Bi-Directional Working Policy

[ThePieTrain]

Recently I was out taking some pictures of rare bi-di working at a station as there was a train blocking the up line about a mile away. As a result all up trains had to use the down line.

I was taking a picture of the working when I noticed the train arrive into the down line at the station, but all passengers were (correctly) waiting for the train on the up platform.

When the train arrived, to my surprise the guard did not check the opposite platform to inform them that this was indeed their train. Instead, the train just continued as normal and left within 30 seconds. Stranding the other passengers without any information.

Is it not standard policy for guards to inform other passengers? Additionally, are the information screens at smaller / unmanned stations capable of displaying such information? (When I checked the screen before the train arrived on the down platform it said it was expected on its booked platform (up line).

It may have stayed like this the whole time or changed right as the train was routed from the up to the down (which in this case would have only given the passengers 2 minutes notice))

 

[scrapy]

There is no definitive answer to your question as bi-di working is generally an ad hoc thing based around a specific scenario.

You do not say which station this is either.

If it's a quieter line, then yes a guard may be instructed to call passengers over. However, equally if it's a mainline with a backlog of trains the signaller may have instructed the crew not to hang around as inconveniencing a handful of passengers is lesser an issue than knock on delays for thousands.

If it's a station where there is a fair walk between platforms via a road bridge (you suggest 2 minutes wouldn't be long enough for most), then this could add significant time if repeated at several stations.

 

[Acathater]

Presumably there were station announcements? Surely that's enough?

It's hardly the guard's problem if passengers can't be bothered to listen to the provided information

But usually such changes are on the display screens anyway

 

[Harpo]

I’ve never heard of guards at main stations rounding passengers up after a platform change. That’s the station’s job via information systems.

 

[DelW]

Presumably there were station announcements ?
Surely that's enough? Hardly the guards problem if passengers can't be bothered to listen to the provided information

But usually such changes are on the display screens anyway

The OP says that the station screens were still showing it as using the original platform just before the train arrived, and the implication is that they didn't change, as no passengers changed platform.

I saw something similar at Guildford last Friday. Lines north of the station had been closed for half an hour or more because of a trespass incident, leaving a backlog of trains queued up on the approaches.

I was waiting for a train to Redhill, which had been held at Wanborough. When the lines reopened this train was shown on screens as using platform 4, but I was waiting on the bridge and saw it heading into platform 6 (usually occupied by the Farnham shuttle).

The platform 6 screens were showing a message to "stand back from the platform edge, the approaching train does not stop at this station". Obviously it did stop, but that message was still showing several minutes later when I was on board. I didn't check whether it had been corrected before we departed.

At Guildford, it's easy to pick out North Downs line trains because of their livery and diesel engines, but it's not the first time I've seen them heading into a different platform from that shown on the station PIS.

 

[172007]

This can happen at Birmingham Moor Street. The snags are:

Moor Street has historically been a silent station at times, so much like airports.

Staff are so busy that if a signaller sets the route at the last second to route something bidirectionally then staff are not aware, most stations - even busy ones - don't have a dedicated member of staff for announcements, and as Moor Street is operated by a different TOC to Snow Hill, then the dedicated announcer at Snow Hill can't do anything.

Getting people over the bridge takes time and as the through part of the station is now only 1 platform trains are already stacking up.

Passengers don't tend to listen to announcements or even look at departure screens, or only look at departure screens once so if they change....

 

[MarkWi72]

Last year I was surprised to realise Platform 3 at Stafford was Bi-Di as a southbound Oil Tanker train went through. Obviously things have changed since a remodeling (Norton Bridge have anything to do with this?) , but in the 80s and 90s (my last time there before April 2025) I'm sure it wasn't the case.

 

[craigybagel]

Last year I was surprised to realise Platform 3 at Stafford was Bi-Di as a southbound Oil Tanker train went through. Obviously things have changed since a remodeling (Norton Bridge have anything to do with this?) , but in the 80s and 90s (my last time there before April 2025) I'm sure it wasn't the case.

It was brought in when it was resignaled about 10 years ago, and control transferred from the remaining boxes (Stafford Number 4 and Number 5) to Rugby.

Before that, Platform 6 was the only one that was fully bi-di.

 

[MarkWi72]

Yes, I seem to remember BI-Di on Platform 6. The resignalling would have been complete after Norton Bridge remodelling I presume?

 

[Taunton]

Is it not standard policy for guards to inform other passengers?

You have to understand that all the stuff about the guard stepping out onto the platform to see it is still there before the doors are released is just a typical railway-centric approach, about the platform. Whether the passengers for the train are also there is quite irrelevant.

Likewise, if the misdirected passengers were then instructed to cross over, there would have been a delay. Unlike passengers left behind, that gets recorded, and such an approach ultimately may mean management don't get into the Golden Whistles final, with their grinning faces in Modern Railways. That will never do.

 

[zwk500]

You have to understand that all the stuff about the guard stepping out onto the platform to see it is still there before the doors are released is just a typical railway-centric approach, about the platform. Whether the passengers for the train are also there is quite irrelevant.

Likewise, if the misdirected passengers were then instructed to cross over, there would have been a delay. Unlike passengers left behind, that gets recorded, and such an approach ultimately may mean management don't get into the Golden Whistles final, with their grinning faces in Modern Railways. That will never do.

I have seen plenty of guards look around the station on arrival in the not-normal platform, see a group of people rushing towards footbridge/subway and put 2 and 2 together and hold their train.

 

[Western Sunset]

Bi-Di working is very common through Southampton Tunnel, particularly in the up direction, with simultaneous (parallel) departures. Platform staff are very adept at using the tannoy to inform passengers of any changes.

 

[WillC]

I’ve never heard of guards at main stations rounding passengers up after a platform change. That’s the station’s job via information systems.

Have seen precisely this before, most recently at Leeds after my London train was cancelled. We were all cajoled by train staff over to another platform to wait for the Harrogate train (from Harrogate to London).

What actually turned up was the London *to* Harrogate train, which led to minor bedlam as hundreds of people got on, then got off again when staff realised. And then the actual Harrogate to London train arrived. Back on again.

 

[Deepgreen]

The OP says that the station screens were still showing it as using the original platform just before the train arrived, and the implication is that they didn't change, as no passengers changed platform.

I saw something similar at Guildford last Friday. Lines north of the station had been closed for half an hour or more because of a trespass incident, leaving a backlog of trains queued up on the approaches. I was waiting for a train to Redhill, which had been held at Wanborough. When the lines reopened this train was shown on screens as using platform 4, but I was waiting on the bridge and saw it heading into platform 6 (usually occupied by the Farnham shuttle). The p6 screens were showing a message to "stand back from the platform edge, the approaching train does not stop at this station". Obviously it did stop, but that message was still showing several minutes later when I was on board. I didn't check whether or not it had been corrected before we departed.

At Guildford it's easy to pick out North Downs line trains because of their livery and diesel engines, but it's not the first time I've seen them heading into a different platform from that shown on the station PIS.

Absolutely - and anyone using the subway has a long walk to change platforms!

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 23 Jun 2026 ==

You have to understand that all the stuff about the guard stepping out onto the platform to see it is still there before the doors are released is just a typical railway-centric approach, about the platform. Whether the passengers for the train are also there is quite irrelevant.

Likewise, if the misdirected passengers were then instructed to cross over, there would have been a delay. Unlike passengers left behind, that gets recorded, and such an approach ultimately may mean management don't get into the Golden Whistles final, with their grinning faces in Modern Railways. That will never do.

'Monsieur Hulot's Holiday'....

 

[ThePieTrain]

Yes I should clarify this was a small, unstaffed station with no audio announcements. At bigger stations, passengers are usually informed.

 

[zwk500]

Yes I should clarify this was a small, unstaffed station with no audio announcements. At bigger stations, passengers are usually informed.

Was the Bi-Di working signalled or unsignalled?

 

[ThePieTrain]

Was the Bi-Di working signalled or unsignalled?

Signalled

 

[Surreytraveller]

If it's proper bi-di, then the

Was the Bi-Di working signalled or unsignalled?

If it wasn't signalled, then it wasn't bi-di. It would have been single line working.

 

[Bikeman78]

Recently I was out taking some pictures of rare bi-di working at a station as there was a train blocking the up line about a mile away. As a result all up trains had to use the down line. I was taking a picture of the working when I noticed the train arrive into the down line at the station but all passengers were (correctly) waiting for the train on the up platform.
When the train arrived, to my suprise the guard did not check the opposite platform to inform them that this was indeed their train. Instead the train just continued as normal and left within 30 seconds. Stranding the other passengers without any information.

Is it not standard policy for guards to inform other passengers? Additionally, are the information screens at smaller / unmanned stations capable of displaying such information? (When I checked the screen before the train arrived on the down platform it said it was expected on its booked platform (up line). It may have stayed like this the whole time or changed right as the train was routed from the up to the down (which in this case would have only gave the passengers 2 minutes notice))

It's interesting to compare with a similar situation in Belgium.

Back when the classic units ran everywhere, I'd often ride along rural routes off-peak. Bi-di working was routine so that work could be done on the other line. Most stations in Belgium are very basic and have nothing in the way of realtime info.

When the passengers saw the train arriving at the opposite platform, they would either leg it over the level crossing at the end of the platform, or across the track after the train had stopped! I don't know if this still happens. I rarely ride on stopping trains now as I have little interest in the modern units.

 

[Port Road]

The last main place I worked as a signalman as soon as a train headcode stepped into a platform berth it triggered the usual 'the train arriving at' announcement.

If the headcode stepped into a different platform than advertised for whatever reason, it triggered a platform alteration announcement and all of the station departure screens changed to the new platform as well. Seems like a much better system then the OP describes [see what I did there?] and that was 10+ years ago.

 

[ThePieTrain]

The last main place I worked as a signalman as soon as a train headcode stepped into a platform berth it triggered the usual 'the train arriving at' announcement. If the headcode stepped into a different platform than advertized for whatever reason, it triggered a platform alteration announcement and all of the station departure screens changed to the new platform as well. Seems like a much better system then the OP describes [see what I did there?] and that was 10+ years ago.

Yeah looks like our system may not be up to scratch. At this station, it would have entered the berth for the bi-di running about 1 minute before arriving at the station.

Even if there was an annoucement, there would be little time for them to switch platforms!

 

[Horizon22]

Announcements can be made just moments before the train arrives, once it steps into the berth. If it's a rare, bi-di move it might be even worse and it might be that the CIS logic needs to be adjusted for the station in such events.

That being said I am aware of plenty of crew who do a cursory check and whistles / yells / announcements across platforms. I have also seen plenty of occasions where they do not. All about proactiveness and situational awareness for the individual crew member I suppose.

@ThePieTrain - whichever station/TOC it is might appreciate the feedback and the signalling circumstances if you know them; you never know it might land on the right desk for somebody who can do something about it for whenever it happens the next time!

 

[U-Bahnfreund]

To be honest, these situations can be quite dangerous. A driver friend here in Germany told me how passengers ran across the two tracks when they saw his train approaching on the wrong track - the station display couldn't display the change of track.

 

[swt_passenger]

Bi-Di working is very common through Southampton Tunnel, particularly in the up direction, with simultaneous (parallel) departures. Platform staff are very adept at using the tannoy to inform passengers of any changes.

I had an instance a few years ago (possibly about 2019 thinking about the service patterns) of departing on a Southern service from P2 in the up direction on the down line, and passing a late running XC in the tunnel, it was doing the opposite, i.e. using the up line in the down direction and I assume it was to terminate in P1.

It looked as though the XC was going to be returning north within about 10 mins, might have been one of the two hourly Southampton extensions back then.

I’ve seen up containers through P4 and the down line a few times, and down freight to Millbrook using the Up side and then through P1. It’s all very flexible,

 

[Taunton]

Associated with this are stations with multiple tracks and platforms where information doesn't keep up with reality. Several in the southern London suburbs.

East Croydon is probably the worst, at times of service disruption you really have no idea what is going where. Bromley South is another, where whichever platform the next service will use can be random.

The best workaround is to stand on the footbridge, ready to nip down whichever steps needed when a likely contender comes into view.

 

[mike57]

At Bridlingtonm Platform 5 (usually Hull direction) will be used by Scarborough direction trains.

It seems pretty ad-hoc, but info dispays are usually kept in sync. I think the Northbound services use 5 if they can as it saves everyone the trek up and over the footbridge or lifts.

After Bridlington there is a long single track section to Hunmanby, but trains usually cross at Hunmanby, and the bay platform at Bridlington will constain using 5 for Northbound if something is due to leave.

 

[norbitonflyer]

Bi-Di working is very common through Southampton Tunnel, particularly in the up direction, with simultaneous (parallel) departures. Platform staff are very adept at using the tannoy to inform passengers of any changes.

Also at Lincoln, with trains frequently running "wrong line" between the level crossings in order to avoid conflicting moves at Boutham junction

 

[PP57601]

Was it Bi-Di working or Reversible working or Sim-Bids working ?