What are the widest and narrowest station platforms?

[Russel]

I think platforms 5 and 8 (Elizabeth Line) at Stratford are way too narrow for the volume of passengers they deal with these days, not helped by the stations buildings taking up a lot of space.

Everything about Stratford is wrong, it needs a total redesign from the ground up, but how do you even begin to do something like that at a station as busy as Stratford?

 

[geoffk]

Bedhampton and Polsloe Bridge were the first two stations that came to my mind. The platforms under the footbridge at Botley are also pretty narrow.

I've been along to Polsloe Bridge this morning with my tape measure and the platform width is 2.1 metres - probably a couple of centimetres either way along the full length, no buildings at all, just the back fence.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I've been along to Polsloe Bridge this morning with my tape measure and the platform width is 2.1 metres - probably a couple of centimetres either way along the full length, no buildings at all, just the back fence.

I'd love to have been there to watch you doing that. I wonder what any other passengers would have thought of someone (who presumably isn't dressed as or otherwise behaving as a member of railway staff) measuring the width of the platform with a tape measure. (But kudos for actually doing it)

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 18 Jun 2025 ==

Everything about Stratford is wrong, it needs a total redesign from the ground up, but how do you even begin to do something like that at a station as busy as Stratford?

Maybe not everything. The cross-platform interchange between the Central and Elizabeth lines (ignoring that the platforms could be wider) is exactly how interchange ought to be and is a model that really ought to be applied to other stations. And the fact that the bus station is right outside the entrance to the station is a pretty good example to other places too.

I'd grant you though that just about everything else about Stratford is wrong and needs a total redesign

 

[geoffk]

I'd love to have been there to watch you doing that. I wonder what any other passengers would have thought of someone (who presumably isn't dressed as or otherwise behaving as a member of railway staff) measuring the width of the platform with a tape measure. (But kudos for actually doing it)

There was no-one else about as I waited for an Exeter-bound train to depart and the next would be a non-stop bound for Exmouth in ten minutes. (The photo was taken on another day).

 

[Scouseinmanc]

Would Chinley’s only remaining island be in with a shout for a very wide platform?

 

[childwallblues]

For width Seaforth & Litherland is very wide. I think that there was a bay in the middle for the Liverpool Overhead Railway until 1956.
There are many narrow platforms on the Merseyrail system but to me the Northern Line platform at Liverpool Central is very narrow between the two escalators.

 

[Scouseinmanc]

For width Seaforth & Litherland is very wide. I think that there was a bay in the middle for the Liverpool Overhead Railway until 1956.
There are many narrow platforms on the Merseyrail system but to me the Northern Line platform at Liverpool Central is very narrow between the two escalators.

I think the LOR trains originally terminated at what would have been a platform opposite what is now platform 2 (for Southport) until it was destroyed by fire. It then terminated from P2 until closure of the LOR.

 

[satisnek]

When was the line through Bicester singled? I vaguely remember going through there in the early 70s with the line still double but a huge gap between the platforms where the through lines had already gone.

I thought it was around 1968, but if it was still double when you went through in the early '70s then it couldn't have been long after then.

The redoubling came before the realignment and the ultra-wide Up platform, but I can't remember the years. The line was double by 2004 and the realignment was done between 2009 and 2013 looking at Google Earth.

There's a similar platform widening at Ely but only by one track's width in this case.

 

[vic-rijrode]

Sunderland station has a single very wide island platform for its two physical tracks (2 notional platforms on each side). Formerly there were two narrower island platforms, but the eastern (S/B) one was widened over one of the tracks with the eastern track for the other island platform becoming the western (N/B) track. Both tracks are actually bi-directional through the station. I have arrived on a Northern service from the south at the southbound platform and from the north on a Metro service at the northbound platform (while a Grand Central service was in the s/b platform).

The original western island platform edge can still be seen.

 

[Mikey C]

South Bermondsey for me, last I there, Goodness knows how they manage with match day fans.View attachment 182126

It probably helps after games that nearly everyone is heading towards London Bridge. Plus entering the station is tightly controlled by staff and the police...

 

[341o2]

If heritage lines are allowed, Herston Halt, Swanage Railway must be in with a shout

 

[MichaelTrains]

Why are there two yellow lines on the left face and none on the right? Not sure how to interpret "please stand behind the yellow line" on that platform!

Don't worry I had a jobsworth member of staff shouting at me after taking that photograph on Monday.

 

[swt_passenger]

When was the line through Bicester singled? I vaguely remember going through there in the early 70s with the line still double but a huge gap between the platforms where the through lines had already gone.

I’m not sure it was ever singled through the station, hence asking the earlier question, but the singling must have started quite close to the station?

 

[Belperpete]

That's the northern part of Praha-Smíchov station ('severní' means north in Czech). If you look up aerial photographs of 50°03'46.2"N 14°24'23.8"E you can see the little platforms as well as an additional station building.

Here's a video (not mine) of the railbus in action, with Praha hlavní nádraží at the beginning and Praha-Smíchov severní nástupiště at the end:

ČD 810 'regiomouse' / trip praha hl.n. Praha-smíchov sev.n. / schienenbus (s65) - YouTube

That whole area has now been totally blitzed, and is now a massive construction site. However, Smichov North was a totally separate station to the main Smichov station. I once made the mistake of trying to catch a Semmering line train from Smichov, only to find no mention of them in any timetable or departure boards or signage. Smichov North had no station buildings, or shelter of any kind, for passengers.

There is no direct connection between the main Smichov station and the "Semmering" line.
Semmering line trains used to start from Smichov na Knizeci station, which was an old goods shed loading platform accessed by an unsigned footpath from the far side of Andel bus station. The trains then worked their way through the abandoned goods yard to the north west of Smichov station. A halt was provided close to Smichov station, consisting of a small brick station masters house complete with rose garden and name board Smichov, but no platform or obvious means of public access. Trains would stop, the station master complete with red hat and a red flag under his arm would appear and solemnly salute the driver, and off we would go again.

When they sold off the goods yard and na Knizeci station for redevelopment, they built the Smichov Severni station in the middle of the nearby carriage sidings. Trains ceased to stop at the old Smichov station halt, and its nameboard disappeared.

Now that the carriage sidings have also gone for redevelopment, Semmering line trains leave from Smichov station itself, but have to do a double set back to access the Semmering line. The second setback is done at the site of the old halt. The old station house, complete with rose garden and red hatted station master is still there, now sitting rather incongruously in the middle of a massive construction site.

Most Semmering trains no longer start from hlavni nadrazi, most now start from Smichov. The river bridge has been reduced to single track working, due to the condition of the bridge, with services between the two stations either side of the river much reduced.

 

[Barnsley]

How about this one in Pristina which I took last month

 

[DynamicSpirit]

How about this one in Pristina which I took last month

What worries me in that one isn't so much the width of the platform as, how on Earth does that driver see where he's going?

 

[Recessio]

Parts of Farringdon Thameslink platform are surprisingly narrow for such a busy station.

 

[Moritzplatz]

There are a large number of rural Swiss stations with a very narrow second platform that can only be accessed by crossing the track. Passengers need to wait on the main station platform ('Hausbahnsteig') until the train has pulled in, before crossing the track to the second platform ('Zwischenbahnsteig') in the middle.

As many such stations are used as crossing stations on otherwise single-track lines, I often wonder whether passengers sometimes miss a train that they want to catch on the second track by getting stuck on the 'Hausbahnsteig' while a train is in station on the main track, thus blocking their path.

 

[Barnsley]

What worries me in that one isn't so much the width of the platform as, how on Earth does that driver see where he's going?

What about the bloke uncoupling the loco, no hi-viz over there!

 

[kkong]

How about this one in Pristina which I took last month

There are many similar platforms all over central and eastern Europe.

The photo below shows the arrangement at Liptovský Mikuláš.

 

[RetroCrowe]

If we're excluding island platforms and platforms that pass under a bridge, the narrowest I can think of is Goostrey. To "stand behind the yellow line", you pretty much have to stand with your back pressed against the fence behind the platform, which feels rather perilous when you regularly have pendolinos passing by in excess of 100mph, or, even more sketchy, 75mph container trains to Trafford Park.

Tamworth low level's down platform has a similar issue with the terrifying combination of narrow platforms and fast freight trains.

 

[MarlowDonkey]

Re Bicester North, it's good that the Up platform has just been widened with the existing structures retained, so that the original layout of through roads with platform loops can be reinstated if ever needed in the future.

It was a design feature of that line (mostly Great Western & Great Central joint) that the platforms were on loops, Similar designs to Bicester were at Beaconsfield, Gerrards Cross, Denham, West Ruislip, South Ruislip and Wembley Stadium. There were also platform loops at Prince Risborough and High Wycombe. Most have now been removed, usually by the expedient of widening one or both platforms.

 

[Omnidekkalover]

Alfreton hasn’t got the largest platforms in the world either

 

[Mat17]

Plenty of 1980s built stations in West Yorkshire with narrow platforms.

The now closed Attercliffe Road station just north of Sheffield looks to have had very narrow platforms.

 

[eoff]

Tokyo's Shinbashi station has quick a tight area between barriers as shown on this video on Youtube...

 

[colchesterken]

Ingatestone on the down side, not much wider than the yellow line, with 100mph trains

 

[Mr. SW]

Check out the Staten Island Railway...

I thought the platforms at Barons Court were narrow.

 

[izvor]

Pluckley is very narrow under the bridge (and you have to lean towards the trains). Only a few freights pass through non-stop now, somewhat diminishing the excitement.

1 tph passes non-stop through Pluckley off-peak.

Regarding Praha Smichov and elsewhere, this was a legacy of the old Austro-Hungarian system, whereby a major station often only had one "platform", alongside the station building, with multiple lines beyond with minimal space between. In theory, boarding passengers had to wait on this platform until their train was announced and they were called forward. Station redcaps had a difficult job positioning trains (and passengers) when multiple connections were made to avoid the obvious danger of accidents. In my experience it all seemed to work well, with the major disadvantage that the lack of much of a platform between lines (sometimes just an elongated ramp of ballast) made boarding and alighting difficult for anyone even slightly mobility-impaired. Rectifying all this in line with modern standards is proving very expensive.

 

[DynamicSpirit]

I was in a train that stopped at Rugby platform 2 today and was struck by how wide that island platform is. Must be in with a shout as one of the widest?

The platform 3-4 island at Preston is pretty wide too, although a lot of the width is occupied by the waiting room and other buildings.

 

[Belperpete]

If you are going to include island platforms with buildings in the middle, then how about Llandudno Junction? That has what used to be a double bay at one end, meaning that the other end is quite wide. But the islands at Chester or Crewe that likewise have double bays at one end might beat it.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 24 Jun 2025 ==

Regarding Praha Smichov and elsewhere, this was a legacy of the old Austro-Hungarian system, whereby a major station often only had one "platform",

As I explained, the narrow platforms at Smichov North were newly built only a few years ago in the carriage sidings independent of the main station, so were not a legacy arrangement. But you are correct in respect of some of the other continental examples.