Wrong way HST signing at Cheltenham?

[paradoxenginee]

Hello

Changing at Cheltenham I saw this signage on the "up" platform 2 in the down direction.

Has the platform been made bidirectional for some reason? I was thinking Severn Tunnel Junction works but those have been happening for years.

Any idea why so many signs, what are they for? As far as I'm aware there is only GWR, XC, TfW serving Cheltenham. Haven't the HSTs all gone to scrap?

Thanks

 

[edwin_m]

There's no bi-di shown in the Sectional Appendix. I guess a train could arrive from the north over the crossover and reverse in this platform, assuming there's a Limit of Shunt somewhere to mark the end of the move.

 

[The exile]

Given the fact that quite a few trains terminate at Cheltenham from the south, having bi-di signalling on one (or both) of the platforms makes sense. But reading the previous post - apparently not actually done. The HST and VT references suggests those signs have been there several years - but the question does arise then as to why.

 

[Lemmy282]

There are redundant signs all over the network. Last year I was at Retford and noticed a class 373 (Eurostar set) stop board just off the end of platform 1, and they haven't run there for many years

 

[paradoxenginee]

Given the fact that quite a few trains terminate at Cheltenham from the south, having bi-di signalling on one (or both) of the platforms makes sense. But reading the previous post - apparently not actually done. The HST and VT references suggests those signs have been there several years - but the question does arise then as to why.

There is a siding north of the station. London trains reverse on the siding rather than turning around on the platform.

There are redundant signs all over the network. Last year I was at Retford and noticed a class 373 (Eurostar set) stop board just off the end of platform 1, and they haven't run there for many years

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 1 Jun 2026 ==


I think these are new, I don't recall ever seeing them before.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

Hello

Changing at Cheltenham I saw this signage on the "up" platform 2 in the down direction.

Has the platform been made bidirectional for some reason? I was thinking Severn Tunnel Junction works but those have been happening for years.

Any idea why so many signs, what are they for? As far as I'm aware there is only GWR, XC, TfW serving Cheltenham. Haven't the HSTs all gone to scrap?

ThanksView attachment 205147

The VT is for CrossCountry.
Presumably Virign paid for all the stops markers to be installed when they introduced the Voyagers, and no one can be bothered to pay to replace them.
Likewise the HST stop marker, it's probably just not worth the cost of removing.

Some stations still have stop markers mentioning Pacers (14x).

 

[louis97]

Has the platform been made bidirectional for some reason?

Platform 2 was made available for trains to turn around in from the north a few years ago. That is when these stop markers will have been installed. As part of this a fixed red signal was installed at the south end of the platform, so you cannot depart platform 2 to the south under normal running.

I suspect the work was done for a particular closure between South of Cheltenham. Turning around in platform 2 is not done very often, I feel like it has only been done 2 or 3 times since the change was made.

 

[voyagerdude220]

There are redundant signs all over the network.

I seem to remember seeing VT 4/5 signs at Manchester Victoria relatively recently (within the last year or two.) But I don't know if they're still there. I'd guess the last time a 220/221 was there in service will have been around 15-20 years ago when Piccadilly was closed and a limited XC service ran between Victoria and Stockport.

 

[tutacre]

I'd always thought VT was Voyager Trains (i.e. 220/221s) that just coincided with the Virgin brand at the time.

Did Pendolinos also have VT stopping boards? If not, I would likely conclude that VT doesn't actually mean Virgin.

 

[mmh]

I'd always thought VT was Voyager Trains (i.e. 220/221s) that just coincided with the Virgin brand at the time.

Did Pendolinos also have VT stopping boards? If not, I would likely conclude that VT doesn't actually mean Virgin.

It stood for Virgin Trains, and yes there were Pendolino stop boards in places - combinations of things like "VT Stop" without number of coaches and "VT 390 + 57" in places like the North Wales coast which had hauled Pendolinos.

 

[The exile]

I suspect the work was done for a particular closure between South of Cheltenham. Turning around in platform 2 is not done very often, I feel like it has only been done 2 or 3 times since the change was made.

Gloucester resignalling or Bristol East renewal, possibly.

 

[zwk500]

Gloucester resignalling or Bristol East renewal, possibly.

Was definitely used during the Gloucester Resignalling overrun. I would have thought XC would work through to Bristol Parkway during any blocks south of Filton Abbey wood though.

 

[The exile]

Was definitely used during the Gloucester Resignalling overrun. I would have thought XC would work through to Bristol Parkway during any blocks south of Filton Abbey wood though.

Come to think of it - didn’t XC divert at least some via the Rhubarb curve and Westbury (so not terminating at Cheltenham). Could have been like the fettling up of Bedminster to cope with terminating trains that then didn’t really happen.

 

[kieron]

The line through Gloucester is closed on 9th August (described at https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/engineering-works/gloucester-area-20260809/) with some trains due to run between Nottingham and Cheltenham. They're supposed to go to Gloucester Yard between services, but I suppose there's a chance one could reverse in platform 2 if it arrived very late.

 

[plugwash]

Any idea why so many signs, what are they for?

I'm not 100% sure but I think it's

* 5 with fancy colors - 5 car IETs
* VT 4-5 car - voyagers/super voyagers.
* 5-6 car stop - british rail era DMUs
* HST 2+4 - shortened "castle" HSTs (withdrawn at the end of last year, so presumably the signs predate that).

edit: fix typo

 

[pokemonsuper9]

* VT 5-6 car - voyagers/super voyagers.

The sign is 4-5 (for a single unit of either length).
There are no 6 car voyager formations*

* 5-6 car stop - british rail era DMUs

It's also just kind of an 'everything else' marker, although for Cheltenham that is true.


* Yes Lumo's 222s are 6 carriages but they aren't with CrossCountry

 

[paradoxenginee]

Thanks all, I didn't notice them until last week, I guess they have been there quite a bit longer!

 

[DoddDern]

I can provide an answer. Slightly anecdotal, so full reasons might not be 100% but this is the best I know.
Sometime in the past there was heavy flooding in the area, preventing any trains leaving the station. At the time there was a train in the sidings, and one on each platform. They made the train on the Up (platform 2) move towards where these markers and corresponding signal now are. This allowed the other train out of the sidings and to stay on the platform overnight.
As far as I am aware, they then installed these markers and a signal at the Gloucester end of platform 2 as a future precaution should it be needed again. However no trains could then run in the reverse direction back towards Gloucester as there is no signal or crossover available.
Additionally, in the evenings, sometimes engineering trains will come from the North on the down, crossover to the up around Alstone sidings and then head back on the Up. So maybe just in case they fancy going too far along the platform.