UK station with the narrowest platform

[Class195]

Salford Crescent?

 

[Journeyman]

Short section under the bridge at Ewell West is incredibly narrow.

 

[BarryD]

Brentford has some very narrow platforms under the bridge, even has yellow lines (but only few cm to stand behind them)

There is a very similar situation at Ewell West. [Oops! Beaten to it.]

 

[Journeyman]

There is a very similar situation at Ewell West. [Oops! Beaten to it.]

Haha! I take it it's still there? I used to pass through quite regularly, but I live in Scotland now.

 

[Ianno87]

London end of the Up platforms at Raynes Park

Wembley Central

 

[Ianno87]

Salford Crescent?

Much improved since the old platform buildings were cleared away.

 

[Bald Rick]

London end of Raynes Park up platform - the yellow lines almost cross.

 

[Bald Rick]

London end of the Up platforms at Raynes Park

Ha, great minds etc.

 

[Kettledrum]

I've always thought the London bound platform at Tamworth is excessively narrow. Whilst there might be narrower platforms elsewhere, the speed of the through trains that don't stop at the station, and the large numbers of passengers on peak trains makes this rather dangerous. No wonder they have to make special safety announcements to hold onto pushchairs of other things that might get sucked in front of trains. The really odd thing is there is a lot of land behind the platform fence, suggesting that at one stage the platform was wider and quite a bit of it got fenced off, possibly to do with electrification equipment. Either way the station is now a lot busier and trains faster than perhaps when this fence was put up.........and despite the very large number of London bound passengers, and the 11 coach penolino trains, the platform only as a single tiny bus shelter style shelter and no other cover at all. Presumably the rest of the 11 coach platform is too narrow for any canopy or other shelter.

 

[Journeyman]

London end of the Up platforms at Raynes Park

Country end of platform 1 isn't good either. As well as being narrow, it's low and on a very tight curve. The gap to board trains is absolutely huge.

 

[ComUtoR]

London End Dartford (3/4)
London End Waterloo East (A)
Country End Elephant and Castle (1)

 

[AlbertBeale]

Some of the longer platforms (5/6) at Charing Cross are scaringly narrow. Also, wasn't the Tube at Camden Town very narrow (but I seem to recall that they have built new non-adjacent platforms there to address the problem (or I could be completely wrong!).

No - I'm sure the Camden Town platforms are where they've always been.

Though there are lots of tube platforms where there's a "discontinuity" in the platform wall and hence quite a dangerously narrow section near the end - but generally serving just the last/first door of the train (at most), so generally lower usage than most of the platform.

 

[Unstoppable]

Back when the fast lines were open to passengers.... Wembley Central was surely a competitor? Trains passing a highly turbulent effectively underground type station with a line speed of 125mph on an extremely narrow platform where the yellow line is exactly where your feet are

 

[jack31439]

Battersea Park can be an uncomfortable position on the island platform between 4 & 5, with the up fast line being platform 5!

 

[Taunton]

Claphams North and Common are not only narrow but, scarily, are island platforms. As I believe some of the platforms on the Glasgow subway are.

The platforms at several stations on that line, oldest on the "deep" tube, are indeed narrow, and uncomfortable when busy, the narrowness preventing passing along the platform through the crowds. Several have been rebuilt over time (Euston, Angel, London Bridge) with a diversion of one direction, and Bank is currently under way. At the Claphams where the problem is also am peak passengers not even being able to get in full trains, entry can be (and regularly is) suspended, but interchange stations are different. In the pm peak, if the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf is suspended, the DLR to Bank also has to be suspended as the additional passengers overwhelm the station there.

 

[Ted172]

Worcestershire Parkway?

 

[hexagon789]

National Rail - High Street

Subway - West Street and similar

 

[Fokx]

Manchester Airport platform 4 is narrow (the one shared with Metrolink).

The station staff have special procedures in place such as not advertising the departure/arrivals to prevent dangerous congestion until the last minute

 

[mic505]

Gatwick Airport, platforms 5 & 6 lol.

 

[Dr_Paul]

The town end of Putney's no 1 platform is pretty skinny where it's been extended to cater for 10-car trains. It's in a cutting with a tall concrete wall and thus couldn't be widened without rebuilding the wall.

 

[edwin_m]

The platforms at several stations on that line, oldest on the "deep" tube, are indeed narrow, and uncomfortable when busy, the narrowness preventing passing along the platform through the crowds. Several have been rebuilt over time (Euston, Angel, London Bridge) with a diversion of one direction, and Bank is currently under way. At the Claphams where the problem is also am peak passengers not even being able to get in full trains, entry can be (and regularly is) suspended, but interchange stations are different. In the pm peak, if the Jubilee Line from Canary Wharf is suspended, the DLR to Bank also has to be suspended as the additional passengers overwhelm the station there.

Euston and Angel certainly, where the wider platform tunnels are obvious, but were London Bridge and Bank ever islands? It's clear that prior to re-building in the 1990s the central circulating area between the Northern platforms at London Bridge was one of the running tunnels, with Bank retaining the old arrangement but soon to be modified in the same way. But I don't believe any of these four tunnels is wide enough for two tracks and an island.

The two Claphams are the only surviving island platform tunnel stations on the Underground.

 

[AM9]

Considering the very large numbers of boarders and alighters in the peak, St Albans City must have some of the most crowded platforms on NR. The recent 12-car extensions to platforms 2/3 are very resricted as there was no room to create more space by moving the tracks. P3 especially can be a very hazardous place when full of exiting passengers whilst a non-stopper flies through at nearly 100mph.

 

[tpjm]

Mossley platform 1 was extended a few years ago to fit a fourth coach on (allowing 6 car trains with no gangway to call)... alighting only in this area!



(For clarity, this is vehicle 5. Vehicle 4 is fully accommodate)

 

[chefchenko]

Macclesfield on the Manchester bound is very narrow at the ticket office exit where most people congregate, luckily passing trains are slowing for the curve anyway

 

[Cambus731]

I seem to recall the platforms at Wapping being quite narrow? must admit its 31 years since I boarded or alighted there

 

[Parallel]

I find the platform at Solihull station quite narrow due to being an island platform with a station building in the middle.

 

[brad465]

Beltring on the Medway Valley line has narrow platforms to the extent that the automated tannoy on arrival adds "would customers please take care when alighting as this station has a narrow platform".

 

[themiller]

The yellow line at the north end of platform 4 at Carlisle is closer to the edge of platform 7 than platform 4.

 

[AlbertBeale]

I seem to recall the platforms at Wapping being quite narrow? must admit its 31 years since I boarded or alighted there

Ah - yes, there are some narrow and some very narrow platforms on the underground parts of the East London Line. The crowding is probably exacerbated by some ELL Overground stock now being too long for the platforms and so having to have more than one carriage's-worth of people leaving from one carriage's doors. I don't know how bad it had got, pre-pandemic, since I haven't been on the line for a few years.

 

[Metal_gee_man]

Aldrington in Sussex is narrow, and not just certain pinchpoints the entire lengths.

See Geoff Marshalls video