Busiest terminal platform (departures per hour)

[tbtc]

What is the busiest terminal platform (in terms of departures per hour)? Or which station is the most intensive terminus (based on number of platforms)?

On the London Underground they can cope with a train every five minutes (per platform, thinking of the two at Brixton dealing with around twenty five ot thirty departures per hour). However, that relies on “Stepping Back” and all trains serving the same route...

...somewhere like Liverpool Lime Street is a lot harder, as the incoming London service will have to wait to form the outgoing London service, so its not a case of sending each arrival straight back out again. Plus there are reservations (etc) to sort out.

So, how many termini can cope with more than two departures per hour from a terminal platform? What’s the record for intensive service? Presumably the answer will be a platform that deals with one dedicated frequent service (like the Edinburgh – Glasgow “shuttle”)?

Or, what are the shortest gaps between one service leaving a terminal platform and the next train arriving/ departing?

 

[Greenback]

At some places on the Valleys Lines, trains arrive only one minute before they depart again.

Then again, that's the public timetable! In actual fact they usually arrive several minutes before the time shown!

Sorry, I know it's what you were really asking!

 

[yorksrob]

I remember reading somewhere that the suburban platforms at Charing Cross have a seven minute turn around during the rush hour.

 

[atomicdanny]

I think that London Waterloo would definately be one of those, maybe London Victoria and Liverpool Street although not as busy as the first one!

 

[tbtc]

At some places on the Valleys Lines, trains arrive only one minute before they depart again.

Then again, that's the public timetable! In actual fact they usually arrive several minutes before the time shown!

Sorry, I know it's what you were really asking!

That's interesting; they are a very intensive service on some stretches - must be a lot harder running a frequent service there (with all the different branches) than an Underground line - if all services on the Bakerloo line are ten minutes late then it doesn't matter quite so much as they are generally all going the same way, but disruption on the Valley Lines must be a real headache!
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I think that London Waterloo would definately be one of those

I wondered whether Waterloo would be the clear winner, but then there are a lot of platforms, so I didn't know whether "per platform" it would have some big competition
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I remember reading somewhere that the suburban platforms at Charing Cross have a seven minute turn around during the rush hour.

That's pretty tight! Especially at a busy station like that where you'll be dumping hundreds of people off the train and waiting for a similar number to board it in those seven minutes - can't leave much time spare

 

[Invincibles]

Thinking outside London I would imagine the platforms at Manchester airport turn round quite a few trains per hour, since they come from a fair distance (Glasgow/Edinburgh/Lakes, Middlesbrough, Cleethorpes, Blackpool, Liverpool, Southport) is 6 trains per hour.

There are also the Crewe - Manchester Piccadilly via the airport, they seem to use the new platform from what I can tell (but it adds one in each direction)

Not sure if there is just a Picadilly to Airport train or not, if not it would leave some of the intermediate stations quite short of a service?

On the gap, Platform 7 at Sheffield sees the EMT "stopper" leave a few minutes before the terminating train from London arrives (on hours where it is a 47 departure you often pass the arrival near the B&Q just outside sheffield station)

 

[EM2]

p.15-18 at Liv. St must be a contender, and p.1 at St.Pancras has a pretty quick turnaround when FCC is using it.

 

[philjo]

The turn round at Windermere is fairly tight.
I have known an incoming service to be late & the train leaving again within 2 minutes during which time everyone has alighted & boarded. (but then there is a long gap before the next incoming service)

some FCC services at Kings cross arrive & depart in about 10 minutes or so (or less if running late) though the outer suburban services are usually about 15 minute turn around. At peak times a train can come in almost as soon as another has left (though some are coming in ECS in the evening, going out ECS in the morning etc)

The Leeds- Ilkley/skipton/bradford electrics have a fairly short turnaround at Leeds

 

[adc82140]

I think 4a and 4b at Reading are pretty intense during the peaks. Quite often trains are held at the last signal pending a vacant platform. The (soon to be gone) single track section just after the end of the platforms doesn't help.

 

[Pumbaa]

Glossop? 10 min frequency during the day isn't it? With a 2 min turnaround.

 

[MCR247]

Moorgate? (ECML side)

 

[jopsuk]

reckon with a grade separated crossover, a single central "boarding" platform and two outside "disembarking" platforms somewhere such as Victoria could handle more trains- but only just.

On the underground, does the W&C have more frequent departures? I've head tale they use double stepping back- due to the difficulty of getting the driver from one end of one platform to the other end of the other at rush hour, the driver stays on the same platform? Given the trains are rather shorter, is the dwell time even less?

 

[Lampshade]

I'd say Platform 19 at Waterloo.

 

[Ploughman]

What was the regular turn round time at James st Liverpool?

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Moorgate FCC - two platforms deal with 6tph overall equally;
Charing X copes with a hell of a load of trains an hopur over 6 platforms

 

[Bedpan]

Stourbridge Town has one platform and deals with 6 trains an hour. Surely this makes it the busiest terminal station with only one platform, if not the busiest terminal followed close behind by Cardiff Bay.

 

[ukrob]

What was the regular turn round time at James st Liverpool?

It isn't a terminus during normal service so there is no turnaround time.

 

[route101]

Partick must be up there . Trains from Argyle and North Clyde lines

 

[TGV]

I'd say Platform 19 at Waterloo.

This gets my vote too.

 

[thelem]

Given that the original question was for a platform, not a station, I wouldn't be surprised if the answer to this was a smaller station that only has a couple of platforms, but is the terminus for several lines and difficult to expand - something like Portsmouth Harbour perhaps (I doubt that is the busiest, as it has a disused platform). If there are no cleaning crews at the station either then that could reduce turn around time.

West Croydon? 6tph and three platforms, but don't know how they are spread between platforms.

 

[imagination]

I think 4a and 4b at Reading are pretty intense during the peaks. Quite often trains are held at the last signal pending a vacant platform. The (soon to be gone) single track section just after the end of the platforms doesn't help.

I think one of them has 4 in an hour at one point in the evening peak. The other never goes above 2.

I think the 2 platforms at Paddington closest to the H&C line must be pretty high - they have 8 trains an hour between them in the off peak, and probably more during the peak.

 

[daikilo]

Arrival in north-west platform, switch and push-back into shunthead tunnel, run forward into departure platform.

Frequency 2.5/2.5/2.5/5/2.5... minutes.

Been there, done that, clockwork.

 

[O L Leigh]

p.15-18 at Liv. St must be a contender.

No. We do more than that on the West Side.

In the off-peak, all Chingford, Enfield Town and Cheshunt trains use P2-3. With 8 arrivals and 8 departures each hour that's 16tph across just two platforms, and that's just during the off-peak.

O L Leigh

 

[Daz28]

I remember reading somewhere that the suburban platforms at Charing Cross have a seven minute turn around during the rush hour.

This morning there were 28 arrivals due at Charing Cross between 8am and 9, across all six platforms. Platform 1 had an arrival every 12 minutes with a 6 minute turnaround.

 

[Simon Poole]

In Steam days at Liverpool Street was the change around 3 minutes? i rememeber watching it somewhere

 

[jopsuk]

This morning there were 28 arrivals due at Charing Cross between 8am and 9, across all six platforms. Platform 1 had an arrival every 12 minutes with a 6 minute turnaround.

of course, most of the departures from Charing Cross in the morning peak will have almost no passengers- the vast, vast majority of passenger traffic will be inbound- though I suppose that's the same for most commuter terminals.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

If you consider Bradford Interchange to be a "terminus", on the basis that everything has to depart back out the same way it came in, it handles five departures an hour, each with a 3 minute turnaround.

 

[Daz28]

of course, most of the departures from Charing Cross in the morning peak will have almost no passengers- the vast, vast majority of passenger traffic will be inbound- though I suppose that's the same for most commuter terminals.

Yes, morning is very concentrated, with large numbers arriving from 7-9, and very few passengers leaving.

The evening peak is different, you have a reasonable number of people arriving for a night out, and lots departing from work, but those going home are spread out over a much longer timeframe.

I've regularly been on an 8pm train out of Charing Cross, and it has been standing room only, and it can still be the same at 11pm.

 

[Ploughman]

Arrival in north-west platform, switch and push-back into shunthead tunnel, run forward into departure platform.

Frequency 2.5/2.5/2.5/5/2.5... minutes.

Been there, done that, clockwork.

Thats the station I meant.
Why did I think James St?

 

[Andrew Nelson]

Glossop? 10 min frequency during the day isn't it? With a 2 min turnaround.

But that isn't actually a terminating service, it usually go's through to Hadfield.

Similar to Bradford Interchange, terminal platforms with hardly any terminating services....