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Trivia - stations with too many platforms

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Kite159

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The second platform at Kyle probably comes in handy when you get the odd charter train visiting. As it's somewhere it can layover.

Similar I guess to the likes of Lanark, Larkhall, Wemyss Bay & Gourock, they might have platforms which see little booked use, but useful to have as backups or to store units overnight
 
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Clansman

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Aberdeen has an abundance of platforms, of which at least a couple aren't signed off for passenger use anymore (I believe). They are used for stabling but I strongly doubt all are needed.
I've lost count on the number of times I've been held outside Aberdeen waiting on a platform being vacated by a southbound service. Aberdeen could be doing with Platform 2 being reinstated for regular passenger operation in the not too distant future.
 

AJS90

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Stechford. No services are booked to call at the platform on the Aston - Stechford line.
 

Watershed

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They lie on a double line so need 2 platforms. If the service on this line was ever increased to hourly, this would still need to be double line and so 2 platforms.
If you extrapolated the standard daytime pattern to hourly, the train from Barton would arrive into Habrough at xx19, conveniently vacating the single line from Ulceby about 3 minutes before the train to Barton is due to depart at xx22.

So, as far as the stopper is concerned, there is no reason why the line should need more than 1 platform for the stations west of Habrough.

Of course, the signalling between Ulceby and Barton is ancient, so you would need to upgrade and resignal it all to make it bidirectional, to be able to close the 'extraneous' platforms.

I think pigs would sooner fly than any of this happening!
 

Clansman

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And +1 for Perth. It's a fascinating station; if I could pick to see station back in its heyday it would be it. Feels so abandoned and vast now; 2-3 times bigger than it needs to be.
I disagree.

I think with this forum question people don't appreciate that platforms serve a greater function than simply to handle passenger services, and Perth illustrates this completely.

Due to railway geography influencing the design of the station, it's conveniently become one of, if not the biggest, overnight stabling depots in Scotland in terms of capacity outwith Waverley, Central, and Queen Street. Without it, ScotRail would have a huge nightmare on their hands.

On any night, every platform is full to the brim with DMUs, even more so now the HSTs are in service and take up an extra few metres.

So in that sense you can argue that a) Perth is exactly as big as it needs to be, or b) it's an argument for a new built stabling depot.
 

Steve Harris

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I don't believe anything uses it anymore. Used to be see use on a Saturday morning with a Huntingdon starter but that went a couple years ago (May 2018 springs to mind)

I'm sure I read in an edition of Branch Line News a couple months ago it was going to be removed as it's no longer in use.
Correct, there used to be a daily starter (mon - sat?). When the 700's got introduced/canal tunnels opened it went. If memory serves me right it's only long enough for a 8 car and as 700's on the Horsham - Peterborough's are normaly 12 !!!

Cambridge got some big new through platforms a while back which afaict were needed to allow more through trains and to accomodate longer trains, but this has left the bay platforms seeing relatively little use.
But they are still used !!

Just had a very quick look on RTT and 2, 3, 5 & 6 are all used early morning, and are probably used for stabling overnight to boot !!

Of course that might change when/if EWR makes it too (and past) Cambridge.
 

NSE

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The bays are all used at Cambridge. Particularly 5/6. I guess the thread shows that many platforms are not needed for passenger services and (in a financial dream world) the platforms could be converted to stabling points and the timetable would still work!
 

D365

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Correct, there used to be a daily starter (mon - sat?). When the 700's got introduced/canal tunnels opened it went. If memory serves me right it's only long enough for a 8 car and as 700's on the Horsham - Peterborough's are normaly 12 !!!
Absolutely right.
 

AndyW33

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Stechford. No services are booked to call at the platform on the Aston - Stechford line.
Quite true, but plenty of trains pass through it, both freight and passenger (the latter for route knowledge retention or New Street congestion reasons). And since it is one face of an island platform and the other face is regularly called at by passenger services, there's no point in doing anything unless major maintenance is required to the platform edge. Passenger access still required for the in-service platform face, lighting still required for the in service platform face, waiting shelters do for both faces. The same applies to many island platforms at multi-platform stations, physically removing the unused face requires possessions over the line that passes it, and partly reconstructing the remaining part of the platform. So significant cost for no saving. BR used to do things like that (look at Carnforth), much less likely nowadays where they have to justify the cost.
 

Parallel

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What’s Llandudno like these days
Llandudno currently has 3 platforms. That’s probably not too bad as the Blaenau Ffestiniog and Manchester trains start from there. Probably gives room for a charter too.
 

Deafdoggie

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What’s Llandudno like these days?
3 platforms now and, pre-covid, I've seen all three in use simultaneously. Although mainly due to a little late running and single line approach. But in its glory days it had 5 or 6, which had become too many, and they're now converted to a car park.
 

CJSwan

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I've lost count on the number of times I've been held outside Aberdeen waiting on a platform being vacated by a southbound service. Aberdeen could be doing with Platform 2 being reinstated for regular passenger operation in the not too distant future.
I’d say that reinstating platform 8 would be a good shout, as well as installing a double crossover between platforms 6 and 7. Aberdeen has become a much busier station in the last couple of years (excluding covid related service reductions), with the increased number of Montrose and Inverurie locals, that often when something goes wrong (such as a train failing or even a delay of five minutes) you have trains trapped either in or out of the station.
 

gg1

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The bay platform hasn't been used for passenger services since 2008, not sure if it's used for stabling but unlikely as no services start or end there.
 

Dr_Paul

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Twickenham has two up (east-facing) bays, one of which has been disused for years and the track half-lifted, the other has been fairly recently been relaid. The latter is odd as it can't be accessed from the down line except by way of a couple of reverses. I've never seen anything in it, including on the days a year of heavy additional traffic for the rugby ground. I guess that it might be used for overnight stabling.
 

matchmaker

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Wouldnt a lot of the stations with supposedly too many platforms get used for stabling purposes overnight, meaning they are actually needed after all? Stirling and Perth particularly come to mind here.
And as alluded to above, removing supposedly surplus platforms can come back to haunt at a later date.
A lot of the platforms at Stirling are used for stabling stock. Some have water and power laid on. The only platforms not signalled for passenger use are the north facing bays Platforms 4 & 5.
 

Revilo

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Bournemouth has at least 2 platforms that rarely see a passenger train.
 

HamworthyGoods

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Bournemouth has at least 2 platforms that rarely see a passenger train.
Always worth checking the latest position before making an assumption, that was true in recent years but hasn’t been the case for some time:

Until the May timetable change platform 4 saw an hourly service on Monday to Fridays as that is where the Bournemouth to Weymouth shuttle service departed from.

Since the May timetable change platform 4 once again sees limited use however platform 1 now sees an hourly service for most of the day to Winchester.

So for many months now Bournemouth has been regularly using 3 out of its 4 platforms.
 

HST274

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Shrub Hill has three platforms. One is out of use and a tiny bay platform originally used by Wessex Trains. No need to demolish it of course, but do they need to mark it as in use or as an official platform on a national rail station plan? Or maybe just too much paper work :lol:
 

The Planner

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The bay platform hasn't been used for passenger services since 2008, not sure if it's used for stabling but unlikely as no services start or end there.
RHTTs used to spin there.
 

Pokelet

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Shrub Hill has three platforms. One is out of use and a tiny bay platform originally used by Wessex Trains. No need to demolish it of course, but do they need to mark it as in use or as an official platform on a national rail station plan? Or maybe just too much paper work :lol:


Platform 3 used to be used for the West country locals that terminated at Shrub hill before most of them extended to Malvern and the short lived Gloucester service that London Midland ran for a year or so. I've seen a Turbo in there years ago when the evening halts train ran to Malvern (it had been cancelled past Shrub Hill and the return restarted from P3). The actual useable platform face is quite short, I assume for signal sighting so it's local door only.
 

NoRoute

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Northampton has 3 bay platforms facing north, I'm not certain why, possibly a legacy from when the line to Market Harborough was still in existence and there might have been more services terminating at Northampton.

Though I'm not sure I'd say Northampton has too many platforms, rather it's a town and a station which now finds itself with too few routes and services.
 

Kite159

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Platform 3 used to be used for the West country locals that terminated at Shrub hill before most of them extended to Malvern and the short lived Gloucester service that London Midland ran for a year or so. I've seen a Turbo in there years ago when the evening halts train ran to Malvern (it had been cancelled past Shrub Hill and the return restarted from P3). The actual useable platform face is quite short, I assume for signal sighting so it's local door only.

Pre Covid there used to be a Saturday morning Bristol service which went from P3, before that it used to be a once a week service on Sundays.

-------------

Both remaining bay platforms at Northampton see use, platform 4 regularly at the moment with an hourly Northampton - Birmingham (one which departs Northampton just as a train from London arrives) service. Platform 5 is more rarely used, normally late night/early mornings and used to stable 350s
 

GW43125

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Twickenham has two up (east-facing) bays, one of which has been disused for years and the track half-lifted, the other has been fairly recently been relaid. The latter is odd as it can't be accessed from the down line except by way of a couple of reverses. I've never seen anything in it, including on the days a year of heavy additional traffic for the rugby ground. I guess that it might be used for overnight stabling.
Since the resignalling last month, bay platform 2 is now accessible by means of a crossover outside St. Margarets, then running down the now reversible up main line. Nothing has been in there for years though now it's a signalled move I wonder if it might see use when the rugby's on.
 

LNW-GW Joint

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The bay platform hasn't been used for passenger services since 2008, not sure if it's used for stabling but unlikely as no services start or end there.
And if I remember correctly was upgraded and re-signalled just in time for the terminating service (from Walsall I think) to be withdrawn.
A new Wolverhampton-Walsall service is in prospect with new stations en route, but presumably it will be an EMU shuttle and not involve Wellington.
 

Ianno87

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Since the resignalling last month, bay platform 2 is now accessible by means of a crossover outside St. Margarets, then running down the now reversible up main line. Nothing has been in there for years though now it's a signalled move I wonder if it might see use when the rugby's on.

Is the section of wrong-line running long enough so that a train can be stood 'in the middle' whilst keeping the Up Slow and Down Main clear; i.e. as soon as a train departs Platform 2, a fresh train can be stood waiting?
 

GW43125

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Is the section of wrong-line running long enough so that a train can be stood 'in the middle' whilst keeping the Up Slow and Down Main clear; i.e. as soon as a train departs Platform 2, a fresh train can be stood waiting?
That's not a question I can answer, but I doubt it given how close together Twickenham and St. Margarets are. 8car maybe, but going solely off measuring google maps, looks like it might be a bit too tight for a 10
 

Dr_Paul

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Since the resignalling last month, bay platform 2 is now accessible by means of a crossover outside St. Margarets, then running down the now reversible up main line. Nothing has been in there for years though now it's a signalled move I wonder if it might see use when the rugby's on.
Thanks for that! I've not been through Twickenham since the virus hit last year; I'll have a look when I next visit, whenever that may be.

What's also interesting with the recent rebuilding of the station buildings is that space has been left under the buildings and road bridge at the country end of the station for the bay to be converted into a through platform. Whether this will happen, of course, is anyone's guess.
 
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