Trivia: Longest platform in Great Britain?

[Proud Salopian]

Quick (trivia) question - where and what is the longest platform on the British rail network? Was there once a longer one which is no longer in use/shortened/demolished?

An odd question I know, but I'd be interested in the answer.

 

[David]

I know platform 1, and which other platform it forms is a contender, as it's around a quarter of a mile long IIRC, but (I think) the platform that linked Manchester Victoria and Manchester Exchange (right one?) was a lot longer.

 

[Proud Salopian]

Sorry, Platform 1..?

 

[thefab444]

I think he's talking about Gloucester?

 

[dan_atki]

Yes, the combined length of platforms 1 and 2 at Gloucester is 494m.
Combined length of platforms 1 and 4 at Cambridge is 467m.
Longest single platform seems to be Darlington platform 4 at 458m.

 

[Mintona]

Gloucester for the win!

 

[will1337]

Colchester 3+4 620m

 

[Callufrax]

Colchester 3+4 620m

I'd hate to be at the wrong end of that platform, if I were waiting for a train at that station.

 

[dan_atki]

Colchester 3+4 620m

:-? Figure from Wiki seems to go against Network Rail's length of 566m

 

[David]

Yes, I did mean Platform 1 at Gloucester

I've just done a little bit of research, and the platform that linked Victoria and Exchange stations in Manchester was 669 meters.

 

[Z12XE]

Colchester 3+4 620m

Surely that doesn't count.

You could park a very long train at Cambridge and it would be all in the platform, yet at Colchester part of it would be across the points and a large % of it with no platform near it!

 

[Proud Salopian]

Thanks for the information guys - how long are the new platforms at St Pancras International? Surely they'd be rather long?

Longest (existing/in use) platform in Shropshire is Shrewsbury's 7 at 320m. Which is usually more than enough considering it generally only has to handle DMUs and even the Wrexham and Shropshire trains aren't exactly long at 3 coaches, a 67 and a DVT.

 

[thefab444]

Bournemouth's Platform 3/4 is roughly 520m in length.

 

[RJ]

Kensington Olympia and Euston platform 15 are both very long.

 

[dan_atki]

St Pancras International platforms 5-10: all 433m
Bournemouth platforms 3 and 4: 522m (which is specified and is not the length of p3 + p4)
Kensington Olympia platform 2: 323m
London Euston platform 15: 402m
London Waterloo (Int) platform 24: 428m

The figures I have got for the FCC platforms at STP are a bit strange - 14/15 (which seems to be the official designation instead of A/B) are each '167m' - that will just about fit an 8 coach 319 in but the platforms are a lot longer than that!

 

[adc82140]

Probably not the longest, but does platform 1/1A at Paddington count??


ADC

 

[O L Leigh]

Colchester 3+4 620m

I'm afraid that doesn't count, as there is not a continuous platform face.

O L Leigh

 

[will1337]

Ah okay, I was cheating anyway.

 

[Kneedown]

I seem to remember a bit of useless information from my long distant childhood that Carlisle had the longest platform?
Of course that was well before the Eurostars came along, and who's to say that others havn't been lengthened in the meantime?

 

[Nym]

of course, the old exhange platforms, the majority of it is still there, just been built over etc, I think it goes into NR's victoria depot...

 

[Jord]

Platform 7 (N&S) in Aberdeen is fairly long.

(Don't know exact length)

 

[me123]

Again, [robably doesn't count but if you put platforms 2+19 together at Edinburgh Waverley, is it not baout 600m+? It is a coninuous platofrm face and theoretically you could have a train parked across both if needed (in practice, it doesn't happen).

 

[Jord]

Again, [robably doesn't count but if you put platforms 2+19 together at Edinburgh Waverley, is it not baout 600m+? It is a coninuous platofrm face and theoretically you could have a train parked across both if needed (in practice, it doesn't happen).

The only problem with that though, what splits platform 2 & 19 is signals and the two cross over points.

So really a longish train can't actually stop in the whole length of the platform and between the signals there's only room for a HST or 91 + Mk4 set + DVT and nothing more, I think that's why most of the railtours like D1015 with 13 coaches went into Platform 8/9 (the long ones behind the wall).

Although I may be completely wrong like usual.

 

[me123]

Yes, I know the platforms. 8+9 are used by railtours usually I think, and I don't think they've been modernised as much and it still feels a bit like an old-fashioned station.

You can easily get a NXEC set in each platform (in fact, Platforms 2+19 are NCEX's usual platforms when the train doesn't run to Glasgow), but I thought you could get a long train in over the points if you routed the train through the signal hence utilising both platforms? Or is there a safety restriction or something about that?

 

[djw1981]

It cuts capacity and routes through the station...

 

[87015]

Inverness overnight straddles both parts of the platform at Waverley doesn't it?

 

[djw1981]

is that not p 7/11?

 

[me123]

Yep, sleepers use Platform 7. But a similar situation does exist in that it sits on two platforms over the cross-over.

 

[Nym]

In which case, wouldn't one of the Leeds platforms qualify?

 

[class 313]

The figures I have got for the FCC platforms at STP are a bit strange - 14/15 (which seems to be the official designation instead of A/B) are each '167m' - that will just about fit an 8 coach 319 in but the platforms are a lot longer than that!

The A/B platforms can and will indeed hold 12 coach 319s.

Anyway,

Gloucester is correct. It is indeed the longest platform.

For reference its 1977 feet (602.6m). Maximum number of coaches can be held is 12 + 12, but dividing the length by 65ft (based on C1 restrictions) you can hold 30.