Tag:railway=station

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Public-images-osm logo.svg railway = station
Paddington Station.jpg
Description
A railway station. Edit this description in the wiki page. Edit this description in the data item.
Rendering in OSM Carto
Rendering-railway-tram stop-mapnik.png.png
Rendering in OSM Carto area
Landuse-industrial.png
Group: railways
Used on these elements
may be used on nodesshould not be used on waysmay be used on areas (and multipolygon relations)should not be used on relations (except multipolygon relations)
Useful combination
See also
Status: de facto
Main article: Railway stations

Railway stations (including main line, light rail, subway, etc.) are places where goods or passengers are loaded and unloaded. railway=station should be tagged preferably as an area covering the whole station (tracks, buildings, platforms, etc.), or as a node, placed at the practical centre of the station (i.e. near platforms).

How to map

Element types

As an area

area The area of a station begins at the entry signal at one side and ends at the entry signals at the other side. It must represent the station grounds, not only the station building (which, if it exists, should be tagged with building=train_station).


If the practical centre of the station does not coincide with its centroid (i.e. the renderer shows its label away from any platforms) use a type=label parent relation, or, in the case of multipolygon relations, add a label member to it.[1]

More complete tagging of a railway station

As a node

node If mapped as a node it is usually an unconnected node in the middle of the station (within the platform area). It should not be part of a railway=rail way. There should be only one railway=station element for each station (see One feature, one OSM element).

Simple tagging of a railway station

Tags

Key Value Description
railway station
name <station name> The name of the station. For preference use the name on the signs at the station.
landuse railway When railway=station is mapped as a node this tag can be added to a closed polygon mapped to indicate the extents of the land owned & used by the operator as a station.
railway:ref <station code> The code used for the station. In North America, this might be something like NYP for New York Penn Station or OSB for Old Saybrook Station if it's an Amtrak station. In Germany, the Ril 100 code would be something like KN for Neuss Hbf. Abbreviations used by companies other than the operator can be tagged using railway:ref:(company)=*.
operator <operator_name> The station's operator.
network <network_name(s)> The name of the network the station belongs to. There maybe multiple values.
wikipedia <lang>:<article name> The Wikipedia article relating to the actual station (Not the railway's operator or network). For formatting the tag, refer to the wikipedia page.
start_date <date> The date the station was put into service. For formatting the tag, refer to the start_date=* page.
uic_ref <number> UIC's (International Union of Railways) assigned reference number for the station.
uic_name <name> UIC's (International Union of Railways) assigned name for the station.

Station types

Where a mainline station and metro station (or other railway like station) share the same station building, consider if they should be modelled as separate stations or as a single station. The associated Wikipedia articles of the facilities might assist with the decision. If the facilities are run by separate organisations[2] (for example a heritage station next to a mainline station) then it is probably better to map them using two separate railway=station tags.

For freight stations, add railway:traffic_mode=freight. Data consumers should consider that not all railway stations are passenger-only.

Distinction between halt and station

Station or halt?

The distinction between railway=halt and railway=station might differ from country to country. A halt is occasionally distinguished by its smaller size compared to a station, although it's unclear what size defines the difference. It can also be classified as a request stop. To make it explicitly clear, tag a request stop station as request_stop=yes.

  • In Belgium, railway=station is only for staffed stations. NMBS/SNCB stations without any station building or stations where ticket offices are permanently closed are tagged as railway=halt.
  • In Denmark, Hungary and German-speaking countries, stations without points ("switches") where only passenger trains stop are tagged as halt. For more information see the German page.

Things to avoid

  • Do not add the words "railway station" in the name=*; i.e. avoid name=Station Newton
  • Do not use abbreviations, even if the railway company use them. Use short_name=* in addition.
  • If the official name in documents differs from the name signs at the station, use official_name=*.

Examples

See also

Tags

Pages

References

  1. https://community.openstreetmap.org/t/railway-station-as-an-area/104839
  2. For example, see Berlin Zoologischer Garten: S-Bahn / light rail in the north-west and heavy rail in the south-east.