Station group (railway)
In the ticketing system of the British rail network, tickets are normally issued to and from individual stations. In some instances, when there is more than one station in a town or other locality—especially where these are on different routes—it may be desirable for passengers to be able to travel to one station and back from another, or more generally to be able to choose which of the stations they wish to travel to. To accommodate this requirement, British Rail introduced a series of station groups: notional "common locations" to which tickets from stations outside that group would be issued.
For example, Penge in South London has two stations: Penge East and Penge West. The former is served by trains from London Victoria to Orpington; the latter is on the route from London Bridge to West Croydon. For a traveller arriving at, for example, a London terminal station and intending to go to Penge, it makes little difference which route is chosen. Both stations are close together and serve the same area. Therefore, a ticket issued specifically to one of the Penge stations would be unduly restrictive—it would remove the opportunity to travel by a choice of equally convenient routes. A notional "Penge group" solves this problem: a ticket issued in this way would be interavailable.[1]
The concept is explained in the National Fares Manuals (NFMs) issued approximately three times per year by the British Railways Board (and, since privatisation, by the Association of Train Operating Companies) to stations, Rail Appointed Travel Agents and other ticket issuing authorities: "Fares for certain ... cities and towns are shown to and from a notional common station[.] All fares are quoted and all tickets should be issued to and from [these notional group] stations except for local journeys between two stations in the same group. Tickets issued to and from these [notional group] stations are valid to or from any of their associated stations, subject to normal route availability."[2]
Terminology and appearance on tickets
These "locations" had to be shown in a standard, easily identifiable way on tickets. The method chosen by the British Railways Board was as follows:
- Take the name of the actual location where the stations are: for Penge East and Penge West, PENGE.
- Add the suffix BR to this: PENGE BR.
Each station group was also allocated its own National Location Code (NLC)—a four-digit code used for accounting and to attribute revenue to locations on the railway network. Most station group codes were between 0250 and 0500. This NLC appeared on PORTIS/SPORTIS tickets, which by convention always showed the "origin" and "destination" NLCs as well as the code of the issuing point; but tickets from the APTIS system and its replacements always showed the NLC of the actual station of issue, even where a ticket was issued from a "station group" (except for some short-lived anomalies).[3][4]
After privatisation, the designation "BR" was no longer appropriate, although having been in use for more than 10 years it had become a convenient shorthand device for referring to the station groups concept in general (for example, National Fares Manuals continued to use the term "BR Stations").[2] A new designation had to be created which still took up little space on a ticket (location names are restricted to 16 characters on most ticket issuing systems)[5] and which still conveyed a notion of interavailability.
The solution, introduced gradually from November 1997 and uploaded to all ticket issuing systems by January 1998, was for BR to be changed to STNS or STATIONS as appropriate:
- STNS if the location name was between 8 and 11 characters in length: for example, LIVERPOOL BR became LIVERPOOL STNS.
- STATIONS if the location name was 7 characters or fewer: for example, DORKING BR became DORKING STATIONS.[6][7]
There were some deviations from this standard:
- As GAINSBOROUGH is 12 characters in length, a meaningful abbreviation to signify the station grouping could not be created. Therefore, tickets to the Gainsborough "group" are now issued simply to GAINSBOROUGH.
- Although GLASGOW STATIONS was seen briefly on some systems in 1998, the designation for the Glasgow "group" was quickly changed across the board to GLASGOW CEN/QST, representing Glasgow Central and Glasgow Queen Street (the two main termini in the city). The change was made in mid-April 1998.[8]
- The London group was changed three times.
Existing groups
As of 2015, 37 station groups (including the London group) are known to exist. The table shows the NLC allocated to each group, the pre- and post-privatisation renderings of the group name, and the stations included within it.
| Current Name | Former Name | NLC | Stations Included | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEDFORD STATIONS | BEDFORD BR | 0410 | Bedford, Bedford St John's | ||
| BIRMINGHAM STNS | BIRMINGHAM BR | 0418 | Birmingham Moor Street, Birmingham New Street, Birmingham Snow Hill | Birmingham Snow Hill was included from January 1988 following the reopening of the station. | [9] |
| BOOTLE STATIONS | — | 1780 | Bootle New Strand, Bootle Oriel Road | The most recently created group, dating from 26 September 1999. | [10] |
| BRADFORD YK STNS | BRADFORD YKS BR | 0424 | Bradford Forster Square, Bradford Interchange | ||
| CANTERBURY STNS | CANTERBURY BR | 0428 | Canterbury East, Canterbury West | ||
| CATFORD STATIONS | CATFORD BR | 0258 | Catford, Catford Bridge | ||
| COLCHESTER STNS | COLCHESTER BR | 0254 | Colchester, Colchester Town | Introduced in May 1991. | [11] |
| CROYDON STATIONS | CROYDON BR | 0449 | East Croydon, West Croydon | Tickets are valid to and from South Croydon as well, but tickets issued at South Croydon show that name. | |
| DORCHESTER STNS | DORCHESTER BR | 0429 | Dorchester South, Dorchester West | ||
| DORKING STATIONS | DORKING BR | 0416 | Dorking, Dorking Deepdene, Dorking West | ||
| EDENBRIDGE STNS | EDENBRIDGE BR | 0259 | Edenbridge, Edenbridge Town | ||
| ENFIELD STATIONS | ENFIELD BR | 0263 | Enfield Chase, Enfield Town | Enfield Lock has never been included. | |
| FALKIRK STATIONS | FALKIRK BR | 0431 | Falkirk Grahamston, Falkirk High | ||
| FARNBOROUGH STNS | FARNBOROUGH BR | 0260 | Farnborough Main, Farnborough North | ||
| FOLKESTONE STNS | FOLKESTONE BR | 0432 | Folkestone Central, Folkestone West | Folkestone Harbour was included until closure in 2001. | |
| GAINSBOROUGH | GAINSBOROUGH BR | 0415 | Gainsborough Central, Gainsborough Lea Road | ||
| GLASGOW CEN/QST | GLASGOW BR | 0433 | Glasgow Central, Glasgow Queen Street | Occasionally seen as GLASGOW STATIONS in 1998; officially renamed GLASGOW CEN/QST from 27 September 1998. | [8][12] |
| HELENSBURGH STNS | HELENSBURGH BR | 0404 | Helensburgh Central, Helensburgh Upper | ||
| HERTFORD STNS | HERTFORD BR | 0413 | Hertford East, Hertford North | ||
| LIVERPOOL STNS | LIVERPOOL BR | 0435 | James Street, Liverpool Central, Liverpool Lime Street, Liverpool Lime Street (Low Level), Moorfields | ||
| MAIDSTONE STNS | MAIDSTONE BR | 0437 | Maidstone Barracks, Maidstone East, Maidstone West | ||
| MANCHESTER STNS | MANCHESTER BR | 0438 | Deansgate, Manchester Oxford Road, Manchester Piccadilly, Manchester Victoria | Deansgate and Salford Central were included in the group until January 1989. By 2005, Deansgate was included again. MANCHESTER CTLZ includes the same stations and also Manchester Metrolink Central Zone tram stations. | [13][14] |
| NEWARK STATIONS | NEWARK BR | 0441 | Newark Castle, Newark Northgate | ||
| PENGE STATIONS | PENGE BR | 0262 | Penge East, Penge West | ||
| PONTEFRACT STNS | PONTEFRACT BR | 0268 | Pontefract Baghill, Pontefract Monkhill | Pontefract Tanshelf was included in the group from September 1997, but by 2005 was no longer included. | [15][16] |
| PORTSMOUTH STNS | PORTSMOUTH BR | 0440 | Portsmouth & Southsea, Portsmouth Harbour | Fratton was included in the group until October 1988. | [17] |
| READING STATIONS | READING BR | 0403 | Reading, Reading West | Tilehurst was included in the group until October 1988. | [17] |
| SOUTHEND STNS | SOUTHEND BR | 0411 | Southend Central, Southend East, Southend Victoria | Southend East was introduced later. | |
| THORNE STATIONS | THORNE BR | 0271 | Thorne North, Thorne South | ||
| TILBURY STATIONS | TILBURY BR | 7468 | Tilbury Riverside, Tilbury Town | Introduced in January 1993. East Tilbury has never been included. Tilbury Riverside closed to rail services in 1993, but c2c provide a minibus service between Tilbury Town and the former station to provide a connection with the ferry to Gravesend. | |
| TYNDRUM STATIONS | TYNDRUM BR | 0443 | Tyndrum Lower, Upper Tyndrum | [18] | |
| WAKEFIELD STNS | WAKEFIELD BR | 0444 | Wakefield Kirkgate, Wakefield Westgate | ||
| WARRINGTON STNS | WARRINGTON BR | 0445 | Warrington Bank Quay, Warrington Central | ||
| W HAMPSTEAD STNS | WEST HAMPSTD BR | 0265 | West Hampstead, West Hampstead Thameslink | ||
| WIGAN STATIONS | WIGAN BR | 0446 | Wigan North Western, Wigan Wallgate | ||
| WORCESTER STNS | WORCESTER BR | 0447 | Worcester Foregate Street, Worcester Shrub Hill | Droitwich Spa was included in the group until October 1988. | [17] |
Defunct groups
The following table contains groups which have been used at some time between 1985 and the present, but which are not currently in use.
| Name | NLC | Active From | Withdrawn From | Stations Included | Notes | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARDROSSAN BR | 0423 | January 1989 | Ardrossan Harbour, Ardrossan South Beach, Ardrossan Town | Ardrossan Town reopened in 1987 and was included in the group from May 1988. | [13][19] | |
| BIRKENHEAD BR | 0266 | May 1994 | Birkenhead Central, Hamilton Square, Birkenhead Park | [20] | ||
| BLACKPOOL BR | 0426 | May 1994 | Blackpool North, Blackpool South | Blackpool Pleasure Beach was included in the group during the period of validity of NFM 39 (May 1988 to October 1988). | [19][20] | |
| BRIGHTON BR | 0257 | January 1989 | Aldrington, Brighton, Hove, London Road (Brighton), Moulsecoomb, Preston Park | [13] | ||
| BRISTOL BR | 0400 | January 1989 | Bedminster, Bristol Parkway, Bristol Temple Meads, Filton, Keynsham, Lawrence Hill, Parson Street, Stapleton Road | "Filton" refers to the original Filton station, which was subsequently closed and replaced by Filton Abbey Wood nearby. | [13] | |
| BURNLEY BR | 0427 | May 1994 | Burnley Barracks, Burnley Central, Burnley Manchester Road | Rose Grove was included in the group until January 1989. | [13][20] | |
| CARDIFF BR | 0401 | January 1995 | Cardiff Bute Road, Cardiff Central, Cardiff Queen Street | Cardiff Bute Road was subsequently renamed Cardiff Bay. Cathays was included in the group until January 1989. | [13][21] | |
| DOVER BR | 0414 | January 1995 | Dover Priory, Dover Western Docks | [21] | ||
| EDINBURGH BR | 0255 | Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket | ||||
| EXETER BR | 0430 | May 1992 | Exeter Central, Exeter St Davids, Exeter St Thomas | St James Park was included in the group until NFM 41 (January 1989). | [13][22] | |
| GREENOCK BR | 0434 | January 1989 | Greenock Central, Greenock West | [13] | ||
| GUILDFORD BR | 0256 | Guildford, London Road (Guildford) | ||||
| HAMILTON BR | 0405 | January 1989 | Hamilton Central, Hamilton West | [13] | ||
| HARTFORD BR | 0267 | Greenbank, Hartford | ||||
| HILLINGTON BR | 0406 | January 1989 | Hillington East, Hillington West | [13] | ||
| LICHFIELD BR | 0399 | May 1989 | September 1989 | Lichfield City, Lichfield Trent Valley | This grouping was introduced in NFM 42 (May 1989), but was withdrawn at the next fares change because of the difficulty in allocating revenue correctly between the InterCity and Regional Railways sectors. | [23][24] |
| LINCOLN BR | May 1985 | Lincoln Central, Lincoln St. Marks | The group NLC is unknown. "Withdrawn from" date is the closure date of Lincoln St. Marks station. | |||
| LYMINGTON BR | 0436 | May 1989 | Lymington Pier, Lymington Town | |||
| NEWBURY BR | 0498 | Newbury, Newbury Racecourse | ||||
| NEWHAVEN BR | 0439 | October 1988 | Newhaven Harbour, Newhaven Marine, Newhaven Town | Newhaven Marine station was in limited use for ferry passengers only. | [17] | |
| NEW MILLS BR | 0412 | New Mills Central, New Mills Newtown | ||||
| PLYMOUTH BR | 0402 | January 1989 | Devonport, Dockyard, Keyham, Plymouth, St Budeaux Ferry Road, St Budeaux Victoria Road | [13] | ||
| ROTHERHAM BR | 0270 | 11 May 1987 | 3 October 1988 | Rotherham Central, Rotherham Masborough | The dates are, respectively, the opening date of Rotherham Central and the closing date of Rotherham Masborough. | |
| RYDE BR | 0272 | May 1988 | January 1989 | Ryde Esplanade, Ryde St John's Road | Ryde Pier Head was not included. | [19][13] |
| ST HELENS BR | 0264 | October 1988 | St Helens Junction, St Helens Shaw Street | St Helens Shaw Street was subsequently renamed St Helens Central. | [17] | |
| STREATHAM BR | 0261 | January 1989 | Streatham, Streatham Common, Streatham Hill | [13] | ||
| TUNBDGE WELLS BR | 0442 | 6 July 1985 | Tunbridge Wells Central, Tunbridge Wells West | "Withdrawn from" date is the closure date of Tunbridge Wells West station. | ||
| WORTHING BR | 0499 | East Worthing, West Worthing, Worthing | ||||
| WREXHAM BR | 0417 | May 1994 | Wrexham Central, Wrexham General | Sometimes shown as WREXHAM CLWYD BR. | [20] | |
| YEOVIL BR | 0448 | Yeovil Junction, Yeovil Pen Mill | ||||
The London group
The status of individual stations within groups
The station group concept only applied to point-to-point travel tickets and tickets directly related to these, such as Season Tickets and Excess Tickets. Other types of ticket issued at a station within a group would show the name of the station itself - selected examples are:
- One Day Travelcards in the London area
- Platform Tickets
- Car Park Tickets
- Rail Rovers and Rangers
Also, for a ticket issued for travel between one station in a group and another, the individual stations' names are shown. This only has practical relevance in situations where group stations are easily accessible from each other - for example, the Liverpool group, where all four stations can be reached directly from each of the others.
In other countries
Station groups also exist in the German rail network where they are called Abgang-/Zielbahnhöfe mit tariflicher Gleichstellung. Station grouping applies to tickets issued over a traveling distance of more than 100 km. For example, BERLIN is the station group covering all stations on and within the Berlin Ringbahn.[25]
References
- ↑ Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (495): p. 142. April 2005. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 NFM 64. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. September 1996. Section A5.
- ↑ Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (512): p. 333. September 2006. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (513): p. 387. October 2006. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Oakden, Carol (11 February 2004). "RJIS Datafeeds Interface Specification for Fares and Associated Data" (PDF). Fujitsu Services Ltd/Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC Ltd). p. 63. Retrieved 24 August 2011.
- ↑ Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (408): pp. 22–23. January 1998. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (409): p. 59. February 1998. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (413): p. 218. June 1998. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ NFM 38. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. January 1988. Section A.
- ↑ Journal of the Transport Ticket Society (Kemsing: The Transport Ticket Society) (430): p. 448. November 1999. ISSN 0144-347X. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ NFM 48. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. May 1991. Section A.
- ↑ NFM 70. National Fares Manuals. London: Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC Ltd). September 1998. Section A.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 13.5 13.6 13.7 13.8 13.9 13.10 13.11 13.12 NFM 41. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. January 1989. Section A.
- ↑ "Office of Rail Regulation: Station Usage (2005–2006)" (XLS). Office of Rail Regulation. 2006. Row 660.
- ↑ NFM 67. National Fares Manuals. London: Association of Train Operating Companies (ATOC Ltd). September 1997. Section A.
- ↑ "Office of Rail Regulation: Station Usage (2005–2006)" (XLS). Office of Rail Regulation. 2006. Row 1774.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 NFM 40. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. October 1988. Section A.
- ↑ NFM 53. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. January 1993. Section A.
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 NFM 39. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. May 1988. Section A.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 NFM 57. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. May 1994. Section A.
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 NFM 59. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. January 1995. Section A.
- ↑ NFM 51. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. May 1992. Section A.
- ↑ NFM 42. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. May 1989. Section A.
- ↑ NFM 43. National Fares Manuals. London: British Railways Board. September 1989. Section A.
- ↑ Übersicht über die Abgang-/Zielbahnhöfe mit tariflicher Gleichstellung
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