'on' a station?

[tractakid]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I hear announcements such as 'please do not leave unattended luggage on the station' and it really winds me up! Can anyone explain why this word is used?

 

[alex17595]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I hear announcements such as 'please do not leave unattended luggage on the station' and it really winds me up! Can anyone explain why this word is used?

I would have said something is on the station, because its on top of it. Like you stand ON the platform.

 

[Cheds]

I would have said something is on the station, because its on top of it. Like you stand ON the platform.

And why to announcements on train refer to the 'next station stop'? when the point of a station is to be stationery, ie to stop? So, the 'next station', fine or the 'next stop', also fine. But not the 'next station stop'!

Harrumph.

 

[Scotty]

The next stop could be outside of a station.

 

[EM2]

And you might not stop at the next station.

 

[PaxVobiscum]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I agree that this is careless and probably incorrect use of a preposition. However, it may be another example of a useage that will eventually become acceptable through repetition.

If I offered to meet someone "on Glasgow Central station" that person may well wonder how I managed to arrange roof access. "On platform 1" would be perfectly clear.

On the other hand I can't see the phrase "in Conon Bridge station" making much sense either unless the 'bus shelter' was specified.

 

[work-traveller]

Ah - jolly good. I wondered when the inventive use of the English language by train managers would come up.

'I will be your train manager.' Surely what was meant was 'I am your train manager'. They're not describing a future event - it's the here and now.

'We will shortly be arriving into...'. Surely what was meant was 'we will shortly be arriving at...'.

 

[tractakid]

I will be your train manager, we will shortly be arriving on our next train station stop.

 

[Stigy]

Also annoys when certain automated announcments say, "If you are travelling to xxx and xxx you will need to alight from the front 4 coaches...". How can you be going getting off at more than one station on the same train? Should replace the 'and' with an 'or' surely? If however they said "Passengers travelling xxx and xxx" it would make at least a bit more sense....

 

[CNash]

I've always been bothered by "We are now approaching our last and final stop..." - unless there's some arcane railway-specific meaning to this, using both "last" and "final" is redundant.

 

[Welshman]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I hear announcements such as 'please do not leave unattended luggage on the station' and it really winds me up! Can anyone explain why this word is used?

And yet we talk about "going on the train" when we normally sit inside it.

 

[12CSVT]

And yet we talk about "going on the train" when we normally sit inside it.

On the train would be applicable to India

 

[Only Polmadie]

I will be your train manager, we will shortly be arriving on our next train station stop.

I can never get used to the term "train station."

It's always been "railway station" to me.

 

[tractakid]

I can never get used to the term "train station."

It's always been "railway station" to me.

Absolutely agree. I was trying to make as many mistakes in a sentence as possible!

 

[hairyhandedfool]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I hear announcements such as 'please do not leave unattended luggage on the station' and it really winds me up! Can anyone explain why this word is used?

When working in London at a sub-surface (underground) station, I wrote out a sign reminding people that smoking 'in' the station was not allowed, a school kid came up and was most adamant that it should say 'on' the station because you wait 'on' the platform, I countered that he was 'in' the station even when he was 'on' the platform, but that he was not 'on' the entrance or the booking hall.

However, 'at' could be outside the station.

 

[Sod]

Two odd uses come to mind:

why does a train consistently "arrive into" a station? This seems to be on the script for in-train announcements, rather than the more conventional "at";

why do we say that "The XX.XXhrs train to YYYY will be coming in on platform 1"? For those who are not native English speakers, this brings to mind all sorts of carnage as the train leaves the rails and mounts the platform. French puts the passengers "sur le quai" (= on the platform) and the train "sur la voie" (= on the track), while German has passengers "auf dem Bahnsteig" (= on the platform) and the train "auf dem Gleis" (= on the track); while not so idiomatic, these are at least factual.

Here ends a linguistic pedant's rant. I've been wanting to give vent to this lot for years!

 

[Hellfire]

The question is, do guards/TM's get told to use this railway speak or is it just something that has evolved over the years?

It's a bit like plod speak. Police officers always proceed rather than just go while trains never arrive at Euston but always into Euston.

 

[Derbyshire Gra]

A couple that really annoy me are:
"..we are now arriving at our final destination" - I wasn't planning to die just yet!
Also regularly heard "On departure of Leicester, the next call will be ..." I've yet to see the city move off.

 

[Muzer]

A couple that really annoy me are:
"..we are now arriving at our final destination" - I wasn't planning to die just yet!
Also regularly heard "On departure of Leicester, the next call will be ..." I've yet to see the city move off.

For the first one, I suppose you could say that the other stops could also be destinations - a destination from the passenger's point of view rather than the train's - so by that measure, it would be the final destination (whereas the other stations are just destinations). I'm just saying how it could be seen as correct, I don't necessarily agree with this myself

 

[dcsprior]

Is this a thing which varies with where in the UK you are? I don't think I've ever heard "on the station" in Scotland, but hear it all the time around London, and it sounds wrong to me

Similarly, I've heard English colleagues say things like "I used to work on the Womenswear department"

 

[CNash]

Unless they mean it in the same way as you'd work on a project: "I worked on making the Womenswear department better"

 

[musicman]

The question is, do guards/TM's get told to use this railway speak or is it just something that has evolved over the years?

It's a bit like plod speak. Police officers always proceed rather than just go while trains never arrive at Euston but always into Euston.

I'd really like to know the answer to this one. It appears, from the passenger point of view, that ALL announcements follow the same pattern i.e. they follow a script. If this is so, then the complaint is not to the poor guard who is following his/her instructions, but to the company who provided the script and ensure consistency in practice.

Let us have more plain English . . . please!!

 

[TDK]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I hear announcements such as 'please do not leave unattended luggage on the station' and it really winds me up! Can anyone explain why this word is used?

I am sorry but I cannot see the relevance of this post. The whole English language has it's errors. To post this message you were on-line, you are on the internet, on a train and on a station - I have never thought of these minute details before and to be honest life is too short to worry about it.

 

[Muzer]

I am sorry but I cannot see the relevance of this post. The whole English language has it's errors. To post this message you were on-line, you are on the internet, on a train and on a station - I have never thought of these minute details before and to be honest life is too short to worry about it.

Some people are just more interested in the language than others, and with greater interest is bound to come greater emotional attachment and so greater annoyance at incorrect use. Only the most hypocritical of rail enthusiasts will fail to see the parallels here with (what is presumably) our hobby.

 

[Only Polmadie]

I am sorry but I cannot see the relevance of this post. The whole English language has it's errors. To post this message you were on-line, you are on the internet, on a train and on a station - I have never thought of these minute details before and to be honest life is too short to worry about it.

I thought that one of tractakid's (possibly unintentional) points, was how can you leave unattended luggage? ('please do not leave unattended luggage on the station')

Should it not be - do not leave luggage on the station? Luggage if it is left, becomes unattended!

No?

 

[Muzer]

A better way of phrasing it is the way Celia/Phil say it:

"Please do not leave cases or parcels unattended anywhere on the station. Any unattended articles are likely to be removed without warning." (I can't see anything wrong with that, I'm sure someone will come along and point something out )

 

[CalderRail]

Two odd uses come to mind:

why does a train consistently "arrive into" a station? This seems to be on the script for in-train announcements, rather than the more conventional "at";

Because the standard language for Trains & Railways was adapted from the days of ocean-going liners, and ships pull into port.

 

[island]

And why to announcements on train refer to the 'next station stop'? when the point of a station is to be stationery, ie to stop? So, the 'next station', fine or the 'next stop', also fine. But not the 'next station stop'!

Harrumph.

I think this is an American usage, where having long journeys featuring a crew change is quite common and a crew change stop is different from a station stop as it might just be a halt in the middle of nowhere.

I've always been bothered by "We are now approaching our last and final stop..." - unless there's some arcane railway-specific meaning to this, using both "last" and "final" is redundant.

If you thought that was bad, try Aer Lingus staff who when making announcements for a flight that's closing will generally go something like

1. Final call for flight EI710 to London Heathrow, please board now through gate 4.
2. This is your last and final boarding call for flight EI710 to London Heathrow. Would all remaining passengers please board immediately through gate 4, where your flight is closed and awaiting departure.
3. Very last and very final boarding call for flight EI710 to London Heathrow, would passengers Murphy, O'Brien, O'Connell, and Smith please board immediately at gate 4, where your flight is now fully boarded and you are delaying its on-time departure.

all in increasingly frustrated sounding tones!

 

[anti-pacer]

Why is the word 'on' used to describe something at a station? I'd consider the words 'at' or 'in' a station to be much more appropriate. On a platform, yes, that makes sense. But not 'on' a station.

I hear announcements such as 'please do not leave unattended luggage on the station' and it really winds me up! Can anyone explain why this word is used?

In the case of say Leeds, I always say "in the station" as it's housed inside a building. Same with an airport. You hear announcements such as "No smoking in the airport terminal", etc, etc.

If it's a fully open air station such as Outwood, I would probably say "on the station", as all it really consists of is 2 platforms with shelters.

As for trains, well, grammatically incorrect as it may be, I always say "getting on the train" or "I'm on the train". However, I always get "in" my car.

 

[tractakid]

As for 'on' a train, I guess it makes more sense in my head seeing as you have to climb up to it (in most instances).