A station code is a brief, standardised abbreviation, or

alphanumeric code Alphanumericals or alphanumeric characters are a combination of alphabetical and numerical characters. More specifically, they are the collection of Latin letters and Arabic digits. An alphanumeric code is an identifier made of alphanumeric ch ...

, used by

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

s to identify a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...

uniquely (within a country or region). Codes are mostly used internally but can be seen on railway traffic signs and on some timetables.

Formatting

In most countries, station codes are purely alphabetic, usually compromising three capital letters for ease of identification. For example,

Whampoa station Whampoa () is the western terminus of the of the MTR in Hong Kong. It is located in Hung Hom, Kowloon City District within the developed area of Whampoa Garden immediately adjacent to the stern of '' The Whampoa'', a symbol of identity for the ...

of the MTR has the code of WHA.

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

uses one- to four-letter codes. Most stations of the Indian Railways are assigned three letter codes, for example, the station code for Mumbai Central station is BCT. One-letter station codes of the Indian Railways * G:

Gondia Junction railway station Gondia Junction (station code: G) serves Gondia in Gondia district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is one of the important railway stations in India of South East central railways zone railways. This station is India's third and first in ...

* J:

Jalna railway station Jalna railway station is a train station in the city of Jalna in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Jalna station lies on the Secunderabad–Manmad line of South Central Railway zone. Jalna is an important station in the Marathwada Marathw ...

* M: Mahendragarh railway station * R: Raipur Junction railway station * S:

Shrirangapattana railway station Shrirangapattana railway station (station code: S) is a railway station on Mysore–Bangalore railway line in Mandya district of Karnataka state of India. Mysore railway division Mysore railway division is one of the three railway divisions ...

* V:

Vashi railway station Vashi is a railway station on the Harbour Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Vashi railway station is the terminal point for CST and Thane Trains. Around 75,000 people travel from Vashi to Mumbai CST, and around 32 thousand peo ...

* Y:

Yeliyur railway station Yeliyur is a village in Mandya district, Karnataka state, India. It lies from the city of Mandya. Transportation Yeliyur has a passenger railway station on the Mysore–Bangalore railway line. Economy The economy is chiefly agrarian. Cultiv ...

* 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. In

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, 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 Stockholm City Station is a railway station in central Stockholm, Sweden. Opened on 10 July 2017, the station is located on the Stockholm City Line and is located directly below T-Centralen (the hub of the Stockholm Metro The Stockholm metr ...

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 Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 sq ...

has the station code BLD. In

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...

, station codes are purely numeric, to reduce the problem of

language Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of ...

and

writing system A writing system is a method of visually representing verbal communication, based on a script and a set of rules regulating its use. While both writing and speech are useful in conveying messages, writing differs in also being a reliable fo ...

barriers. For example,

Seoul Metropolitan Subway The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area includin ...

Singeumho station Singeumho Station is a station on Seoul Subway Line 5, Seoul, South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border wi ...

has the code of 538.

Lists

Standards for station codes in different countries include: *

List of Amtrak station codes This is a list of train stations and Thruway Motorcoach stops used by Amtrak (the National Railroad Passenger Corporation in the United States). This list is in alphabetical order by station or stop name, which mostly corresponds to the city ...

, United States and Canada *

List of Deutsche Bahn station abbreviations Deutsche Bahn and its predecessors Deutsche Bundesbahn, Deutsche Reichsbahn and Deutsche Reichsbahn-Gesellschaft use a system of letters to denote a station on their network. The station code used today is colloquially called the DS 100 code, name ...

, Germany *

List of MTR station codes The MTR, the rapid transit system of Hong Kong, encompasses 10 heavy rail lines and 98 stations as of May 2022. The following list sorts the stations according to their service line. In addition to the 98 metro stations listed on this page, t ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

, China *

UK railway stations List of railway stations in the United Kingdom, split alphabetically. * UK railway stations – A * UK railway stations – B * UK railway stations – C * UK railway stations – D * UK railway stations – E * UK railway stations – ...

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

.List of National Rail Station codes
Three-letter alpha codes (formerly called CRS codes - ''Computer Reservation System'') are issued by

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, an unincorporated association whose membership consists of the passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the ...

which is responsible for railways in

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

. Station codes are not used by Northern Ireland Railways for stations in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. * List of railway stations in India,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

References

{{Reflist Railway stations

Formatting

Lists

See also

References