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A train station, railroad station, or railroad depot (mainly North American terminology) and railway station (mainly UK and other Anglophone countries) is a
Locations at which passengers only occasionally board or leave a train, sometimes consisting of a short platform and a waiting area but sometimes indicated by no more than a sign, are variously referred to as "stops", "
systems.Terminology
Train station is the terminology typically used in the U.S.[2] In Europe, the terms train station and railway station are both commonly used, with railroad being obsolete.[3][4][5] In British Commonwealth nations usage, where railway station is the traditional term, the word station is commonly understood to mean a railway station unless otherwise specified.[6]
In the United States, the term depot is sometimes used as an alternative name for station, along with the compound forms train depot, railway depot, and railroad depot—it is used for both passenger and freight facilities.[7] The term depot is not used in reference to vehicle maintenance facilities in the U.S., whereas it is used as such in Canada and the United Kingdom.
History
The world's first recorded railway station, for
The two-storey Mount Clare station in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, which survives as a museum, first saw passenger service as the terminus of the horse-drawn Baltimore and Ohio Railroad on 22 May 1830.[15]
The oldest terminal station in the world was
The first stations had little in the way of buildings or amenities. The first stations in the modern sense were on the
Early stations were sometimes built with both passenger and
Many stations date from the 19th century and reflect the grandiose architecture of the time, lending prestige to the city as well as to railway operations.
Train stations built more recently often have a similar feel to airports, with a simple, abstract style. Examples of modern stations include those on newer
Facilities
Stations normally have staffed ticket sales offices, automated
Many stations, either larger or smaller, offer interchange with local transportation; this can vary from a simple bus stop across the street to underground rapid-transit urban rail stations.
In many African, South American, and Asian countries, stations are also used as a place for public markets and other informal businesses. This is especially true on
As well as providing services for passengers and loading facilities for goods, stations can sometimes have locomotive and rolling stock depots, usually with facilities for storing and refuelling rolling stock and carrying out minor repairs.
Configurations
The basic configuration of a station and various other features set certain types apart. The first is the level of the tracks. Stations are often sited where a road crosses the railway: unless the crossing is a level crossing, the road and railway will be at different levels. The platforms will often be raised or lowered relative to the station entrance: the station buildings may be on either level, or both. The other arrangement, where the station entrance and platforms are on the same level, is also common, but is perhaps rarer in urban areas, except when the station is a terminus. Stations located at level crossings can be problematic if the train blocks the roadway while it stops, causing road traffic to wait for an extended period of time. Stations also exist where the station buildings are above the tracks.[20] An example of this is Arbroath.
Occasionally, a station serves two or more railway lines at differing levels. This may be due to the station's position at a point where two lines cross (example:
Stations may also be classified according to the layout of the platforms. Apart from single-track lines, the most basic arrangement is a pair of tracks for the two directions; there is then a basic choice of an
Some stations have unusual platform layouts due to space constraints of the station location, or the alignment of the tracks. Examples include staggered platforms, such as at
Tracks
In a station, there are different types of tracks to serve different purposes. A station may also have a passing loop with a loop line that comes off the straight main line and merge back to the main line on the other end by railroad switches to allow trains to pass.[21]
A track with a spot at the station to board and disembark trains is called station track or house track[22] regardless of whether it is a main line or loop line. If such track is served by a platform, the track may be called platform track. A loop line without a platform which is used to allow a train to clear the main line at the station only, it is called passing track.[21] A track at the station without a platform which is used for trains to pass the station without stopping is called through track.[22]
There may be other
Terminus
A "terminus" or "terminal" is a station at the end of a railway line. Trains arriving there have to end their journeys (terminate) or reverse out of the station. Depending on the layout of the station, this usually permits travellers to reach all the
Sometimes the track continues for a short distance beyond the station, and terminating trains continue forward after depositing their passengers, before either proceeding to sidings or reversing to the station to pick up departing passengers.
A terminus is frequently, but not always, the final destination of trains arriving at the station. Especially in continental Europe, a city may have a terminus as its main railway station, and all main lines converge on it. In such cases all trains arriving at the terminus must leave in the reverse direction from that of their arrival. There are several ways in which this can be accomplished:
- arranging for the service to be provided by a multiple-unit or push–pull train, both of which are capable of operating in either direction; the driver simply walks to the other end of the train and takes control from the other cab; this is increasingly the normal method in Europe; and is very common in North America;
- by detaching the locomotive which brought the train into the station and then either
- using another track to "run it around" to the other end of the train, to which it then re-attaches;
- attaching a second locomotive to the outbound end of the train; or
- by the use of a "wye", a roughly triangular arrangement of track and switches(points) where a train can reverse direction and back into the terminal;
- historically, turntables were used to reverse steam engines.
There may also be a bypass line, used by freight trains that do not need to stop at the terminus.
Some termini have a newer set of through platforms underneath (or above, or alongside) the terminal platforms on the main level. They are used by a cross-city extension of the main line, often for
An American example of a terminal with this feature is
Terminus stations in large cities are by far the biggest stations, with the largest being
Terminals that have competing rail lines using the station frequently set up a jointly owned
Stop
During a journey, the term station stop may be used in announcements, to differentiate a halt during which passengers may alight for another reason, such as a locomotive change.
While a junction or interlocking usually divides two or more lines or routes, and thus has remotely or locally operated signals, a station stop does not. A station stop usually does not have any tracks other than the main tracks, and may or may not have switches (points, crossovers).
Intermediate station
An intermediate station does not have any other connecting route,
The majority of stations are, in practice, intermediate stations. They are mostly designed as
Intermediate stations also occur on some funicular and cable car routes.
Halt
A halt, in railway parlance in the Commonwealth of Nations, Ireland and Portugal, is a small station, usually unstaffed or with very few staff, and with few or no facilities. In some cases, trains stop only on request, when passengers on the platform indicate that they wish to board, or passengers on the train inform the crew that they wish to alight.
United Kingdom
The Great Western Railway in Great Britain began opening haltes on 12 October 1903; from 1905, the French spelling was Anglicised to "halt". These GWR halts had the most basic facilities, with platforms long enough for just one or two carriages; some had no raised platform at all, necessitating the provision of steps on the carriages. Halts were normally unstaffed, tickets being sold on the train. On 1 September 1904, a larger version, known on the GWR as a "platform" instead of a "halt", was introduced; these had longer platforms, and were usually staffed by a senior grade porter, who sold tickets and sometimes booked parcels or milk consignments.[28][29]
From 1903 to 1947 the GWR built 379 halts and inherited a further 40 from other companies at the
Many such stops remain on the national railway networks in the United Kingdom, such as Penmaenmawr in North Wales, Yorton in Shropshire, and The Lakes in Warwickshire, where passengers are requested to inform a member of on-board train staff if they wish to alight, or, if catching a train from the station, to make themselves clearly visible to the driver and use a hand signal as the train approaches.[32] Most have had "Halt" removed from their names. Two publicly advertised and publicly accessible National Rail stations retain it: Coombe Junction Halt and St Keyne Wishing Well Halt.[33][34]
A number of other halts are still open and operational on privately owned, heritage, and preserved railways throughout the British Isles. The word is often used informally to describe national rail network stations with limited service and low usage, such as the Oxfordshire Halts on the
Other countries
In
In Ireland, a few small railway stations are designated as "halts" (Irish: stadanna, sing. stad).[36]
In some Commonwealth countries the term "halt" is used.
In Australia, with its sparse rural populations, such stopping places were common on lines that were still open for passenger traffic. In the state of
In West Malaysia, halts are commonplace along the less developed KTM East Coast railway line to serve rural 'kampongs' (villages), that require train services to stay connected to important nodes, but do not have a need for staff. People boarding at halts who have not bought tickets online can buy it through staff on board.
In rural and remote communities across Canada and the United States, passengers wanting to board the train at such places had to flag the train down to stop it, hence the name "
Accessibility
Accessibility for disabled people is mandated by law in some countries. Considerations include:
- Elevators or ramps to every platform are necessary for people in wheelchairs who cannot use stairs, and also allow those with prams, bicycles, and luggage to reach the platform more easily and safely
- Minimising the platform gap in both height and width. This also requires rolling stock with appropriate dimensions. At some stations, a railway worker can install a temporary ramp to allow people in wheelchairs to board. Relying on temporary ramps can lead to people in wheelchairs becoming stranded on a train or platform if a staff member fails to show up to deploy the ramp.[42]
- Station facilities such as accessible toilets, payphones, and audible announcements
- Tactile paving to warn visually impaired people that they are approaching a platform edge.[43] Platform screen doors also physically prevent people from falling from the platform edge.
In the United Kingdom, rail operators will arrange alternative transport (typically a
Goods stations
Goods or freight stations deal exclusively or predominantly with the loading and unloading of goods and may well have
As goods are increasingly moved by road, many former goods stations, as well as the goods sheds at passenger stations, have closed. Many are used purely for the cross-loading of freight and may be known as transshipment stations, where they primarily handle containers. They are also known as container stations or terminals.
Records
Worldwide
- The world's busiest passenger station, with a passenger throughput of 3.5 million passengers per day (1.27 billion per year), is Shinjuku Station in Tokyo.[45]
- The world's station with most platforms is Grand Central Terminal in New York City with 44 platforms.[46]
- The world's station with the longest platform is Hubli Junction railway station with a platform length of 1,505 metres (4,938 ft) and is located in Karnataka, India.[47]
- The world's highest station above ground level (not above sea level) is Hualongqiao station in Chongqing with Line 9 trains stopping 48 meters above the surface.[48][49]
- Coney Island – Stillwell Avenue in New York City is the world's largest elevated terminal with 8 tracks and 4 island platforms.[50]
- Shanghai South railway station, opened in June 2006, has the world's largest circular transparent roof.[51]
Europe
Busiest
- Gare du Nord, in Paris, is by the number of travellers, at around 214 million per year, the busiest railway station in Europe, the 24th busiest in the world and the busiest outside Japan.[10]
- Clapham Junction, in London, is Europe's busiest station by daily rail traffic with 100 to 180 trains per hour passing through.[10][unreliable source?]
- Zürich HB is the busiest terminus in Europe by the volume of rail traffic.[10]
Largest
- Leipzig Hbf is the biggest railway station in Europe in terms of floor area (83,460 square metres (898,400 sq ft)).[10]
- München Hbf and Rome Termini are the largest railway station by number of platforms (32).[10]
- Milan Centrale is the largest railway station in Europe by volume.[52]
Highest
- Jungfraujoch railway station is the highest railway station in the European continent (3,453 metres (11,329 ft)).[10]
North America
- New York Penn Station is the busiest station in the Western Hemisphere.[53]
- Toronto's Union Station is the busiest station in Canada.[54]
See also
- Bus station
- Bus terminus
- Freight station
- List of IATA-indexed railway stations
- List of railway stations
- Metro station
- Running in board
- Station building
Bibliography
- Coleford, I. C. (October 2010). Smith, Martin (ed.). "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Part One)". Railway Bylines. 15 (11). Radstock: Irwell Press Limited.
- Reade, Lewis (1983). Branch Line Memories Vol 1. Redruth, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport & Historical Publishers. ISBN 978-0-90-689906-9.
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External links
- A comprehensive technical article about stations from Railway Technical Web Pages