Ivo
Established Member
I've been trying to work out how various towns and cities across the country seem to fare in terms of how much platform capacity they have for a settlement of their size. This should be a good indicator of how well off - or otherwise - some of these places are, because a bigger station suggests a better service for the most part.
N.B.: Metro services do count.
To give a few examples, consider Bracknell, Lewes and Cardiff. Bracknell has a population of 70,000 and two stations, each of which has two platforms. his gives it one platform for every 17,500 people - which, if we're being honest, isn't brilliant. Lewes has only 16,000 people, and yet its one station has five platforms, meaning there are just 3,200 people per platform. Finally, Cardiff has something like 20 stations, with an average number of platforms of roughly two (Central is negated by the Coryton line), giving its population of roughly 360,000 a ratio of one platform for every 9,000 people.
Obviously some of the smaller places will do very well here - St Budeaux seems like an obvious example - but what about at the other end of the scale? Which places seem completely bereft of capacity?
Three places that have struck me as examples of this would be Chelmsford, Stoke and Swindon. Chelmsford has just two platforms (hopefully four in the not-too-distant future should Springfield ever be built) for a population of 105,000 - giving a hideous ratio of more than 50,000 people per platform. Stoke isn't that much better, with its 250,000 people having to share seven platforms for a ratio of roughly 35,000 per platform; before Etruria closed, this would have been roughly 27,000. Finally, Swindon's population of 160,000 have to share one four-platform station, at roughly 40,000 people per platform.
Obivously this data isn't perfect, as some station are better served and/or connected than others, but it does provide a good indicator of where is doing well and where is not. Can anyone find another location that has a ratio of upwards of 50,000 for instance?
Basic formula: Population ÷ platforms
Population is defined as the district/borough area where it is (almost) entirely urban, e.g. Nottingham, or the urban area where the district extends far beyond the locality, e.g. Swansea.
And before anyone suggests London, don't bother. It has something like 600 stations all things considered, many of which have more than two platforms and in some cases more than four.
N.B.: Metro services do count.
To give a few examples, consider Bracknell, Lewes and Cardiff. Bracknell has a population of 70,000 and two stations, each of which has two platforms. his gives it one platform for every 17,500 people - which, if we're being honest, isn't brilliant. Lewes has only 16,000 people, and yet its one station has five platforms, meaning there are just 3,200 people per platform. Finally, Cardiff has something like 20 stations, with an average number of platforms of roughly two (Central is negated by the Coryton line), giving its population of roughly 360,000 a ratio of one platform for every 9,000 people.
Obviously some of the smaller places will do very well here - St Budeaux seems like an obvious example - but what about at the other end of the scale? Which places seem completely bereft of capacity?
Three places that have struck me as examples of this would be Chelmsford, Stoke and Swindon. Chelmsford has just two platforms (hopefully four in the not-too-distant future should Springfield ever be built) for a population of 105,000 - giving a hideous ratio of more than 50,000 people per platform. Stoke isn't that much better, with its 250,000 people having to share seven platforms for a ratio of roughly 35,000 per platform; before Etruria closed, this would have been roughly 27,000. Finally, Swindon's population of 160,000 have to share one four-platform station, at roughly 40,000 people per platform.
Obivously this data isn't perfect, as some station are better served and/or connected than others, but it does provide a good indicator of where is doing well and where is not. Can anyone find another location that has a ratio of upwards of 50,000 for instance?
Basic formula: Population ÷ platforms
Population is defined as the district/borough area where it is (almost) entirely urban, e.g. Nottingham, or the urban area where the district extends far beyond the locality, e.g. Swansea.
And before anyone suggests London, don't bother. It has something like 600 stations all things considered, many of which have more than two platforms and in some cases more than four.
