Stations with large platforms?

[ValleyLines142]

Hey guys,

Random post, but does anyone think that certain stations on the NR network have too big/too little platforms? One for me is Blackpool North, does that really need 8 platforms?! There are only 5 departures an hour, compared to 31 trains an hour that leave Cardiff and only has 7 platforms!!

Also, does Skegness need four platforms for a service that only runs hourly?

Then there's stations such as Cheltenham, on a busy CrossCountry route, and Arriva service and FGW service that only has 2 platforms and its coping well!

Anyone else got any views?

 

[142094]

It is mainly historic - Blackpool used to have many trains in the summer holidays which meant it needed all those platforms. Similarly, Scarborough has one of the longest platforms in the UK, which isn't used a great deal these days.

 

[ValleyLines142]

It is mainly historic - Blackpool used to have many trains in the summer holidays which meant it needed all those platforms. Similarly, Scarborough has one of the longest platforms in the UK, which isn't used a great deal these days.

I thought this was at the old Blackpool Central station which had 14 platforms? I know Blackpool was popular (and still is in some ways - hence the many trains). But yeah, I know there's a lot of ECS movement along there too.

Scarborough was another station I was going to mention, as that only has 3 trains an hour and has five platforms. Now Gloucester and Colchester have the longest platforms in the UK but these are used regularly by trains of the right length.

 

[Yew]

I always thought nottingham was a bbit long, some of the platforms could definately be shorter

 

[Class172]

Southport always strikes me as a station with too many platforms, 3 for Merseyrail (which is fine), but why another three for Northern services which are irregular.

Then you have stations such as University which have to cope with 6 Cross-city, 1-2 BHM-HFD and the odd XC service each hour in each direction. Yet it has two platforms.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

Before Is tart out I will say that most two-platformed stations are fine, like University (Birmingham) and Cheltenham, as most trains call and leave, there are no junctions or terminating trains.

Hey guys,

Random post, but does anyone think that certain stations on the NR network have too big/too little platforms? One for me is Blackpool North, does that really need 8 platforms?! There are only 5 departures an hour, compared to 31 trains an hour that leave Cardiff and only has 7 platforms!!

Also, does Skegness need four platforms for a service that only runs hourly?

Then there's stations such as Cheltenham, on a busy CrossCountry route, and Arriva service and FGW service that only has 2 platforms and its coping well!

Anyone else got any views?

Blackpool has 4tph leaving, not 5, which are spread out over the 8 platforms almost even;y. Skegness, despite having seven, only has two or three in use now.

I thought this was at the old Blackpool Central station which had 14 platforms? I know Blackpool was popular (and still is in some ways - hence the many trains). But yeah, I know there's a lot of ECS movement along there too.

Indeed, Blackpool Central had 14 platforms, and it and Nottingham Victoria were the largest stations by number of platforms to completely close under Beeching I think.

Southport always strikes me as a station with too many platforms, 3 for Merseyrail (which is fine), but why another three for Northern services which are irregular.

Then you have stations such as University which have to cope with 6 Cross-city, 1-2 BHM-HFD and the odd XC service each hour in each direction. Yet it has two platforms.

Southport has 2tph to Manchester, and the third platform can be used by either MR electrics or Northern services.

 

[exile]

Blackpool North USED to have 15 platforms. However as in the case of Central most of those platforms were only used in the summer holiday period. Today's North station is essentially the old excursion platforms, the main station being demolished in the 1970s.

 

[driver9000]

Blackpool North certainly needs all 8 platforms at the beginning and end of the day when there are trains coming off or waiting to go onto the sidings. You'd be surprised how busy Blackpool North station can be.

 

[Lrd]

Southampton Central only has four platforms in use but has all sorts of through/terminating/ECS/freight services. Southern trains block at least one platform for at least roughly 40 minutes every hour (for two services).

I've always thought the station could do with an UP facing bay platform for the Southern services/SWT Pompey services and potentially bring the DOWN facing bay back in to passenger use for the few terminating FGW services.

 

[swt_passenger]

Southampton Central only has four platforms in use but has all sorts of through/terminating/ECS/freight services. Southern trains block at least one platform for at least roughly 40 minutes every hour (for two services).

I've always thought the station could do with an UP facing bay platform for the Southern services/SWT Pompey services and potentially bring the DOWN facing bay back in to passenger use for the few terminating FGW services.

Agree, and with the existing 13 car length it wouldn't be that difficult to provide a four car bay cut into one side of the London end of the island platform, by extending one side 2 cars towards the tunnel, and cutting back the other side 2 car lengths away from the tunnel, and reinstating it at the other end of the station. Distances approx, cos you need more length nowadays for buffer stops...

The only issue might be the public footbridge having a central pier exactly where my track/platform would run - so it would have to be given a replacement deck stretching right across...

 

[jopsuk]

How long can Bromley North cope with? It has two long terminus platform faces for a service that runs with a single, essentially captive, two car unit.

 

[OxtedL]

How long can Bromley North cope with? It has two long terminus platform faces for a service that runs with a single, essentially captive, two car unit.

Google Earth makes it 200m...so 8-car?

When there's engineering works through Bromley South it becomes invaluable, however.

 

[Lrd]

Agree, and with the existing 13 car length it wouldn't be that difficult to provide a four car bay cut into one side of the London end of the island platform, by extending one side 2 cars towards the tunnel, and cutting back the other side 2 car lengths away from the tunnel, and reinstating it at the other end of the station. Distances approx, cos you need more length nowadays for buffer stops...

A 450 hangs off the end of platform "5" currently, but nothing would really use it apart from the odd FGW 153/158 which terminate at Southampton, and any shunting moves that are already done at present.

The only issue might be the public footbridge having a central pier exactly where my track/platform would run - so it would have to be given a replacement deck stretching right across...

Forgot about that footbridge, on a side note, do you know why it was closed off for a few months last year? I never found out what they were doing to it, heard something vaguely of asbestos removal but not sure.

 

[150222]

Every time I have used Blackpool North (twice) it is always full of stabled trains. Is this still the case? (Last time I was there there was a 175 in the platform!)

 

[LE Greys]

Some stations (Waterloo for instance) never seem to have enough platforms no matter how many additional ones are built. St Pancras domestic seems to cope well with five, and I can't remember ever seeing more than three occupied. King's Cross (twelve) always seems a bit cramped, but perhaps that has more to do with the short throat than platform numbers. Euston seems over-provided, but there is a nice long throat with a couple of flyovers/diveunders. Reading desperately needed an extra down main until very recently.

In practice, I suspect that it is termini that need the most platforms. Through stations would benefit far more from through lines than extra platforms, giving them somewhere to loop a goods train, or for a non-stopping express to zoom past a local passenger train. That means that every stopping train has to negotiate two sets of points, but if they are set up for a sufficient speed, that should not affect timekeeping too much.

Of course, there are quite a few stations with one platform that could do with two, plus a second running line. Whimple, Feniton, Axminster, Crewkerne, Colwall, Pershore, etc. Forres and Keith would have a lot more operational flexibility if they extended the loops to include the platforms as well.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It is mainly historic - Blackpool used to have many trains in the summer holidays which meant it needed all those platforms. Similarly, Scarborough has one of the longest platforms in the UK, which isn't used a great deal these days.

I think the amount of platform availability at Southport is also very much to do with historical matters.There was the direct Southport to Preston line and also the 3rd rail electric service to Crossens (started in 1904) that had to be served and all these were terminated in 1964.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

Blackpool North USED to have 15 platforms. However as in the case of Central most of those platforms were only used in the summer holiday period. Today's North station is essentially the old excursion platforms, the main station being demolished in the 1970s.

Indeed it is so, There were two words which signified a vast number of services to Blackpool in the first half of the last century...Wakes Weeks

 

[Cliveblackpool]

Indeed, Blackpool Central had 14 platforms, and it and Nottingham Victoria were the largest stations by number of platforms to completely close under Beeching I think.

Beeching proposed that Blackpool North Station should close.
imo he was correct in this instance.
But Blackpool council decided Blackpool Central (next to the Blackpool Tower should close. Central was one of the nations busiest stations at the time.
Blackpool North was moved half a mile further North. Wilkinsons is now built on the site.
Central-
They wanted the land, and the track bed for the M55, which they hoped would terminate near South Station?

 

[yorksrob]

I think it's fair to say that we would never have needed both Blackpool North and Blackpool Central, and from the local council's point of view, the land released by Central is in a lot more valuable location than North and it's approaches (even if they did squander it on a giant motorway and car park :roll

That said, if I were them, I would have retained a couple of tracks and a small basic station at Blackpool Central (a very small amount of land in comparison to the amount released) just to give the South Fylde line area better access into central Blackpool.

 

[swt_passenger]

A 450 hangs off the end of platform "5" currently, but nothing would really use it apart from the odd FGW 153/158 which terminate at Southampton, and any shunting moves that are already done at present.

Quail reports its a 6 car platform. I can't see why a 450 wouldn't fit in there properly. I've also seen a Voyager in there fully platformed, following a cancellation due to lack of traincrew...

Forgot about that footbridge, on a side note, do you know why it was closed off for a few months last year? I never found out what they were doing to it, heard something vaguely of asbestos removal but not sure.

Just a strip back to bare metal and repaint I think, so they'd normally do a full containment nowadays - expecting to find some old lead based stuff under the various coats put on over many years...

 

[Lrd]

Quail reports its a 6 car platform. I can't see why a 450 wouldn't fit in there properly. I've also seen a Voyager in there fully platformed, following a cancellation due to lack of traincrew...

Thats interesting, it may have been an eight car I saw then.

Just a strip back to bare metal and repaint I think, so they'd normally do a full containment nowadays - expecting to find some old lead based stuff under the various coats put on over many years...

Thanks for this.

 

[ChrisCooper]

Someone mentioned Nottingham, which does have long platforms, but they come in handy because it's possible to have a HST terminated at the north/east end of the platform and still keep the south end free for the various other trains that terminate from the south/west.

One that is being rectified at the moment is Loughborough, with it's platforms only long enough to take a 4 coach train despite having 5, 7, 8 or 9 coach Meridiens and 8 coach HSTs stopping. Platforms are being extended though, AFAIK to take a 10 car (5+5) Meridien.

East Anglia is full of stations that are too big for the trains, with the exception of the London routes. Yarmouth has 5 (IIRC) platforms, long enough to easily take an Intercity set plus a diesel loco, yet mostly gets a 2 or 3 car DMU every hour (although the full length and run around facilities do get used summer saturdays when the direct London loco hauled trains run). Lowestoft also has platforms much longer than the 2 or 3 car units normally using it, although 2 of it's 3 platforms are fairly well used as the Norwich and Ipswich trains are timetabled to be in at the same time, every 2 hours. The third platform only tends to be used for specials. Even Norwich seems a bit big for what it gets, with just 2 out of the 6 platforms being fully used. The other 4 platforms just get 5tph with 2 or 3 car DMUs, and the Norfolk branch trains don't hang around long either (most are in and out very quick). Timetabling though means it can be busy one minute and almost dead the next.

 

[PinzaC55]

I think Platform 4/3 at York is one of the longest in the UK? There are 2 disused bays at the south end of York station and it was rather silly to get rid of them.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

20-21 cars I believe York p3/4 is.

 

[brad465]

Colchester has the longest platform length I believe, with Cambridge being one in the top lengths as well . However, both long platforms are two combined, so that may not properly count.

City Thameslink also has long platforms as far as I remember.

 

[ValleyLines142]

Colchester has the longest platform length I believe, with Cambridge being one in the the top lengths as well . However, both long platforms are two combined, so that may not properly count.

City Thameslink also has long platforms as far as I remember.

As does Gloucester.

 

[MidnightFlyer]

As do Perth, Bournemouth (2 combined) and Darlington.

 

[David Goddard]

I think Platform 4/3 at York is one of the longest in the UK? There are 2 disused bays at the south end of York station and it was rather silly to get rid of them.

As it was when they dispensed with the second North facing bay (former 12).

There were also formerly a further three bays on the Scarborough corner, adjacent to the present No 2

 

[swt_passenger]

City Thameslink also has long platforms as far as I remember.

They have only been extended in the last couple of years to allow 12 car use. They are now about the same length as any other 12 car platform, so I expect for some reason they just looked a bit longer than normal when a four or eight car train pulled up - because they were underground?

But this is digressing into 'longest platform length' - a thread that comes up about every 6 months - I think the OP is asking about stations where the umber of platforms appears to high for current use...

 

[Hydro]

Quail reports its a 6 car platform. I can't see why a 450 wouldn't fit in there properly. I've also seen a Voyager in there fully platformed, following a cancellation due to lack of traincrew...

Thats interesting, it may have been an eight car I saw then.
.

Probably, I've had 4 Mk.1/2's and two 73's in there easily.

 

[PinzaC55]

As it was when they dispensed with the second North facing bay (former 12).

There were also formerly a further three bays on the Scarborough corner, adjacent to the present No 2

That's true but after closure of the Market Weighton and Whitby lines there was little use for the extra Scarborough bays except for stabling. Since the main thrust of traffic is North/South and Leeds the south end bays would be handy, plus arguably the second Harrogate bay.
I'm sure they'll be reinstated some day if traffic continues to rise.