capacity to add an extra through platform after extension work on 5/6 and 12.
Edinburgh only has 6 independent through platforms- certain combinations of platform use will result in other platforms being blocked from one direction, effectively making them into bay platforms.
 

PaulLothian

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Edinburgh only has 6 independent through platforms- certain combinations of platform use will result in other platforms being blocked from one direction, effectively making them into bay platforms.
True enough, although on my regular trips through Waverley it is not that common to see all four sections of the platforms with crossovers in use simultaneously - one of the features of interest I tend to look out for. As a serious question, are there current services that TOCs would organise differently if there were more through tracks, or is this about future-proofing?
 

Ianno87

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True enough, although on my regular trips through Waverley it is not that common to see all four sections of the platforms with crossovers in use simultaneously - one of the features of interest I tend to look out for. As a serious question, are there current services that TOCs would organise differently if there were more through tracks, or is this about future-proofing?

Edinburgh has:

West End - 4 track approach with numerous diverging routes after Haymarket

East End - 2 track approach with only two relatively minor brances (Tweedbank and North Berwick)

So having lots of west facing bays makes sense - not sure where you'd send all the through trains to (or where the capacity to fit them to the east would come from)
 

cornishjohn

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Edinburgh has:

West End - 4 track approach with numerous diverging routes after Haymarket

East End - 2 track approach with only two relatively minor brances (Tweedbank and North Berwick)

So having lots of west facing bays makes sense - not sure where you'd send all the through trains to (or where the capacity to fit them to the east would come from)

There are occasional Ayr-North Berwick services. Also I think a few North Berwick - Haymarket. I'm surprised there aren't more like this actually - a quick crayoning gives Tweedbank to the fife loop?
 

Esker-pades

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There are occasional Ayr-North Berwick services. Also I think a few North Berwick - Haymarket. I'm surprised there aren't more like this actually - a quick crayoning gives Tweedbank to the fife loop?
3 trains per day run beyond Waverley from North Berwick. This looks like it reduces to just 1 after the timetable change.
4 trains per day run from beyond Waverley to North Berwick. This looks like it reduces 1 after the timetable change.

There are rush hour services between Tweedbank and Fife. There are also some Tweedbank services that run through to South Gyle.
 
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