Trivia > stations with "hidden" (but working) platforms?

[Tibbs]

It is well signposted, but many people don't seem to know that platform 11 exists at Watford Junction.

/edit Curses beaten to it! That'll teach me not to read to the end of the thread...

 

[6Gman]

Platform 2 at Crewe is pretty remote!

 

[herschell]

I would say platforms 8 & 9 at Edinburgh are a bit hidden unless you know where your going though that's just my own opinion

 

[IanXC]

Heaven knows when it was last used for a passenger train, but p1 at Hull is very out of the way.

IanXC reported it being used recently by a Northern 158, but god knows when the previous occasion was.

I have indeed been on a service which reversed there from the coast line heading to Sheffield this year. I've been in it once before, I'm guessing about 3 years ago. My impression was that on both occasions the booked platform (2) wasn't available, because of a failed 180 and a possession to examine a 185 respectively.

Im not sure when this was, but Max told me it was extensively used during the refurbishment of the trainhed some years ago.

Up until recently it would almost always have the hot spare pacer in it, however recently that seems to have moved to the next road away from the trainshed.

 

[nuneatonmark]

Platform 3 at Rugby? All it seems to house now is a rescue 57 for Virgin.

 

[Tom B]

Platform 2 at Doncaster I wouldn't call "hidden", just "never used"!

The couple of bays at the south of Waverley can be difficult if you don't know they're there. The western suburban platforms at King's Cross were well hidden at some points during the building works.

 

[Cherry_Picker]

It is well signposted, but many people don't seem to know that platform 11 exists at Watford Junction.

/edit Curses beaten to it! That'll teach me not to read to the end of the thread...

It's so far away from everywhere else they might as well make it a separate station. (map)

 

[chris89]

I would say platforms 8 & 9 at Edinburgh are a bit hidden unless you know where your going though that's just my own opinion

Would also say 7 as well.

 

[Helvellyn]

The bay at Woking?

I assume you mean the Down Bay (Platform 6) as opposed to the Up Bay (Platform 3). The latter is used by the half-hourly stopping services to Waterloo Monday to Saturday, and the hourly stopping service via Staines on a Sunday.

The only booked passenger service from Platform 6, as far as I know, is the 06:19 to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh.


I'd offer up Platforms 3C and 4C at Preston, 1 and 5 at Salisbury, 2 at Bristol Temple Meads and 2 at Portsmouth Harbour!

 

[AM9]

I assume you mean the Down Bay (Platform 6) as opposed to the Up Bay (Platform 3). The latter is used by the half-hourly stopping services to Waterloo Monday to Saturday, and the hourly stopping service via Staines on a Sunday.

The only booked passenger service from Platform 6, as far as I know, is the 06:19 to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh.


I'd offer up Platforms 3C and 4C at Preston, 1 and 5 at Salisbury, 2 at Bristol Temple Meads and 2 at Portsmouth Harbour!

Stratford Regional must be one of the most confusing stations on the network. The down GE Local/eastbound Central line island has 6 Central Line Eastbound and 8 GE Down. Similarly the up/westbound island is numbered 5 and 3 respectively. There's also a platform 3a on the other side of the westbound track but if you get out on the wrong side it's a 3 minute walk down a subway to the gateline then back up into another part of the station.
Platform 10a is however not much to do with platform 10, it's just that it was the original platform 10 from over 100 years ago. The current platform 9 & 10 didn't exist until a few years ago.
For those that remember the original location of the Westbound DLR, (it was from a bay at the London end of platform 5 - 4 maybe?), they now depart from a new pair that can only be accessed from the mezzanine located over the old low level platforms and the Bakerloo concourse. What's more, they aren't even numbered.
The National Rail website station plan is a master of confusion and how a stranger can use it I'm just not sure. No wonder there are so many staff on hand there.

 

[richard1976]

Platform 4 at Wrexham General. Which was formally a separate station, Wrexham exchange

 

[dannypye9999]

do the northend bay platforms at Wolverhampton count? Once used for terminating services from Shrewsbury and the North although nowadays they don't seem to be used.

 

[bb21]

do the northend bay platforms at Wolverhampton count? Once used for terminating services from Shrewsbury and the North although nowadays they don't seem to be used.

Yes, already mentioned. No permitted passenger moves into it any more.

 

[Kite159]

I assume you mean the Down Bay (Platform 6) as opposed to the Up Bay (Platform 3). The latter is used by the half-hourly stopping services to Waterloo Monday to Saturday, and the hourly stopping service via Staines on a Sunday.

The only booked passenger service from Platform 6, as far as I know, is the 06:19 to Portsmouth Harbour via Eastleigh.


I'd offer up Platforms 3C and 4C at Preston, 1 and 5 at Salisbury, 2 at Bristol Temple Meads and 2 at Portsmouth Harbour!

Platforms 1/5 at Salisbury are not used for passenger services, and I believe the track has been pulled up on platform 2 of Portsmouth Harbour.

 

[bb21]

I think it was tongue-in-cheek.

With the exception of Preston Pfms 3C and 4C, none of the others still exist (not in public use at least if in situ).

 

[David Goddard]

Platform 16 at Reading is very well hidden now

 

[fusionblue]

Platform 7 at London Bridge - it's been playing hide and seek for years

 

[backontrack]

At King's Cross, I've never found Platform 9 3/4

Platform 4 at York is just tacked on to the northern end of Platform 3 - the scarcely used Platform 2, connected only to the Scarborough branch and thus used for terminating services, is behind it. Although it is exposed to the short stay car park.

Northern services to and from Hull use Platform 1 - slightly more visible, behind the other end of Platform 3.

 

[Bushy]

Platform 7 at London Bridge - it's been playing hide and seek for years

Soon to reappear.

Regards

Bushy

 

[stut]

Outside the UK, but platform 26 at Copenhagen H is ridiculously out of the way. To get there, you have to walk along any of the platforms, along to a road bridge, head up, cross the road, then head back down. It's pretty much another station. There's a similar arrangement for the peak fast terminators at Østerport.

 

[physics34]

Platform 2 at Norwood Junction exists but is not used . Platform 7 is signposted (by London Overground) and there are early network rail plans that it may become a bay platform.

 

[PermitToTravel]

Platforms 13 and 14 at Paddington are tucked out of the way in a very dark and dingy part of the station

 

[SPADTrap]

Platform 0 at King's Cross often causes confusion with trains hidden from view from the platform 1 entrance!

 

[185143]

12D at Leeds, northbound XC use it and when they're normally 4 car voyagers its a massive trek to them from almost every other connecting service. Never understood why they dont stop mid way up platform 12 similarly to TPE do at 15 and 16

Just boarded a Rochdale from this platform!

 

[ValleyLines142]

Don't know if this has been mentioned but platform 3 at Bridgend is nicely tucked away! Very rarely used; I believe you can only access the Maesteg branch from there!

As for Bristol Temple Meads, platform 14 doesn't exist, but platforms 1 and 2 (the latter only for stabling trains) are a bugger to find! Also the fact that platforms 5-12 share the same platform is quite confusing also!

 

[Andyh82]

12D at Leeds, northbound XC use it and when they're normally 4 car voyagers its a massive trek to them from almost every other connecting service. Never understood why they dont stop mid way up platform 12 similarly to TPE do at 15 and 16

Is that the one that is basically almost outside at the foot of the stairs from the 'other' footbridge. I've caught Caldervale Line services from there before.

All the east facing lightly used bays at Leeds are fairly hidden.

As is 2C at Sheffield, all the east bays at Edinburgh Waverley, the Scarbrorough and Hull bays at York.

 

[GatwickDepress]

Back when Southern's service was relatively new, Platform 2A used to be a bugger to find at Milton Keynes Central with its existence only affirmed by one sign at the bottom of the 1/2 staircase. They've redone all the signage since then though, luckily for Southern's customer service department!

 

[40129]

Re platform 6 at WVH, it is used IIRC by two early morning trans to Shrewsbury.

The first of these stables there overnight whilst the 2nd arrives from BHM in platform 1. terminates, and then shunts ECS to 6 from where it departs as the 06:48

 

[rdeez]

Birmingham New Street Platforms 1-12 'M' ...?

 

[dvboy]

The second arrives on platform 1 as 2W00 from BHM at 0631, shunts and then departs as 2J03 at 0648. I can't see any obvious reason why it does that, and why it can't just sit on platform 1or 2 for 17 minutes, there is only one other train that uses platform 1 between those times, that's 1H13, the 0641 to MAN.