Station code: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 01:44, 20 February 2022

Revision as of 23:07, 9 October 2022

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{{Short description|Brief abbreviation identifying a train station}}

[[Image:signatur.jpg|thumb|300px|Station code Lp for '''L'''inkö'''p'''ing Central Station in Sweden]]

A '''station code''' is a brief, [[standardise]]d abbreviation, or [[alphanumeric code]], used by [[railway]]s to identify a [[train station|railway station]] uniquely (within a country or region). Codes are mostly used internally, but can be seen on railway traffic signs and on some timetables. In most countries, they each comprise three letters and no digits.

== Formatting ==

In most countries, station codes are purely alphabetic, usually compromising three capital letters for ease of identification. For example, [[Whampoa station]] of the [[MTR]] has the code of WHA.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Whampoa {{!}} ExploreHK |url=https://explorehk.com/en/pedia/station/whampoa/ |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=explorehk.com}}</ref> [[Indian Railways]] uses one- to four-letter codes.<ref>{{Cite web |title=[IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ - Railway Stations |url=https://www.irfca.org/faq/faq-station.html |access-date=2022-10-09 |website=www.irfca.org}}</ref> Most stations of the Indian Railways are assigned three letter codes, for example, the station code for [[Mumbai Central railway station|Mumbai Central station]] is BCT.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |author-link=Indian Railways |date=10 October 2022 |title=Station codes |url=https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/directorate/coaching/pdf/Station_code.pdf |website=Indian Railways}}</ref>

'''One-letter station codes of the Indian Railways'''<ref name=":0" />

* G: [[Gondia Junction railway station]]

* J: [[Jalna railway station]]

* M: [[Mahendragarh railway station]]

* R: [[Raipur Junction railway station]]

* S: [[Shrirangapattana railway station]]

* V: [[Vashi railway station]]

* Y: [[Yeliyur railway station]]

* Unallocated one-letter station codes of the Indian Railways include A, B, C, D, E, F, I, H, K, L, N, P, Q, T, U, W, X and Z.

In England, Scotland and Wales of the UK, railway stations are assigned three-letter codes and are issued by National Rail and are called the Computer Reservation System (CRS), this is not the case in Northern Ireland.<ref name=":1" /> In [[Scandinavia]], railway stations are assigned a capital letter followed by a sequence of lowercase letters that represent the station's name. For example, [[Stockholm commuter rail]]'s [[Stockholm City Station]] has the station code Sci. [[Deutsche Bahn]] in Germany uses an alphabetic station code system called the ''DS 100 code'', for example, [[Luckenwalde station]] in [[Brandenburg]] has the station code BLD.<ref>{{Cite web |author-link=Deutsche Bahn |date=August 2015 |title=Übersicht der Betriebsstellen und deren Abkürzungen aus der Richtlinie 100 |url=https://fahrweg.dbnetze.com/resource/blob/1359908/f9d782b88f2c1224ac1192e2d4b5f6ff/betriebsstellen-data.pdf |website=Deutsche Bahn AG |language=German}}</ref> In [[South Korea]], station codes are purely numeric, to reduce the problem of [[language]] and [[writing system]] barriers. For example, [[Seoul Metropolitan Subway]]'s [[Singeumho station]] has the code of 538.

== Lists ==

Standards for station codes in different countries include:

* [[List of Amtrak station codes]], United States and Canada

* [[List of Deutsche Bahn station abbreviations]], Germany

* [[List of MTR station codes]], [[Hong Kong]], China

* [[UK railway stations]], [[Rail transport in Great Britain|Britain]].<ref name=":1">[http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/codes/ List of National Rail Station codes] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121125233554/http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/stations/codes/ |date=November 25, 2012 }}</ref> Three-letter alpha codes (formerly called CRS codes - ''Computer Reservation System'') are issued by [[National Rail]] which is responsible for railways in [[Great Britain]]. Station codes are not used by Northern Ireland Railways for stations in [[Northern Ireland]].<!-- A quick look at refdata.dat in Avantix Traveller however yields codes like BFC for "BELFAST CENTRAL". Similarly UK station codes were assigned for other international destinations, such as BSA for Berlin Zoo, NAU for Nauen, ZRH for Zürich HB, and VIE for Vienna West Station. -->

* [[List of railway stations in India]], [[Rail transport in India|India]]

==See also==

* [[Station Numbering|Station numbering]]

==References==