A railway platform is a section of pathway, alongside rail tracks at a train station, metro station or tram stop, at which passengers may board or alight from trains or trams. Almost all stations for rail transport have some form of platforms, with larger stations having multiple platforms. The term platform is most commonly used, in British usage, for designated areas where trains stop. Almost all stations have their platforms numbered consecutively from 1; a few stations including Cardiff Central, Haymarket, King's Cross, Stockport, (in the UK), Uppsala, (Sweden) and Lidcombe, Sydney (Australia) start from 0. The American equivalent is track.
The term railway platform can also mean any type of freight platform beside a rail siding for loading/unloading freight to/from rail cars.
Read more about Railway Platform: Characteristics, Types of Platform, Facilities, Platform Safety, Longest, Sharpest Curve
Famous quotes containing the words railway and/or platform:
“Her personality had an architectonic quality; I think of her when I see some of the great London railway termini, especially St. Pancras, with its soot and turrets, and she overshadowed her own daughters, whom she did not understand—my mother, who liked things to be nice; my dotty aunt. But my mother had not the strength to put even some physical distance between them, let alone keep the old monster at emotional arm’s length.”
—Angela Carter (1940–1992)
“I marched in with the men afoot; a gallant show they made as they marched up High Street to the depot. Lucy and Mother Webb remained several hours until we left. I saw them watching me as I stood on the platform at the rear of the last car as long as they could see me. Their eyes swam. I kept my emotion under control enough not to melt into tears.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)