Train question, London Waterloo to Southampton Central
 

Hello UK experts,

I just booked train tickets from London Waterloo to Southampton Central, 10:39 --> 12:12.

I could not find the departure platform number for my train on National Rail website, https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/
I thought may be it was because my travel date is still one month away, therefore I used tomorrow's date to resend the query, but it still did not show the departure platform number.

Are there any particular platforms this route (on South Western Railway) usually depart from?

Thanks in advance.

>>I could not find the departure platform number for my train on National Rail website . . . but it still did not show the departure platform number.<<

You may not know it even when you arrive at Waterloo. There is a big board with all the trains/destinations and the platform will display there usually 10 or 15 minutes before departure.

Janisj is correct. You need to stand somewhere along with a bunch of others doing the exact same thing and wait for the platform number to appear. Then there can be this "mad dash" to get to that platform and onto the train. Of course you can wait until a few minutes prior to departure and casually board, also. Just make sure you get on before it leaves.

At 10:39 you should have no issue, the information will almost certainly be up a good 10 minutes before departure and the train highly unlikely to be full.

Nearer rush hour (and that can be anything after 4pm, then "casually boarding" might mean standing the whole way.
Be careful looking at the boards, the final destination is shown at the top, with intermediate stops listed below - so the "heading" on the Southampton train will likely be Bournemouth, Poole or Weymouth.

Yes, the biggest challenge is knowing the final destination which is the main reference as willit says. Under the 'heading' they do list the stops. If there are many, they rotate the 'pages' of destinations so you may need to keep looking at it as it updates - for example, you'll see 1 of 3, 2 of 3 'pages' of destinations, etc. I'm not 100% sure if Southampton is listed for this but there is also a board which lists the "Fastest Train to..." showing popular destinations (not just termination points) and the platform number. It's likely that Southampton is listed here as it's a primary destination. Just keep in mind that this will only show the next train to the destination at any given point in time.

It's not a disaster if you need to exit and reenter but try to avoid going through the gate with your ticket until you're reasonably sure of the platform otherwise your ticket is confused and you'll need to be let out and let back in manually by staff (a valid ticket is always honored, even if it doesn't work automatically). Just a tip. Less of an issue outside of peak times but can create unnecessary stress if you don't know the system and you find that your ticket does not open the gate as it should.

There will be a particular platform(s) that this service departs from, however unless you regularly travel this route you won't know what it usually is. My train always departs from the same couple of platforms so I stand close to those until the platform is shown on the board. You need to rely on the boards for the platform information.

Thanks for all your responses.
I can view details of the 10:39 departure train on the National Rail website, https://www.nationalrail.co.uk/ to see all the calling points between Waterloo and Southampton Central. But it does not show any stops beyond my destination, Southampton Central. Therefore, how may I find out the name of the final destination of my train?

>>Therefore, how may I find out the name of the final destination of my train?<<

You just did . . . Southampton . . .

Don't sweat things, it will be pretty simple once you get to Waterloo. It will be obvious - everyone will be looking up at the board, so you do too, and when you see a list of intermediate stops with 'Southampton' at the top, head to the platform it shows. Easy peasy.

Just thank your lucky stars you're avoiding the rush between 1630-1830.

I used to commute daily by train between Portsmouth and Waterloo, and quite often the train would come up on the Departure Board on the wrong platform.

Oh great (!) :)

Now you'd got him spooked LOL

>> .... and quite often the train would come up on the Departure Board on the wrong platform. <<

Were you kidding or were you serious?
If that is true then I still have time to plan for a different transportation method to get to Southampton.

I'm sure it was true at that time, but I would not take notice of the comment. There are plenty of staff and people around to ask if you need extra reassurance about the platform. Plus when you pass thru the ticket gates, the destination and stops are repeated on a screen right by the train.

Please relax. You won't miss your train . . . .

Yeah, the Departure Board being wrong, at worst should only mean you get as far as the wrong gateway to the wrong platform. You should be put right then.

At the time of day the OP is travelling Waterloo will be relatively quiet.

If the departure board is wrong (not very likely), the local board on the platform will be correct and there will be announcements just before departure - so do not worry.

I did not mean to confuse you earlier - yes there are trains which terminate at Southampton, but most don't. Normally the 10:39's final destination is Poole - but if you have selected Southampton as your destination, Nationalrailenquiries.co.uk will not show you stations past your stop.

Your likely intermediate stops will be Clapham Junction, Farnborough, Fleet, Basingstoke, Winchester, Shawford, Eastleigh and Southampton Airport Parkway (Don't get off here) before arriving at Southampton central.

The UK is the only country about in Europe to use such a system - often posting the track just before the train and folks make a mad dash - just follow the crowd. And paying extra for first class may be a good investment if train is crowded or make a seat reservation. check www.seat61.com for lots on British trains.

>> Normally the 10:39's final destination is Poole - ....<<

No you did not confuse me, this info is very helpful.
Also, there won't be too many trains departing at 10:39 on the board, will there?

don't they still list on overhead boards some towns the train will stop in?

Why is such a third world mob scene making mad dash for trains still a feature of U.K. trains? Never understood why customers put up with that.

I have ridden trains thousands of times from all main stations including from Waterloo countless times. I can't remember EVER experiencing the board being wrong or at least "wrong enough" to cause me confusion or a problem. Can't say it NEVER happens but extremely unlikely.
Someone mentioned announcements. Waterloo does have announcements but they are very hard to hear. It's a big, loud, busy, and boomy place. The board is how to get the info you need.

If you enter waterloo from the front, you will first see the new set of platforms set a ways back. This was the old Eurostar terminal that is now used for 'regular' trains. It has its own electronic info boards for platforms, etc. I don't believe the Southampton trains go from there so don't waste time walking all the way to the gates... just keep walking to the big open area with the main boards. I can see this being potentially confusing if you don't know the station and you see those platforms/gates straight ahead. There is also a smaller board in front of the Tube entrance. Ignore that one as it's pretty useless.

Not trying to over-engineer it for you. Just trying to give you some tips. It's really not that difficult and as others have said, that time of day is much easier and more 'forgiving' then rush hours.

It's really not that hard. I don't know why they do it one way and not the other but if you list the platform in advance, you'll have people accumulating and crowding the platform far in advance of the train coming. Occasionally this happens but it's not a regular thing. I would imagine that this would make it more difficult for arriving passengers to get off and for train staff to do their work around the train.

Obviously there may be other reasons such as flexibility to give arriving trains a range of platform options. Trains are always delayed so if you try to plan precisely, it can easily all fall apart. Often there are arriving trains backed up waiting for a free platform at Waterloo. If you can only go to the pre-planned platform, how long will the train need to wait?

Yes I surmised those were the problems - yet every other large station I have passed thru during decades of train travel - never saw a large station that did not post the track number even on printed schedules - www.bahn.de/en - German railways site for schedules even lists platform numbers. I think this inconvenience to customers is huge - not only mad dash at times when track number is posted but customers could be sitting on dwelling train rather than standing in concourse eyes fixed on overhead schedules to see which track you need to head to.

I think this is yet another sign of a rail system that is very antiquated compared to Continental stations and trains.

According to this London Waterloo station map,
Attachment 2472

1. Assume my cab will drop me off on the street at the far right hand side of this map. (Is this the "front" side?)
2. After walking in through one of the yellow-colored "Entrance Area", the white box denoting "Rail Info" in the map is where the BIG BOARD is.
3. Straight ahead, on the same street level without me taking an escalator up or down, are 19 platforms in sequential order.
4. My departure platform will be among one of them.

Please confirm or correct me. Thanks.
P.S. Oops, don't know why the attached picture became so small. Please see a larger picture in this web page:
National Rail Enquiries -

my answers in bold above.

OK -- sorry but you are seriously over thinking this. (Pal is not helping one little bit inserting himself and German/European trains into your sincere questions)

The boards are ENORMOUS - you cannot miss them.



Pal: >>don't they still list on overhead boards some towns the train will stop in?<<

YES -- as was been explained many times up thread.

I know you've looked at this website before but not sure if you've seen this tab, it shows the departures/arrivals/final destination and platform number which appears about 10-15mins before departure. I'm sure if you study enough during the day, you'll work out which platforms the trains to SOU go from, seems to be from platform 8 or thereabouts.

Live Departure Boards - National Rail Enquiries

If you click on " Google Streetview (see inside the station)" on the below link, it shows you the main concourse of Waterloo Station, also on the same link, it tells you were the taxis drop you off.

Getting to and from Waterloo station - Network Rail

Thanks for the two links Odin. They are very helpful.

Thanks to walkinaround, janisj, and Gyhtson for all of your kind responses.
I like visuals, a picture says a thousand words. The photo of the departure board above Platform 15 just placed a clear image in my head on what the board looks like.

Great :) As you see it is really large, easy to read and you can't miss it. And the trains are listed in departure time order so - get to the station a bit early, have a coffee or drink where you have a view of the board . . . and you'll see as soon as your train displays.

Don't feel you have to rush once the platform number comes up, you'll have plenty of time to walk to even the furthest gate (which is not very far), wander down the platform, and get on the train.

If you have a seat reservation then why rush?

Seat reservations are not possible on South West Trains.

How many first class seats are there on SW trains - sometimes there are very few and not worth it but if there is half a car or a car it may be wise to book first class and have better seats.

Pal -- stop it! You have screwed the thread up enough already.