Railroad directions are used to describe train directions on rail systems. The terms used may be derived from such sources as compass directions, altitude directions, or other directions. However, the railroad directions frequently vary from the actual directions, so that, for example, a "northbound" train may really be headed west over some segments of its trip, or a train going "down" may actually be increasing its elevation. Railroad directions are often specific to system, country, or region.
Radial directions
Many rail systems use the concept of a
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
(usually a major city) to define rail directions.
Up and down
In British practice, railway directions are usually described as "up" and "down", with "up" being towards a major location. This convention is applied not only to the trains and the tracks, but also to items of lineside equipment and to areas near a track. Since British trains
run on the left, the "up" side of a line is usually on the left when proceeding in the "up" direction.
On most of the network, "up" is the direction towards
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
. In most of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, with the exception of the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and
East Coast Main Lines , and the
Borders Railway
The Borders Railway connects the city of Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank in the Scottish Borders. The railway follows most of the alignment of the northern part of the Waverley Route, a former double-track line in southern Scotland ...
, "up" is towards
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
. The
Valley Lines
Valleys & Cardiff Local Routes ( cy, Llwybrau Lleol y Cymoedd a Chaerdydd) (formerly Valley Lines) is the network of passenger suburban railway services radiating from Cardiff, Wales. It includes lines within the city itself, the Vale of Glam ...
network around
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...
has its own peculiar usage, relating to the literal meaning of traveling "up" and "down" the valley. On the former
Midland Railway
The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It ama ...
"up" was towards
Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...
. On the
Northern Ireland Railways
NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose paren ...
network, "up" generally means toward
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
(the specific zero
milepost varying from line to line); except for cross-border services to
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
, where Belfast is "down". Mileposts normally increase in the "down" direction, but there are exceptions, such as the Trowbridge line between Bathampton Junction and Hawkeridge Junction, where mileage increases in the "up" direction.
Individual tracks will have their own names, such as ''Up Main'' or ''Down Loop''. Trains running towards London are normally referred to as "up" trains, and those away from London as "down". Hence the down
Night Riviera
The ''Night Riviera'' is a sleeper train operated by Great Western Railway (GWR). It is one of only two sleeper services on the railway in the United Kingdom (the other being the
''Caledonian Sleeper'' services between London and Scotland). ...
runs to and the up
Flying Scotsman to
London King's Cross. This distinction is less meaningful for trains not travelling towards or away from London; for instance a
CrossCountry train from to uses "up" lines as far as and "down" lines thereafter.
In China, railway directions with
terminus
Terminus may refer to:
* Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination
* Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination
Geography
*Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
in Beijing are described as "up" (, ''shàngxíng'') and "down" (, ''xiàxíng''), with up towards
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
; trains leaving Beijing are "down", while those going toward Beijing are "up". Trains run through Beijing may have two or more numbers, for example, the train from Harbin to Shanghai K58/55 uses two different numbers: on the Harbin–Tianjin section, the train runs toward Beijing, the train is known as K58, but on the Tianjin–Shanghai section, the train is known as K55; the opposite train from Shanghai to Harbin is known as K56/57, while K56 is used from Shanghai to Tianjin and K57 is used from Tianjin to Harbin. Generally even numbers denote trains heading towards Beijing while odd numbers are those heading away from the capital.
In Japan, railway directions are referred to as and , and these terms are widely employed in timetables and station announcements for the travelling public. For
JR Group
The Japan Railways Group, more commonly known as the or simply JR, consists of seven for-profit stock companies that took over most of the assets and operations of the government-owned Japanese National Railways (JNR) on April 1, 1987. Mo ...
trains, trains going towards the capital
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
are "up" trains, while those going away from the capital are "down" trains. For private railway operators, the designation of "up" or "down" (if at all) usually relies on where the company is headquartered as "up".
In Hong Kong, most lines have their "down" direction towards the terminal closer to
Central, with the exception of
Disneyland Resort line
The Disneyland Resort line is a heavy rail MTR line connecting Sunny Bay to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, coloured pink on the network diagram. It is the seventh line of the former MTR network before the merger of MTR and KCR, and the w ...
, where the down line is towards Disneyland to be consistent with
Tung Chung line
The Tung Chung line is one of the ten lines of the MTR system in Hong Kong, linking the town of Tung Chung with central Hong Kong. A part of the Tung Chung line was built along with the Kap Shui Mun Bridge and the Tsing Ma Bridge. The line c ...
where it branches from. On
Tuen Ma line
The Tuen Ma line () is a rapid transit line that forms part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the map, the Tuen Ma line is in length, making it the longest line of the MTR network. It has a total of ...
, the "down" end is
Wu Kai Sha
Wu Kai Sha (), formerly known as Wu Kwai Sha or U Kwai Sha (), is a place at the shore of Tolo Harbour, northwest of Ma On Shan in the New Territories, Hong Kong. Wu Kai Sha is within the Sha Tin District, one of the 18 districts of Hong Kong. ...
. The up/down direction was switched in the former
Ma On Shan line
The Ma On Shan line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong. Coloured brown on the MTR map, the line acted as a branch of the East Rail line that connects the new towns of Sha ...
such that it could be connected with the former
West Rail line
The West Rail line () was a rapid transit line that formed part of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) system in Hong Kong until 27 June 2021. Coloured magenta on the MTR map, the line ran from Tuen Mun to Hung Hom, with a total length of , i ...
. The direction is signposted along the track, with the mileage increasing in the up direction, and also on the platform ends.
The railway systems of the Australian states have generally followed the practices of railways in the United Kingdom. Railway directions are usually described as "up" and "down", with "up" being towards the major location in most states, which is usually the capital city of the state. For example, in
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
, trains running away from
Sydney are "down" trains, while in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
, trains running away from
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
are "down" trains. An interstate train travelling from Sydney to Melbourne is a "down" train until it crosses the state border at Albury, where it changes its classification to an "up" train. Even in states that follow this practice, exceptions exist for individual lines. In the state of
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, establishe ...
, "up" and "down" directions are individually defined for each line. Therefore, a train heading towards the main railway station in
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...
(Roma Street station) would be classified as an "up" train on some lines but as a "down" train on other lines.
In Taiwan, trains travelling north towards Keelung on the west-coast Main Line and towards Badu on the Yilan Line are considered "up" trains. However, on other parts of the network, the terminology "clockwise" and "counter-clockwise" are used instead.
Inbound and outbound
In many
commuter rail
Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting Commuting, commuters to a Downtown, central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter r ...
and
rapid transit
Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be ...
services in the United States, the rail directions are related to the location of the city center. The term ''inbound'' is used for the direction leading in toward the city center and ''outbound'' is used for the opposite direction leading out of the city center.
City name directions
Some British rail directions commonly used are ''London'' and ''Country''. The ''London end'' of a station is the end where trains to London depart. The ''country end'' is the opposite end, where trains to the country depart. This usage is problematic where more than one route to London exists (e.g. at
Exeter St Davids, or
Edinburgh Waverley
Edinburgh Waverley railway station (also known simply as Waverley; gd, Waverley Dhùn Èideann) is the principal railway station serving Edinburgh, Scotland. It is the second busiest station in Scotland, after Glasgow Central. It is the north ...
).
Even and odd
In France, railway directions are usually described as ''Pair'' and ''Impair'' (meaning ''Even'' and ''Odd''), corresponding to ''Up'' and ''Down'' in the British system. ''Pair'' means heading toward Paris, and ''Impair'' means heading away from Paris. This convention is applied not only to the trains and the tracks, but also to items of lineside equipment. ''Pair'' is also
quasi-homophonic with ''Paris'', so ''direction P'' is equivalent either with ''direction Pair'' or with ''direction Paris''.
A similar system is in use in Italy, where directions can be ''Pari'' or ''Dispari'' (''Even'' and ''Odd'' respectively). ''Pari'' (''Even'') trains conventionally travel north- and west-bound. The city of Paris is referenced in colloquial use (''Parigi'' in Italian), with ''Pari'' trains virtually leading towards it (Paris being in a north-western direction from any point in Italy).
In Russia (and ex-USSR countries), the "even direction" is usually north- and eastbound, while the "odd direction" is south- and westbound. Trains traveling "even" and "odd" usually receive even and odd numbers as well as track and signal numbers, respectively.
Circumferential directions
In double track loop lines – such as those encircling a city – the tracks, trains and trackside equipment can be identified by their relative distance from the center of the loop. ''Inner'' refers to the track and its trains that are closer to the geographic center. ''Outer'' refers to the track and its trains that are furthermost from the geographic center. One example is the
City Circle
The City Circle is a mostly-underground railway line located in the Sydney central business district and Haymarket, in New South Wales, Australia, that forms the core of Sydney's passenger rail network. The lines are owned by the Transport A ...
line in the
Sydney Trains
Sydney Trains is the operator of the suburban passenger rail network serving the city of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The network is a hybrid urban-suburban rail system with a central underground core that covers over of track and 170 ...
system.
For
circle routes, the directions may indicate clockwise or counterclockwise (anti-clockwise) bound trains. For example, on the
Circle line of London Underground or the loop of the
Central line, the directions are often referred to as "inner rail" (anti-clockwise) or "outer rail" (clockwise).
The same practice is used for circle routes in Japan, such as the
Yamanote Line
The Yamanote Line ( ja, 山手線, Yamanote-sen) is a loop service in Tokyo, Japan, operated by the East Japan Railway Company (JR East). It is one of Tokyo's busiest and most important lines, connecting most of Tokyo's major stations and urban c ...
in Tokyo and the
Osaka Loop Line
The is a railway loop line in Japan operated by the West Japan Railway Company (JR West). It encircles central Osaka.
Part of a second, proposed outer loop line, the Osaka Higashi Line, from Hanaten to Kyuhoji was opened on March 15, 2008, an ...
, where directions are usually referred to as and , in a system where trains go clockwise on the outer track and counter-clockwise on the inner track.
Geographical directions
Cardinal directions
Most railroads in the United States use nominal
cardinal directions
The four cardinal directions, or cardinal points, are the four main compass directions: north, east, south, and west, commonly denoted by their initials N, E, S, and W respectively. Relative to north, the directions east, south, and west are at ...
for the directions of their lines, which often differ from actual
compass directions. These directions are often referred to as "railroad" north, south, east, or west, to avoid confusion with the compass directions.
Typically an entire railroad system (the lines of a railroad or a related group of railroads) will describe all of its lines by only two directions, either ''east and west'', or ''north and south''. This greatly reduces the possibility of misunderstanding the direction in which a train is travelling as it traverses lines which may twist and turn or even reverse direction for a distance. These directions also have significance in resolving conflicts between trains running in opposite directions. For example, many railroads specify that trains of equal class running to the east are ''superior'' to those running west. This means that, if two trains are approaching a
passing siding
A passing loop (UK usage) or passing siding (North America) (also called a crossing loop, crossing place, refuge loop or, colloquially, a hole) is a place on a single line railway or tramway, often located at or near a station, where trains or ...
on a
single-track line, the ''inferior'' westbound train must "take the siding" and wait there for the ''superior'' eastbound train to pass.
In the United States, most railroads use "east and west", and it is unusual for a railroad to designate "north and south" (the
New York City Subway, the
Chicago "L", and the
Washington Metro are rare examples). Even-numbered trains (superior) travel east (or north). Odd-numbered trains (inferior) travel west (or south).
On the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and Hertfordshire in England.
The ...
, geographic direction naming generally prevails (e.g. eastbound, westbound) except for the
Circle line where it is Outer Rail and Inner Rail.
Other names for north and south
In
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, the terms ''uptown'' and ''downtown'' are used in the
subway to refer to northbound and southbound respectively.
The nominal railroad direction is determined by how the line will travel when it enters
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
.
For railways in China that are not connected with Beijing, north and west are used as "up", and east and south as "down". Odd numbered train codes are used for "down" trains, while even numbers are used for "up"; for example, train T27 from
Beijing West to
Lhasa
Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...
is "down" (going away from Beijing) since 27 is odd.
References
{{reflist
Rail transport operations
Orientation (geometry)