Railway Station?

[whole diary]

[patch38]

I was reading the thread about the proposed upgrade of Cheltenham station - http://www.firstgreatwestern.info/coffeeshop/index.php?topic=12217.30 - and the journalist who wrote the piece in the Gloucestershire Echo (quoted by Chris from Nailsea) attributes both the local MP^▸ (Member of Parliament) and the chairman of the Gloucestershire Local Transport board with using the expression 'train station'.

Question - when did the term 'railway station' fall out of fashion and 'train station' come into being? I'm fairly certain that, when I was a lad, the expression 'train station' didn't exist or would have been corrected by some well-meaning adult. Is 'train station' wrong? Does it really matter? Am i just being pedantic? I probably am, but I'm genuinely interested to find out more. I did a few searches and can't see that this has ever been discussed here. I also spent some considerable time trying to decide which sub-forum to post this in, so apologies in advance if I got it wrong! 

[paul7575]

I reckon it has appeared within the last ten years or so.

But the floodgates have probably opened now, for instance here's a recent DfT^» (Department for Transport - about) announcement about Access for All:

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-funding-to-make-stations-accessible-to-all

It might be coincidence, but I also get the impression that 'train line' is also trying to take over from 'railway line'.  Perhaps that's fuelled by the constant adverts for online ticket sales - and perhaps it accelerates the use of train station as well. 

Then again, the general use of 'overground' to describe the railway system also annoys me...

Paul

[eightf48544]

Conjecture; it's all down to texting train station is shorter than railway station!

Overground is fine by me as it describes the part of TFL^▸ (Transport for London) which is not Underground. But it's only applicable in London.

Other towns can have an S Bahn.

[Andrew1939 from West Oxon]

I am told that "train station" is yet another "Americanisation" creeping in. Lucy, on Homes under the Hammer" TV constantly says how close a home is to the train station.

[paul7575]

Conjecture; it's all down to texting train station is shorter than railway station!

...yet I remember the normal usage being just plain old 'station'.  You'd only include 'railway' if essential to avoid confusion with a bus station...

Paul

[Red Squirrel]

I'm sure this topic has reared its ugly head before on this forum, but owing to the eccentricities of the 'search' facility I can't find it.

Quinion, as ever, writes authoritatively on this subject - see his article, dated April 1997.

The bottom line is that 'train station' has more vigour, and makes more sense, than 'railway station'. For those of us who remember old money the new term may stick in our collective craw, but I for one am happy rail is sufficiently relevant to young folk that they have their own yoofspeak words for it.

[patch38]

Ah - good call Squirrel; I hadn't thought of consulting Quinion. As you say, informative as ever.

[81F]

When I was a lad, 'twere always Railway Station.
When I came to Oxford in the 1970s, buses on route 1 showed as their inbound destination "Oxford Rail Station". This is still so, and is also used by Arriva on their service 280 from Aylesbury.
But I don't think people say rail station.

[Red Squirrel]

...yet I remember the normal usage being just plain old 'station'. 

I'm sure you're right - think of all those thoroughfares called 'Station Road'; every one of 'em had a train station at the end of it. (DYSWIDT?)

[Chris from Nailsea]

Not necessarily 'at the end of it' - Nailsea & Backwell, for example. 

[Cynthia]

I'm with Andrew1939 on this one; I am inclined to agree that 'Train Station' is yet another attempt by the Americans to corrupt our language.  I don't really care what they do with it, I just wish they wouldn't call their version 'English'!!!!

[Red Squirrel]

I'm with Andrew1939 on this one; I am inclined to agree that 'Train Station' is yet another attempt by the Americans to corrupt our language.  I don't really care what they do with it, I just wish they wouldn't call their version 'English'!!!!

I understand the sentiment here - I am, after all, a red squirrel (as opposed to an american tree rat) - but who are 'the Americans' in this context? I don't think there has been any organised attempt to corrupt the mother tongue since a certain Mr Webster had his half-baked and misguided attempt at spelling reform in his alleged dictionary.

I think what has actually happened in this case is that someone has come up with a better phrase, and we (for the most part) have said 'Ooh, that makes more sense, we'll say it that way now'.

[Cynthia]

I'm with Andrew1939 on this one; I am inclined to agree that 'Train Station' is yet another attempt by the Americans to corrupt our language.  I don't really care what they do with it, I just wish they wouldn't call their version 'English'!!!!

I understand the sentiment here - I am, after all, a red squirrel (as opposed to an american tree rat) - but who are 'the Americans' in this context? I don't think there has been any organised attempt to corrupt the mother tongue since a certain Mr Webster had his half-baked and misguided attempt at spelling reform in his alleged dictionary.



I think what has actually happened in this case is that someone has come up with a better phrase, and we (for the most part) have said 'Ooh, that makes more sense, we'll say it that way now'.

Ok, so now I have to admit to pedantism and argue that it's  matter of opinion as to whether 'Train Station' makes more sense than 'Railway Station'!  I agree with a previous post that it has probably developed largely due to text-speak, but thank heavens, we haven't all started bringing that into common spoken usage! As I seem to remember reading that we're asked not to use text-speak on the forum, can I assume, then, that we can stick to the term 'Railway Station' here?!

[JayMac]

Do these un-named Americans even use the phrase 'train station'?

'Railroad station' seems to be their preferred nomenclature for the place where passenger trains are to be found.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Train_station

As [note 1] in that Wikipedia article says, perhaps we should just go with 'station' as the primary name for a regular stopping place on a railway line, unless otherwise qualified with a noun, such as 'bus' or 'petrol'.  

[ellendune]

I too am very sensitive to suggestions that Mr Webster's so called dictionary is anything to do with the English language. I too jar at the use of the term "train station". I am not sure that our former colonial acquaintances use this term.  But haven't we had this debate previously - though I cannot find it through search - and decided that it actually makes sense when compared to the term "bus station" (as opposed to "road station").