Identifying Locations
Identifying Stations
Stations/locations are identified by a few different items of data.
- 3-Alpha Codes - (Previously referred to as CRS - Computer reservation system, also referred to as national reservation system NRS codes)
- The handy 3 Character Code
- NLC - National Location Codes
- TIPLOC - Timing Point Locations
- STANOX - Station Numbers
- ATCO code - Used by multi-modal journey planners and timetables
Examples
| Station | 3Alpha | NLC | TIPLOC | STANOX | ATCO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | LDS | 848700 | LEEDS | 17132 | 9100LEEDS |
| Kings Cross | KGX | 612100 | KNGX | 54311 | 9100KNGX |
| Lincoln Central | LCN | 634000 | LINCLNC | 44038 | 9100LINCLNC |
| Glasgow Central High Level | GLC | 981300 | GLGC | 07257 | 9100GLGC |
| Gatwick Airport | GTW | 541600 | GTWK | 87911 | 9100GTWK |
Multiple Codes for a Station
Emil Vaughan asked, "There appear to be two CRS codes used for Highbury and Islington in the ATOC timetables: HHY and HII. The first is used for the Overground, and the second for the deep-level FGW services. Only one of the codes, HII, is in the NaPTAN RailReferences.csv file. I was wondering how common it is for a station to have multiple CRS codes? Thanks!"
It is reasonably common for a station to have multiple TIPLOC codes, where it consists of multiple groups of platforms on completely different lines. London Bridge, Victoria, Clapham Junction, Reading, Liverpool South Parkway are all examples of this I can think of off the top of my head. These different TIPLOC codes are used in schedules.
A lot of the time these different TIPLOCs will additionally have a CRS code assigned to them (as in the case of HII for the Highbury & Islington low level platforms), but as far as I can see these secondary CRS codes are never used for anything, at least not in any of the public ATOC and Network Rail data. Yes, they appear in various indexes and master lists, but not elsewhere.
HHY is definitely the main CRS code for Highbury & Islington; you can check this in the ATOC master station names file (TTISxxx.MSN) downloadable from data.atoc.org.
References
- A Searchable List and MySQL Database Dump Trains.BarryCarlyon.co.uk
- Phil Deaves, fairly up to date list
- NaPTAN (National Public Transport Access Nodes) - the single government source for all public transport stops/stations in the UK - also includes bus stops, ferry terminals, airports, metro stations, heritage railways, and associated metadata, including the location of entrances to stations, and platform locations in some circumstances. Contains ATCO, CRS and TIPLOC codes and latitude/longitudes.
- Peter Hicks at OpenTrainTimes has written a a useful guide to the relationships between different datasets which gives a good overview.