Researching platform numbers

[SantaFe1970]

I am in the final stages of planning a group trip to Japan for this May. I have found HyperDia my go-to source for train times. But that only rarely provides platform info.

 

Is that because platform arrival-departure numbers aren't really known in advance?

 

Is there an (English-language) online source of platform info?

[railsquid]

The Japanese-language sources I use generally list platform numbers. I've no idea about English-language sources.

 

(The only country I've come across where platform numbers aren't known in advance - the signallers appear to pull the numbers out of a hat shortly before a train approaches a station - is the UK).

[miyakoji]

The Japanese-language sources I use generally list platform numbers. I've no idea about English-language sources.

 

(The only country I've come across where platform numbers aren't known in advance - the signallers appear to pull the numbers out of a hat shortly before a train approaches a station - is the UK).

This happens in the US too.

[Kitayama]

It's the same in Sweden. Platform numbers are not advertised until the day before the departure and can be changed with very short notice.

[kvp]

This is due to using a best fit track routing algoritm that means when a train arrives, the tower operators look for a platform that is long enough and route it there. The problem is that there is a chance that some trains won't have a long enough free platform when they arrive. This could be avoided with a combined timetable and some planning, but it would involve coordination between various companies and in some countries this is not mandatory. (In other countries the plan is so rigid that they print the platform numbers on the time table posters. Actually there were cases in Hungary when there was a problem with a turnout at one of the stations and the whole train got cancelled because nobody dared to reroute it to another free platform without asking the main office first and they didn't finish the new plan before the train had to start. This was on the other end of the scale.) So far Japanese railways seem to have a rather good history of good planning, so i assume the platform numbers and train consist info (down to car numbers) should be in the offical info somewhere.

[SantaFe1970]

For a while in the 90s I commuted in and out of NYC. When taking the LIRR from Pennsylvania Station you would stand in a big rush hour crowd, drinking beer from a paper bag, looking up at the giant signboard for train departure info. Just before a scheduled departure, the track number would appear and a chunk of the crowd would head for the stairwells. Always a crush and a jostle. When in the right mood, the station scene felt gritty and cool. But most of the time it was just a great big hassle.

 

Meanwhile, I'm hoping someone has an answer for finding out scheduled platforms (in English) in advance.

[Kitayama]

At many stations, there is only one track for a specific line in each direction - and few lines. At such smaller stations, tracks are not shown in the timetables. This applies also to Shinkansen. A guess is that if no track is shown in the timetable, you will not need in information in advance. Just go to the station, look at the signs and walk up/down on the right platform.

[railsquid]

Just looking at Hyperdia in both English and Japanese - it doesn't show much platform information in either. Both Yahoo and Ekitan show more platform information but it doesn't seem consistent when and when it's not displayed (looking up one route on Yahoo, the first train is the same in all 3 suggested routes but it only shows the platform for the first two).

 

Anyway I've never really worried about platform numbers - like Kitayama says, stations are pretty much divided into lines so each route will have a fixed set of platforms. Larger stations will show arrivals/departures on electronic signs alternating between Japanese and English.

[SantaFe1970]

Thanks for all the advice, and folks going to the effort of comparative research!

 

I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding platforms on the day of travel. (I'll be traveling with a Japanese colleague.) Frankly, I was just hoping to dot the i's and cross the t's on my somewhat obsessive train trip planning...

[katoftw]

I used hyperdia for all my train trips planning for my last trip.  For the stations/transfers not listed with a platform.  These stations had little platforms, and normally all platforms could be seen from standing on the others.

[JR 500系]

Hyperdia does post platform numbers, just that the minor stations doesn't. Usually they should be quite easy to find. I have some worries here too as if the platforms are some distance apart I need to allow enough buffer time to make connection changes.

 

As such, would recommend getting more buffer time if possible to make connections. Perhaps i'll try to compile some platform numbers during my trip as it shows the platform on the ticket stud.

[Kitayama]

For stations with fixed platform assignment, Wikipedia is quite accurate.

[lurkingknight]

it's very easy to find your platform in japan, they're always marked, takes no more than 30 seconds if you need to look at the big board. In big stations like shin osaka or tokyo there are smaller boards at each double platform before you go up telling you which stops the next train will make since nozomi/hikari/kodoma etc may all leave from the same platforms but generally a given platform for shinkansen will always be the same direction. I think this is also true for local lines.

 

If you take more than 30 seconds staring at a big board.. I guarantee you a local will ask if you need help.

 

google maps will sometimes tell you the platform, I'm surprised hyperdia doesn't since platforms are pretty static in japan as most are dedicated to specific lines. The only time they might change is local lines on weekend/holiday schedules. I discovered that on this trip when they routed 2 different lines to the same track... so we hopped the wrong train.. TWICE, the first time to discover we were going north along lake biwa instead of south, and when we returned to the closest transfer point to the other line, again on the northbound train because we weren't paying close enough attention to the termination station or were familiar with those stations on those lines yet, but both times we took the trains that arrived on the platform that would normally be for the correct line, but because it was the weekend and not weekday, 2 tracks were actually closed and being used for freight and both lines operated on the same section of track on a reduced schedule until the point they split.

 

I think knowing the termination stations for the lines you'll be riding will be more useful than platform numbers. You'll know immediately when looking at the train if you'll be going in the correct direction or far enough. Platforms have always been clearly marked where I've been, and you can see lots of signs as you walk through the station.

 

Consulting the timetable/line map on the side of the platform you believe your train will come at will also help if you know your destination station, if it's not on the line map, you're not on the right platform :P  This is where an extra 5 minutes put into your time budget will help you figure it out, the 3 times I was caught on the wrong train was due to me trusting google maps telling me to go to a certain platform.

 

Twice with lake biwa, once with nankai going from namba to sakai city. Luckily for the sakai city bungle, I had my compass and two of the stations we stopped at miraculously had the osaka free wifi available for me to get my bearings on my phone and get a gps map working. We were able to backtrack 2 stops on the wrong line and walk to our destination with my phone gps miraculously working on no wifi connection but the gps locator working. it's never done that before. lol. It usually needs both a data connection and the locator on.

[JR 500系]

I discovered a trick to platforms too. If you can understand some Japanese, you can actually hear the in-car announcements they make when you're on the train. They often say what is the next stop and what train lines can be changed here. Later, the conductor will announce the closest timing trains that you can change and the platforms they are on. For example:

 

(Translated in English):

 

The next stop is Hakata terminal. We will be arriving at 14:45pm, at platform number 6.

 

Passengers changing to the Ltd Express Midori 23 bound for Sasebo leaving at 14:53pm is at platform number 8, passengers changing to the Ltd Express Sonic 43 bound for Oita leaving at 14:55pm is at platform number 5. etc...

 

It's actually really helpful, just need to keep a keen ear out for it. I used these announcements many times to easily and accurately locate the trains I wish to board.

 

It's the same with station announcements. They announce which service is on which platform number.

 

Lastly, you can also check the LED boards for the service you are taking and the time, and their corresponding platform number. Locate the service you are taking and its corresponding platform and wait for the train there ~