Stations not known by their "official" names?

[Sir Felix Pole]

Plymouth's station is still refered to as 'North Road' by local folk despite Friary closing in 1958 and Millbay in 1941. Bodmin Parkway is still Road to me - and the car park is too small for P + R anyway

Oxenholme The Lake District is the silliest - why not Kendal or Windermere Jcn?

 

[Class15]

I do.

Maybe, but maybe @frankmoh was referring to regular commuters in the London area? I always just say Euston, Kings Cross, Victoria etc.

Probably depends on whether someone lives in London or not.

 

[duffield]

...

There was some discussion re Leicester a while back which, IIRC, confirmed my recollection that it was never “Midland” but was “London Road”.

Of course. I knew that, but I'd forgotten, I think my late wife (who lived and worked in Leicester for part of her life) mentioned it.

Going back to my childhood in Reading, we had "Reading General" with "Reading South" later "Reading Southern" right next door which closed when I was two and whose site has been totally subsumed by the modern Reading Station.

People still referred to Reading General when I was a child (the "General" was dropped in the 1970s) but I think that's long faded into history now unlike some of the other names discussed here.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

There was some discussion re Leicester a while back which, IIRC, confirmed my recollection that it was never “Midland” but was “London Road”.

Was indeed 'Leicester London Road' until, I think, May 1969.

 

[Purple Train]

Lincoln Central is often seen in many official places despite Lincoln St Marks having closed in 1985.

Mansfield says Mansfield Town on the station signs (as shown below) but that's the only place its known as that, online etc. its just Mansfield View attachment 185041

It was quite some time after moving away from the area that I realised Mansfield Town was not the official name of the station. Lincoln Central, by contrast, was the official name when I used the station regularly, but everyone I knew referred to it as plain Lincoln!

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Lancaster is often referred to as “Lancaster Castle”, despite not being on any of the station signs.

Was just that until May 1969. The other station in Lancaster (= 'Lancaster Green Ayre') had closed just a few years beforehand.

 

[tfw756rider]

I do.

When I'm in London, I'll say Euston, Paddington, Marylebone etc.


When I'm not in London (as is obviously the usual case for me):

If I haven't already given the London context, I'll say London Euston, London Paddington, London Marylebone etc.

If I have already given the London context, I'll say Euston, Paddington, Marylebone etc. (unless I'm asked "what station is that in your photo?", in which case I'll say London Euston, London Paddington, London Marylebone etc.)

 

[The exile]

Think about all the London terminal stations owned by Network Rail. No one ever calls it London (station name), just the normal name. By this logic, London Bridge's "normal name" would be just 'Bridge'!

I would imagine that if you're in or near Manchester and want to give guidance to someone about getting trains from the South Coast of England, prefacing "Victoria" with "London" is probably advisable. IIRC, differing pronunciation will help to avoid confusion between the two Charing Crosses (London and Glasgow)

 

[brad465]

Hardly anyone calls "Borough Green & Wrotham" by its full name, usually "Borough Green" is sufficient. Even automated platform announcements don't include "& Wrotham", usually only the onboard automated announcements do this.

 

[Annetts key]

Same applies in the Bristol area!

There are of course the various stations which the railway still insists on tacking "Spa" on to the end of - despite it being neither part of the name of the town/city, nor necessary (any more) to distinguish from a second station in the town / city. I think the only one that's right is Droitwich Spa, as neither Bath nor Cheltenham have it in the town / city name and Leamington also has "Royal". If I've forgotten any other "Spa"s - apologies!

Most railway staff in the Bristol or surrounding area just say Parkway to mean Bristol Parkway, or some (e.g. engineering staff) use the actual name of the village, which is Stoke Gifford (the nearby junction is called Stoke Gifford or Stoke Gifford West, and at the London end of the station, it's called Stoke East).

Unless you are in the Weston-super-Mare area, where sometimes you hear Worle referred to as Worle Parkway (I think some local authority road signs have "Worle Parkway") or Parkway, even though the official name for this station is just "Worle" (or Wall according to some on train announcements!)

For Bristol Temple Meads, most railway staff either just use Temple Meads, or just say Bristol.

Bath Spa, again, most railway staff just say Bath. The Midland Bath Green Park having closed before most current staff started working for the railway.

When I'm in London, I'll say Euston, Paddington, Marylebone etc.


When I'm not in London (as is obviously the usual case for me):

If I haven't already given the London context, I'll say London Euston, London Paddington, London Marylebone etc.

If I have already given the London context, I'll say Euston, Paddington, Marylebone etc. (unless I'm asked "what station is that in your photo?", in which case I'll say London Euston, London Paddington, London Marylebone etc.)

To most railway Western route staff outside London, it's just "Paddington" or "Padd".

 

[Huntergreed]

I can think of a few in the Glasgow area

The obvious 2, similar to the London point, are “Central” and “Queen Street” (same contextual caveats apply as with London) - I can imagine an identical situation in Cardiff with the same names!

Quite often hear Helensburgh Central shortened to just “Helensburgh” as it’s far more convenient and better used than Helensburgh Upper.

Have heard Exhibition Centre referred to as “The Hydro” or “the SECC” (usually depending on what venue the event in question is taking place at).

 

[cadder toad]

Have heard Exhibition Centre referred to as “The Hydro” or “the SECC” (usually depending on what venue the event in question is taking place at).

That's the station I call Finnieston, and then I'm asked if I mean Exhibition Centre. It was originally Stobcross until it closed in 1964 then reopened as Finnieston in 1979 using one of the former platforms.

 

[urbophile]

Most people do not say the Parkway part of some station names. I normally hear Didcot Parkway said as Didcot and Southampton Airport Parkway said as Southampton Airport etc.

Liverpool South Parkway is described as such on trains and platforms; locals (and bus destination blinds) will call it South Parkway or just Parkway.

 

[Jimini]

Of course. I knew that, but I'd forgotten, I think my late wife (who lived and worked in Leicester for part of her life) mentioned it.

Going back to my childhood in Reading, we had "Reading General" with "Reading South" later "Reading Southern" right next door which closed when I was two and whose site has been totally subsumed by the modern Reading Station.

People still referred to Reading General when I was a child (the "General" was dropped in the 1970s) but I think that's long faded into history now unlike some of the other names discussed here.

It's still referenced on platform 7, which I think is a nice touch







(Image of a Reading General sign on P7, source here for reference.

 

[bramling]

Just had the pleasure of visiting Edinburgh and decided to check live departures from Waverley on RTT, as one does. Curiously, the station is known as just "Edinburgh" on the website, despite signage at the station entrance, within the station, etc. all saying "Edinburgh Waverley".

While I'm not going to complain about Network Rail or RTT misleading passengers, I did wonder if this discrepancy between the public-facing and internal names for the same station existed elsewhere -- Carlisle Citadel came to mind, though a cursory Google search didn't show up any signage within the station with "Citadel". Not counting stuff like "Lichfield T Valley" on departure boards, of course.

As an aside, that hole where the line to Newhaven used to run through on platform 20 surely deserves more than a dingy placard above it.

St Albans has always in the time I’ve known it always had to locals “City station” and “Abbey station”. Indeed the railway has shifted towards using the full “St Albans City” name again in recent years.

I still find it hard to regard Alexandra Palace as anything other than Wood Green, but this probably applies to few nowadays.

 

[chargesmith]

My late father used to call Cardiff Central by it's old name of Cardiff General. Possibly still happens with older generations if they remember it being called that?

 

[renegademaster]

Most people just say "Clapham", it's only people on here who get funny about it and say "do you mean Clapham Junction, Clapham (Yorks) or Clapham Common/park)

 

[frankmoh]

Maybe, but maybe @frankmoh was referring to regular commuters in the London area? I always just say Euston, Kings Cross, Victoria etc.

Probably depends on whether someone lives in London or not.

I do indeed live in London. I also remember making a thread some time back complaining about how SE's ticket machines make you put in "London" in front of a station for it to show up.

 

[duffield]

It's still referenced on platform 7, which I think is a nice touch




View attachment 185053


(Image of a Reading General sign on P7, source here for reference.

Huh. I've been on P7 a few times since the rebuild and never noticed this!

 

[Jimini]

Huh. I've been on P7 a few times since the rebuild and never noticed this!

It's on one of the pillars just by the base of the escalators, facing the tracks. Nothing on P4/5/6 to recognize the old "Southern" setup, sadly!

 

[D6130]

During my time on the Southern Region's South Western Division (1975-79), I often heard older people - both staff and passengers - refer to Portsmouth & Southsea station as 'Portsmouth Town'.

 

[Bristol LHS]

People still refer to Darlington as ‘Bank Top’ (as opposed to North Road) though its been plain ‘Darlington’ for 90 years.

A reverse of this - a station that could perhaps do with more specificity - is ‘University’ station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, which serves Sunderland Uni (and even then, only one of that Unis two campuses in Sunderland). You can get a direct train there from Newcastle Airport and I do wonder how many international students heading for Newcastle or Northumbria Unis end up in Sunderland by mistake, instead of alighting at Haymarket.

 

[Steven Taylor]

Most people just say "Clapham", it's only people on here who get funny about it and say "do you mean Clapham Junction, Clapham (Yorks) or Clapham Common/park)

I live overlooking Clapham Junction, and I agree somewhat... but have met friends at Clapham North, Clapham South and even Clapham High Street stations as well, so I would always refer to Clapham Junction giving its full title.

 

[A S Leib]

A reverse of this - a station that could perhaps do with more specificity - is ‘University’ station on the Tyne and Wear Metro, which serves Sunderland Uni (and even then, only one of that Unis two campuses in Sunderland). You can get a direct train there from Newcastle Airport and I do wonder how many international students heading for Newcastle or Northumbria Unis end up in Sunderland by mistake, instead of alighting at Haymarket.

I think Birmingham City University's around half an hour's walk from University (Birmingham) station, which isn't very far if not incredibly convenient; hopefully nobody uses it looking for Aston, Warwick, Wolverhampton or Coventry. I can't remember if the announcements specify (Birmingham).

 

[tfw756rider]

To most railway Western route staff outside London, it's just "Paddington" or "Padd".

Ah yes, I've heard Padd

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 28 Jul 2025 ==

I can't remember if the announcements specify (Birmingham).

Just "University".

 

[D365]

When I'm in London, I'll say Euston, Paddington, Marylebone etc.


When I'm not in London (as is obviously the usual case for me):

If I haven't already given the London context, I'll say London Euston, London Paddington, London Marylebone etc.

To give a further example, I would say similar for Manchester Piccadilly and Manchester Victoria vs Piccadilly Circus and London Victoria. Whether or not I will use the city name in conjunction with the station depends on whether the corresponding city is under discussion at that time.

 

[emoaconr]

In and around Llandudno/Conwy, Llandudno Junction station is almost always referred to as 'Junction'. Abergele & Pensarn is often known as just 'Pensarn' station to locals. In Wrexham, stations are usually referred to as 'General' and 'Central'.

 

[Bertie the bus]

Not a station but a platform - Preston's platform 7, which isn't actually a used platform but is numbered, is apparently referred to by many who work on the railway as platform 9.

The reasoning being in the good old days it was platform 9 but what is now platform 4 used to be platform 6 and nobody ever calls it that so why people refuse to call platform 7 platform 7 just baffles me.

 

[mikeg]

Mansfield says Mansfield Town on the station signs (as shown below) but that's the only place its known as that, online etc. its just Mansfield View attachment 185041

I''d always wondered why the CRS code for Mansfield was MFT. That explains it.

 

[midland1]

Old people in Nottingham (like me) still refer to "Midland Station" despite there being (AFAIK) no official references by that name anywhere. I expect some folks in Leicester do the same. In Loughborough it's actually useful to refer to "Midland Station" to avoid confusion with the heritage Loughborough Central.

That would mean Leicester should be called London Road ( or Midland ) to avoid confusion with GCR's Leicester North.