PKP PLK tests single-number platforms at Mysłowice from 25 October
Mysłowice station will be the first to replace paired platform and track numbers with one number per platform edge, with five more stations joining on 13 December.
How the new numbering works
PKP PLK, the Polish rail infrastructure operator, is testing a system in which each platform edge receives its own number and the parallel numbering of platforms and tracks is dropped. Passengers currently have to read both a platform number and a track number to find their departure point. The operator says the change is meant to reduce mistakes when reading timetables, posters and station announcements. According to the company, a similar way of marking platforms already operates in many European countries. The pilot will show whether the simpler markings prove clear and workable in practice.
Mysłowice first
The pilot begins on 25 October at Mysłowice station, where three platforms will be marked as five separate platform edges. No construction work is needed for the change. Under the example given in the sources, the edge beside track 11 keeps number 1, the edge beside track 3 becomes number 2, and the remaining edges are numbered 3 to 5. Passengers will be directed to a platform without being given a track number. Timetable posters at the station and the Portal Pasażera online service will carry the new information.
Katarzyna Głowacka of PKP PLK, speaking to Radio ZET, described the aim of the pilot in these terms:
We are starting a pilot of a new system, under which the departure point of a train will be identified by the platform number, not the track.
She added that the platform number answers the question passengers actually ask.
The platform number answers that question directly.
Expansion and passenger feedback
From 13 December the scheme is due to extend to Milówka, Sól, Rajcza, Skarżysko-Kamienna and Środa Wielkopolska. Passengers at the pilot stations will be able to fill in special surveys during the month after the testing starts. PKP PLK will analyse the results and passenger opinions before deciding whether to extend the system to further stations. The company describes the arrangement as a test solution at this stage.
- Pilot starts at Mysłowice, where three platforms become five platform edges
- Passengers can fill in surveys at pilot stations
- Pilot extends to Milówka, Sól, Rajcza, Skarżysko-Kamienna and Środa Wielkopolska
Early reaction
Maciej Dutkiewicz, a former spokesman for PKP Intercity who now speaks for Port Polska, views the idea positively. He argues that the simplification may help above all people who do not know the track layout of a station. Whether the scheme spreads beyond the six pilot stations will depend on the survey results and the operator's review.
