Stations that should have their platforms renumbered

[DanTrain]

There's no platform B as the A to J refer to the lines rather than the platforms, and there are no platforms serving line B - there's a track plan available at https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gare_de_Dijon-Ville#/media/File:Gare_Dijon_Ville_schema_voies.svg. There also appears to be a track K without any platforms.

Platform 37 (and platform 3) are a mystery though - at some other French stations I've noticed that numbered "platforms" are used for bus services operated by the railway, but there's a train (actual train as far as I can make out) scheduled to arrive on platform 3 shortly...

Oh ok platform B thing makes sense and I can see why the non-track platforms would be numbered. Not quite sure where 3 and 37 came from though!

 

[route:oxford]

Passenger trains are not allowed to arrive or depart from 4 & 5 at Stirling due to the signalling being unsuitable (hand points and shunt class routes).

Is it likely that the signalling will ever be upgraded? Bit of a shame that it's not connected to the Alloa Line. Would be good for a shuttle to improve frequency.

I think it's only fairly recently that Platform 3 at Dunblane was allocated a number. In the past it was just the "Down Loop"

 

[Kite159]

Is Haymarket P0 still in regular use? Was this not supposed to be a temporary platform for Fife Circle services when Waverley was undergoing some serious restructuring a number of years ago? Mind you, it's more years than I care to remember since I was last on those services so things may have changed!

Nothing booked to use platform 0, it tends to see use to turn around late running services

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Platforms 12 and 11 are used for the limited Greater Anglia services to Bishop's Stortford that start from Stratford.

Since when was a half hourly service defined as "limited"?

 

[Tio Terry]

There is a considerable cost involved in changing all the design and maintenance documents associated with the Signalling, Civils and M&E Documentation if you change things like platform numbers. If you don't update these documents at the time of change then you run an increased risk of accidents because what someone is reading from a plan does not relate to what is now changed on the ground.

It would occupy valuable resources needed for resignalling schemes and cause delays to projects for no noticeable gain. That's why it's usually delayed until there is a major resignalling driven change.

 

[6Gman]

Stafford as it doesn't have a platform 2 so it is numbered 1, 3-6.

Presumably No.2 was the Up Bay - no longer in use, but in the past Stafford - Nuneaton/Rugby locals used it.

Perhaps it'll be reinstated at some future date so why bother?

Not as if it confuses anybody.

 

[BigCj34]

Ulverston has no platform 2, or at least its not used as it shares the same track as platform 1 but no train doors open On that side anymore.

 

[Glenn1969]

All Oban departures are from Platform 2. Was there ever a Platform 1?

 

[Greybeard33]

Stockport has a bay platform 3A that is in the island between the through platforms 3 and 4. Also a Platform 0, awkwardly tacked on with separate access from the concourse.

All the toilet, refreshment and retail facilities are on the original islands. To access them from 0, you have to descend to the concourse and go through the barriers twice!

 

[hexagon789]

All Oban departures are from Platform 2. Was there ever a Platform 1?

Yes, because not too long ago the two platforms were numbered 3 & 4. 1 and 2 being the Glasgow platforms, the surviving 3 & 4 orginally the Ballachulish branch platforms iirc.

I still wonder when they got round to renumbering them from 3 & 4, certainly they were still numbered thus in 2004.

 

[Ken H]

we need a hitch-hikers station with all platforms being platform 42

 

[vlad]

Stockport has a bay platform 3A that is in the island between the through platforms 3 and 4. Also a Platform 0, awkwardly tacked on with separate access from the concourse.

All the toilet, refreshment and retail facilities are on the original islands. To access them from 0, you have to descend to the concourse and go through the barriers twice!

I'm sure when the new platform was being built there was a plan to number it platform 1 and then renumber the others from 2 to 6, only they didn't bother.

Before renumbering, there was a period where the lowest numbered platform at Newcastle was Platform 7.

Newcastle needs renumbering again. The fact you have to cross the bridge to get to platforms 3-8 whereas platforms 9-12 are by the entrance has confused me more than once.

 

[xotGD]

Newcastle needs renumbering again. The fact you have to cross the bridge to get to platforms 3-8 whereas platforms 9-12 are by the entrance has confused me more than once.

Those bays were always the highest numbered platforms (were 11 and upwards) so at least the system is consistent.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Why is Carlisle the wrong way round? Most stations have 1 nearest the barrier, but Carlisle its the one furthest away.

And why do some 2 platform stations have platform numbers and others dont?

And why does betws-y-coed have a platform 1 .... and nothing else?

I was going to ask if there’s a convention related to “Up” / “Down” lines, east/west or north/south headings either within former rail companies/groups or later within BR.

 

[TheSel]

Why is Carlisle the wrong way round? Most stations have 1 nearest the barrier, but Carlisle its the one furthest away.

And why do some 2 platform stations have platform numbers and others dont?

And why does betws-y-coed have a platform 1 .... and nothing else?

Re the Betws-y-Coed question, I'm pretty sure the bus stop is referred to locally as 'Platform 2'. Although I can't find a photo of this at the moment, it's certainly referred to as such in Gwynedd County Council's bus timetable for Llew Jones' X19 bus route which pretty well runs parallel to the Conwy Valley line throughout - below.

 

[Fireless]

For international stations, I'll throw in Dortmund Hauptbahnhof.
Platforms from south to north are: 2-8, 10, 11, 16, 18, 20, 21, 23, 26 and 31

Overview of the station: https://www.bahnhof.de/resource/blo...6e0e15d892a/Dortmund-Hbf_locationPdf-data.pdf
Track plan: http://stredax.dbnetze.com/Dokumente/ISR/BS/NBS/E/EDO_NBS.pdf

 

[maxbarnish]

I'm not specifically suggesting it needs changing, or indeed whether that is likely or feasible, but I do find the layout at Edinburgh Waverley very confusing

 

[swt_passenger]

I was going to ask if there’s a convention related to “Up” / “Down” lines, east/west or north/south headings either within former rail companies/groups or later within BR.

No, this has come up before and there’s no obvious national convention. For every common example where P1 is the main up platform someone finds a close neighbouring station where it isn’t...

 

[Blockman]

1. Why is Sheffield platform 2c numbered as such?

It wasn't always a passenger platform, being originally a siding or "Dock" as it was shown on mechanical-era box diagrams that I have seen. It was provided with trap points and a shunting signal controlling the exit. It remained a dock when Sheffield PSB was brought into use in the 1970s, but according to a route learning guide that I have, the exit points (without traps) were controlled by ground frame, presumably released by the PSB. I imagine that this was done as part of the 1970s resignalling scheme. At that time, the main signals on approach in the down direction (S79 on "A" line" and S81 on "B" line) did not read into the dock. Their respective subs read to subs 88 and 89 respectively, which were released by the ground frame for shunting movements into the dock.

Some time later (I don't have a date) the dock was converted to a passenger platform. The ground frame was removed, motor points installed and a full exit signal (S105) provided. I can only agree with swt_passenger above regarding the reason why it was not given the number 3 and subsequent platforms renumbered; extensive modifications would have been required to the signalling system.

For what it is worth, at one time, what is now no.8 platform was originally no.9 at the south end and no.8 at the north end, the dividing point being the kink in the platform that is still there. There was a separate line from the north end to platform 9, bypassing platform 8. I believe that this was also removed during the 1970s resignalling, though to the best of my memory the full platform had previously been renumbered to platform 8 in the mechanical era. I stand to be corrected though!

 

[whhistle]

So when an extra platform is added it is usually much cheaper to just add the new “stuff” using suffix letters, rather than renumber on average half a station.

A problem with the railways in general.

Instead of doing it properly (including future proofing), we just keep adding bits on and adding bits on, doing it on the cheap and BOOM - we have 500 million different fares (or whatever the RDG quoted) to choose from.

 

[edwin_m]

I'm sure when the new platform was being built there was a plan to number it platform 1 and then renumber the others from 2 to 6, only they didn't bother.

That makes sense, as it was intended to re-signal Stockport at about that time, but this was later abandoned. See comments above about re-numbering often coinciding with re-signalling.

 

[och aye]

Not sure of it still applies but Oban's two platforms are/were numbered 3 and 4. Stirling no longer has a platform 1, Aberdeen's platforms are numbered 3-7.

Not perhaps confusing as with some station layouts but could do with a renumbering to simplify matters so the numbers run from 1 up.

It's a bloody shame what they did to that station comparing it to what we have today to before:

 

[61653 HTAFC]

Like Huddersfield... numbered 1 to 8, skipping 3 and 7 along the way (which are no longer there)

Early plans for the Trans-pennine Route Upgrade propose removing the present bays (P5&6) and adding an extra through platform and east-facing bay where the DMU sidings are now. As such a large project will involve new signalling, I'd expect them to renumber the platforms that need it (4 becomes 3, 8 becomes 4 with new platforms 5 (through) and 6 (bay).

 

[route:oxford]

we need a hitch-hikers station with all platforms being platform 42

Anywhere with a Platform 2A if you've got a Hexadecimal mindset.

 

[Ken H]

Anywhere with a Platform 2A if you've got a Hexadecimal mindset.

that made me snigger out loud!

 

[43055]

Re the Betws-y-Coed question, I'm pretty sure the bus stop is referred to locally as 'Platform 2'. Although I can't find a photo of this at the moment, it's certainly referred to as such in Gwynedd County Council's bus timetable for Llew Jones' X19 bus route which pretty well runs parallel to the Conwy Valley line throughout - below.
View attachment 63965

In the same way that Llandudno Junction's bus stop is 'Platform 5' as shown on the timetable.

 

[Ken H]

In the same way that Llandudno Junction's bus stop is 'Platform 5' as shown on the timetable.

is this because the service between LJ and Blaneau Ffestiniog is half train/half bus - so its a sort of a special case? I think returns are valid by either mode.

 

[reddragon]

Platforms 1 & 2 Chur



No not trams but these

 

[Senex]

1. Why is Sheffield platform 2c numbered as such?

It wasn't always a passenger platform, being originally a siding or "Dock" as it was shown on mechanical-era box diagrams that I have seen. It was provided with trap points and a shunting signal controlling the exit. It remained a dock when Sheffield PSB was brought into use in the 1970s, but according to a route learning guide that I have, the exit points (without traps) were controlled by ground frame, presumably released by the PSB. I imagine that this was done as part of the 1970s resignalling scheme. At that time, the main signals on approach in the down direction (S79 on "A" line" and S81 on "B" line) did not read into the dock. Their respective subs read to subs 88 and 89 respectively, which were released by the ground frame for shunting movements into the dock.

Some time later (I don't have a date) the dock was converted to a passenger platform. The ground frame was removed, motor points installed and a full exit signal (S105) provided. I can only agree with swt_passenger above regarding the reason why it was not given the number 3 and subsequent platforms renumbered; extensive modifications would have been required to the signalling system.

For what it is worth, at one time, what is now no.8 platform was originally no.9 at the south end and no.8 at the north end, the dividing point being the kink in the platform that is still there. There was a separate line from the north end to platform 9, bypassing platform 8. I believe that this was also removed during the 1970s resignalling, though to the best of my memory the full platform had previously been renumbered to platform 8 in the mechanical era. I stand to be corrected though!

That platform 9 line was the up goods line of the original station, and 8 was all that remained of the down goods. What are now the two sidings between 5 and 6 started life as the down and up main (non-platform) lines.

 

[43055]

is this because the service between LJ and Blaneau Ffestiniog is half train/half bus - so its a sort of a special case? I think returns are valid by either mode.

It's always been known as Platform 5 even before the X19. I'm not sure of the reason why.

 

[Steve Harris]

I'm sure Cambridge's layout made sense to someone once but it's been butchered with shortenings and the long platform isn't split into A and B but 1 and 4!
.

Thats because 1 and 4 are 2 platforms! (Scissor crossovers in the middle). It would make no sense as A and B.

The numbering was fine until around the advent of the Cambridge Cruiser (a big rise in number of services) and of course the building of the island platform (7 and 8, which of course ment platform 5 had to be shortened).

Circa 1980's generally anything going to London was from platform 1,2 or 3. And trains going north used 4,5 or 6. Which made perfect sense at the time.