Trivia: station codes with letters not in the station name

[Glenn1969]

Not rail related but the airport code for Aberdeen is ABZ. Why the Z?

 

[alistairlees]

Not rail related but the airport code for Aberdeen is ABZ. Why the Z?

It just got the short straw I expect. All of ABA to ABY are used for other airports. There are a lot more airports globally than there are stations in Great Britain.

 

[SargeNpton]

My presumption that the first letter of the code still has to be the same as the first letter of the station's name is probably incorrect, then! CRS, of course, goes back nearly 40 years, and other systems have come along since which have their own rules. Originally, I believe, only stations served by reservable trains had 3-alpha codes; the rest got theirs when the Disabled Persons' Reporting System (DPRS) was introduced in the late 1980s. Needless to say, neither CRS nor DPRS was concerned with Underground stations!

For National Rail stations, CRS codes have to have the same first letter as the station name as it appears in a central database called CORPUS. London terminals are an exception to this as the "London" prefix was not used in the early 1980s when CRS codes were widely adopted. That Mottisfont & Dunbridge still uses DBG is an oddity in that the station name has been updated everywhere except in CORPUS! LHR for Heathrow is another oddity.

Z series codes are generally used for stations under the control of London Underground or Docklands Light Railway. Where control of a station moves between National Rail and London Underground the CRS code will often change as a consequence - and there are some stations with separate CRS codes for both sides of a joint station.

X series codes are used for certain operating locations and for some non-rail passenger locations (bus stops, ports, Irish stations, other third-party rail systems, tourist attractions). Whether a non-rail location gets an x-series code or a "proper" CRS code depends on a number of factors.

Changing the CRS code causes a number of problems in various systems so is done as infrequently as possible.If a location changes its name but retains the same first letter then the existing CRS code is normally retained (e.g. Bicester Town to Bicester Village). If the station name changes completely then the CRS code has to change (e.g. when Smitham became Coulsdon Town then SMI changed to CDN).

Finally, there are a number of stations that have two CRS codes as a legacy of DPRS, such as Tamworth (TAM/TAH) but only the main CRS code is used for retailing these days.

 

[onlinespotting]

Surely TAH is Tamworth High Level

 

[pdeaves]

Surely TAH is Tamworth High Level

Yes, and also has letters in 'Tamworth'.

Aside: the various high/low level codes are on http://www.railwaycodes.org.uk/crs/CRS2.shtm

 

[onlinespotting]

Would ALE be Allerton?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Would ALE be Allerton?

Yes. Curiously, Garston's old code was GRM, which also fits the theme of this thread.

[Garston Merseyside, to differentiate it from the one in Hertfordshire.]

 

[adrock1976]

Not rail related but the airport code for Aberdeen is ABZ. Why the Z?

It just got the short straw I expect. All of ABA to ABY are used for other airports. There are a lot more airports globally than there are stations in Great Britain.

A thought that came into my mind here is that there could be a possibility of the Z referring to Shetland (old Viking name was Zetland).

Aberdeen is also a gateway for cargo to Shetland too, especially mail deliveries. Anything addressed for the postcodes of AB and ZE all go to Aberdeen.

 

[onlinespotting]

Surely ALE was used when Virgin Trains we’re stopping short at Liverpool South Parkway. They waited at a signal which was Allerton and I’m sure showed Allerton as the destination on the trains and at Euston

 

[Ianno87]

Surely ALE was used when Virgin Trains we’re stopping short at Liverpool South Parkway. They waited at a signal which was Allerton and I’m sure showed Allerton as the destination on the trains and at Euston

The high level platforms still use ALERTN as the TIPLOC, which may explain it.

 

[SargeNpton]

The high level platforms still use ALERTN as the TIPLOC, which may explain it.

Network Rail doesn't like amending TIPLOCs so there are several around the country that relate to a station's former name. In one instance a station has a TIPLOC for a name it never used... The TIPLOC for Imperial Wharf is CSEAH, as the station was originally to be called Chelsea Harbour.

 

[Hyphen]

Finally, there are a number of stations that have two CRS codes as a legacy of DPRS, such as Tamworth (TAM/TAH) but only the main CRS code is used for retailing these days.

And that's before we even get started on how many Highbury & Islington seems to have picked up!

 

[pdeaves]

And that's before we even get started on how many Highbury & Islington seems to have picked up!

XHZ - East London line
HHZ - special Olympic Games code
HHY - Great Northern line
ZHI - Underground
HII - North London line

Only two have letters only in Highbury & Islington.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Bedford is BDM (for Bedford Midland).

Also St Johns in London is SAJ (SAint John's but technically it's the former).

 

[bussikuski179]

It just got the short straw I expect. All of ABA to ABY are used for other airports. There are a lot more airports globally than there are stations in Great Britain.

If you think that’s odd, look at Málaga! The code there is AGP. Sure, A and G are in the name, but why AGP though? There are a lot of airports so some get odd codes.

 

[Ianno87]

If you think that’s odd, look at Málaga! The code there is AGP. Sure, A and G are in the name, but why AGP though? There are a lot of airports so some get odd codes.

Aeropeurto Gran Picassio (after one of Malaga's most famous sons)

Edit: Reading more, I think that's just an urban legend, and that the obvious codes beginning with M were already taken.

So AG from Malaga, plus a random letter, was what it got!

 

[30907]

Aeropeurto Gran Picassio (after one of Malaga's most famous sons)

Edit: Reading more, I think that's just an urban legend, and that the obvious codes beginning with M were already taken.

So AG from Malaga, plus a random letter, was what it got!

Officially: Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport (only since 2011), sometimes called Pablo Picasso Airport.

 

[Romsey]

Harwich International - HPQ

Harwich Parkeston Quay was the name until a few years ago.