On 14/08/17 11:00, Recliner wrote:
Basil Jet wrote:
On 2017\08\14 09:43, Anna Noyd-Dryver wrote:
Basil Jet wrote:
On 2017\08\10 21:55, Recliner wrote:

Note the 10:22 Addlestone train on the board is shown as the "Front 8
coaches of the train".

I wish they'd say "Near" and "Far": I never know what "Front" means!

At certain locations I can understand your confusion - though 'near' and
'far' don't help either if the entrance to the platform is in the middle,
or if it's a multi-platform through station whether or not your train is
already present when you arrive on the platform (especially if it's an
unfamiliar location and you don't know which direction the train will
depart).

However at a terminus station where you walk past stop blocks to get to the
platform I'd have thought that 'front' and 'rear' were fairly obvious
descriptors?

Obvious to the guy sat at the pointy end! But in general, the front of
something is the side that's facing me, and the back is the side that's
facing away from me. It's a bit different with cars because they are
asymmetrical: the business end is always the front even if it's facing
away from you. The front of a train coming into the terminus is the back
leaving, so while it's stationary it doesn't have a front or back.

There's also the issue that I think Roland raised: if you're walking from
the back of the train, how do you know when you've got to the front eight
cars unless there's a sign (on the platform or train door display) to tell
you? You might remember how many cars you've walked past, but how do you
know how many lie ahead in a long platform.

Regarding the front or back, I'm always amazed at how many people (usually
female) board a train at the terminus and then ask which way it'll be
going.

Returning to (most of) the subject line, in my commuting days the
announcements at Waterloo (Main) were quite clear: "The front 8 coaches,
furthest from the ticket barrier" formed the Basingstoke stopper. At
Woking, the rear 4 were detached very smartly to form the Alton service.

I agree that it's more of a problem where there are no buffer stops.
Platforms 1a and 1b are a good attempt but the boundary between them
will shift between trains. I've also seen coloured zones, but I think
only to distinguish intercity[1] carriages with the same destination but
different accommodation.

Many (CHX-)Waterloo East-Ashford services are for "Ramsgate & Ramsgate".
They split at Ashford into a main train for Ramsgate via Canterbury and
a portion for Ramsgate via Dover. That must cause confusion.

[1] generic term, but including the late InterCity