| What's new? request stops! Posted by stuving at 12:23, 18th September 2026 |     |
It's headline news today in France that SNCF (for the region of Occitanie) are trialling request stops at some stations in Lozère. My reaction to that is to doubt they have never existed at all in France, even if they are not part of SNCF's standard operating repertoire. I suspect it was common at a lot of little stations until they were closed, many of them in the 1970s line closures.
I can even find its introduction as a trial making the national news in 2020 for Guingamp-Paimpol (but that's only Brittany) and in 2023 at Jassoneix (Meymac), Pérols-sur-Vézère et Montaignac-sur-Doustre in Corrèze. I guess that tells you as much about French journalism as trains!
| Re: What's new? request stops! Posted by grahame at 06:54, 19th September 2026 | |
Request stops are common and well implemented in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. Screens in the train alert you to the next stop being on request, and buttons are provided which when pressed change the display to indicate that the train will be stopping. On the platforms, there are call buttons which similarly alert the train driver. System seems to be joined up and work well.
| Re: What's new? request stops! Posted by rogerw at 11:04, 19th September 2026 | |
Similar exists in Switzerland
| Re: What's new? request stops! Posted by Noggin at 11:52, 20th September 2026 | |
Similar exists in Switzerland
On my bucket list is this little Swiss gem where you press a button and get let onto the platform when the train arrives.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=872240239294812
Sadly I can't see an equivalent in the Avon Gorge staying unmolested by vandals for long.
| Re: What's new? request stops! Posted by CyclingSid at 13:52, 20th September 2026 | |
I think I saw (from the train) something possibly similar on the up platform at Godalming. There were a couple of cyclists who looked hopeful but confused outside.
