Trivia: Narrowest platform?

By the time you've allowed for the width of the shelter the platforms at Dudley Port are pretty narrow, especially considering most trains pass through at around 75mph. Have often wondered how it can be considered safe

 

The platform at Salford Crescent is very narrow in places

 

The taper at nearby Raynes Park makes them very thin towards the end indeed.

 

There's Cressington station in Liverpool, which had its platforms extended in the 1970s to handle 6-car Merseyrail trains. The platform extensions are very narrow indeed; I suspect this would not be allowed if you tried to do it today!

This is the best picture I can find online (not my photo, I hasten to add):- https://flic.kr/p/o5LU2Z

 

Some of the recent SWT platform extensions are quite narrow, such as at London Road (Guildford) here.

 

The south end of Elephant & Castle's platform 2-3 is pretty damn narrow. If not dangerously so.

 

Platform 2/3 by the subway staircases at Norwood Junction is quite narrow

 

How about Clapham North and Clapham Common stations on the Northern Line tube. They are almost frightening to someone experiencing them for the first time, being less than 12 feet wide with tube trains passing on each side.

Here's what it's like waiting for a train at Clapham Common:


and here is what it's like when two trains come in together:


I have also seen this arrangement at Euston station on the Northern Line City Branch and at Angel station, but Euston was modified when the Victoria Line was built in the '60s, and Angel rebuilt in the '90s as traffic increased enough to make crowding dagerous. There are some stations on the Clockwork Orange tube in Glasgow that are even norrower, but the trains are also narrow gauge and of smaller cross section.

 

Perhaps the former City Widened Lines? Disconnected from Thameslink and OOU since 2009; but when in use the northbound platforms at Barbrican (and Moorgate?) must've been a contender - if memory serves me well, they extended right into the running tunnels!

 

The northern end of P1 at Macclesfield I always think is particularly narrow, not too sure what the maximum speed is but I know some trains do pass through.

 

Kelvinhall Subway Station

 

I remember the first time that I saw the trains on the Glasgow Underground (1986), - out of the tunnel popped this model of a LU train, in orange (oops, sorry SPTE red). Its roofline was below my eyelevel. Once inside, it was like a downsized tube train with facing longtitudonal seats rather closer than I was used to so I had to keep my feet in to allow passengers to stand. Other than that, it was fine, - small but perfectly formed.

 

That's closer to the mark than you think; I was told some years ago during a behind the scenes visit to the system that the short lived 1983 Stock on the Jubilee Line was the same basic design just made a bit bigger for London.

 

Except with single leaf doors, thus ensuring their short operational life.

 

That is true, yes, it's the structural design of the carriages themselves that are - apart from their size - virtually identical. Glasgow had a bit more sense when it came to doors...

In fact I think it was always a double leaf door design but the Underground thought they knew better - probably an attempt to cut maintenance costs that wasn't fully though through?

 

I have to echo the thoughts about the island Subway platforms in Glasgow (and it ain't just Kelvinhall - lots of them are similar). They are toatie! Can be rather unnerving standing on them waiting for the train to come in, particularly when it's busy and/or you're doing a Sub Crawl! In rainy conditions (not that that's common in Glasgow ) the platforms can also be very wet and slippery.

Originally, all the platforms were like that, although after the 70s refurb, side platforms emerged at the busier stations (IIRC; St Enoch, Buchanan Street, Hillhead, Partick, Govan, Ibrox). Some like Partick and St Enoch have two side platforms, others like Buchanan St and Hillhead had just the one with the original middle platform being used for one of the circles (the recent addition of a glass barrier again makes the experience a lot better!).

Back on the mainline, I'll also nominate High Street (Glasgow) for a narrow platform. It's fine at the West end, but as you move towards the East (only an issue for 6 car trains) they become really quite narrow, probably so that they can fit in the cutting.

 

The platforms at Wapping are hardly, er, whopping. (Sorry!)

 

CRW_2399 by Tom Page, on Flickr

(not my photo)

Markinch station, Northbound 6 car trains go beyond the bridge, although these are few and far between these days since the Edinburgh-Aberdeen trains no longer stop there. You can see the HST stop beyond the end of the platform.

 

Acton Bridge, must be nice standing there with a 390 blowing past.

 

No photo, but I nominate Balcombe. Where the platforms go under the skew roadbridge it is not just narrow but the walls curve in as well. It is not short of non-stopping fast trains either.

 

Balcombe Railway Station Platform 2

 

Bogston's platform 2 must be one of the narrowest on the Scotrail network:


The main reason it's so narrow is because the line from Port Glasgow to Wemyss Bay runs above and to the left of it:

 

Is the slow line platform used nowadays?

When I was a child I can remember the old steam push-n-pull train standing there, waiting for the road.
Towards the end it worked only between Acton Bridge and Warrington. In the old days it worked Warrington to Wharton, carried grammar school kids every school day.

 

Certainly in Central Trains days the first CTs to Brum that stopped at Acton Bridge,used the slow line to allow the VT to overtake.

 

I think that takes the prize then.
The narrowest platform of any appreciable length in everyday use.
Someone should measure it exactly.

 

Rotherhithe station, one stop down from Wapping, has similarly narrow platforms. Mind you, given that the vastly bigger Canada Water station is only a short walk away, this isn't a major issue.

 

Pre-rebuild, the easternmost terminus platforms at Blackfriars had a pair of yellow lines painted that joined into one line for at least the last coach length, maybe longer. (In other words a very narrow 'Y' shaped line, which became impossible to stand behind.)

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_OXFw9ikY1YQ/SHZvXsPL1VI/AAAAAAAABXo/t8Yi-473I2A/s400/bfriars.jpg

 

yes macclesfields are very narrow at the exit from the ticket office and can be very congested at some times, luckily the passing pendos and voyagers are on the approach to the sharp curve through the tunnel and doing 40/50mph

 

Some of the very narrow platform extensions have hatching and signs to say that they are areas for alighting but not boarding. I guess the theory is that if people only alight from a train that is standing there, they won't be near the edge when a non-stop train passes.

Line 8 (I think) of the Paris Metro has signs on the end-most doors saying they are for alighting only. I wonder if this is for a similar reason.