Great Western Coffee Shop

Does anyone know which is the westbound platform at Bath, as in,"the westbound platform has a severe step between the train and the platform from the front 3 train carriages".  (Description taken from National Rail's "Stations and Destinations" webpage).  I and elderly husband will be alighting from coach L at Bath on a Paddington-bound train and returning in coach L for Taunton.  I am just wondering how severe this step is.  Would it be National Rail that I should contact to ask to have the description amended to platform X or Y, as, to me at least, westbound is not helpful.

The westbound platform is the one on the south side of the station, which is the side away from the city centre.

It is a large drop, especially at the front end of the train (ie at the western end of the platform), substantially larger than most stations, and at 64 I find it difficult at times, especially with luggage. The station has ramps for wheeled access that can presumably be pre-booked through Great Western, who run the station.

The front end westbound platform will usually be coaches A B and C of high speed trains from London, headed for Bristol, Weston-super-mare, or beyond.

Most trains from other starting points are shorter and don't use the front of the platform.

Major works at Bath Spa station next Easter (April 2017) should re-align tracks and platforms and I would anticipate the situation would be improved after the works are completed.

That's a moot point. If you are not familiar with the station then you are unlikely to know which is platform 1 and which is 2.  However, I would have thought it is reasonably clear which is east and westbound - as an example in your case a train travelling towards London is going to be using the eastbound platform.  (I acknowledge that it is probably less clear if you are travelling to Weymouth and are unfamiliar with the geography of the rail lines in the area.)

Hi, Eliza.  ;)

I've found a generic picture on the internet to show that 'westbound platform':

(http://crjennings.com/The%20Remains%20of%20Britains%20Steam%20Age%20Railway/page%2028/DR156-140-,Bath-Spa-Station.jpg)

Bath Spa and Bristol Temple Meads stations both have such curved platforms - which were probably absolutely fine, for the rather shorter carriages that were in use when Isambard built them ...  ::)

Thank you, gentlemen, for your helpful replies.  My confusion must be to do with my faulty memory and the greater risk of stepping down than up.  On our previous visit, when we would have come into the eastbound platform 2, it seemed that the gap was wide, as well as the step being high.  Clearly it wasn't, as it's platform 1 westbound, which has the problem.  Anyway, I'm going to ask for the first time for the ramp, as we do travel with a folded wheelchair, and will put the getting off/on into the hands of the platform staff. 

A pedant replies. ;)

Isambard Kingdom Brunel didn't build the curved platforms at Bristol Temple Meads. He built the original straight train shed, currently a car park and event space. This should see trains using it again sometime next decade.The curved platforms were built in the 1870s by Francis Fox, with more added (platforms 9-15) by P.E. Culverhouse in the 1930s.

Is this definitely the case? The big step up or down at the western end of that platform was one of the issues I meant to raise at the consultation meetings NR held earlier this year, but didn't. It would be excellent news if it was indeed going to be improved, though with the curve, is there a limit to how much improvement can be achieved?

IIUI part of the planned improvement involve building the platforms out further so there is some potential to reduce the curvature.  This should also be set against the fact that the coaches of new (IEP) trains are 3m longer than the Mk IIIs of the HST, so there is potential for the gap problem to be worse in that respect although I would expect that overall the new package will result in an improvement.

I obviously don't know the extent of your Husbands mobility, but I do note that the very big gaps are only really encountered at Bath for the front 2 coaches on a long (HST, 125) train from London.  Keeping out of those coaches (which are usually coach A and B) means that the gap encountered will be much less and hopefully no worse than typical for a UK train.  You should also note that the station is fully staffed with a ramp on the platform that can be deployed if needed and also that the trains themselves have pretty decent grab handles both inside and outside the door.  Bath also has fairly new lifts installed giving step free access from the road/taxi level to the platform. 

There has to be re-alignment at Bath Spa to ensure clearance between the longer carriages and the (listed) canopies and the opportunity is being taken to widen the platforms enough to take more people on them.  In other cases in the same program of works associated with electrification, platforms that are substandard in terms of access into trains are being brought up to modern standards, even where those works are purely a lengthening that you might not have expected to effect the current platform.

So - I'm not definite, no, but I think I've come to a pretty likely conclusion from the evidence I've been given.

... with a fair comment: my 'blaming Isambard' generalisation was rather too sweeping.  :-[