Station lighting hours

[whole diary]

[Zoe]

About 20 years or so ago, when travelling on the Night Riviera most stations had their lights switched off when passing through in the early hours of the morning but recently I noticed that all stations now seen to be lit (although many towns now switch off street lights overnight).  Is everywhere now lit through the night or is lighting triggered by the approach of trains?

[Mark A]

Some are certainly motion activated. St Erth is one such. It's not a favourite feature of mine, though a couple of tweaks in the implementation would improve it i.e. a five second ramp when they switch on and a 30 second ramp when they go down.

Mark

[broadgage]

Some are certainly motion activated. St Erth is one such. It's not a favourite feature of mine, though a couple of tweaks in the implementation would improve it i.e. a five second ramp when they switch on and a 30 second ramp when they go down.

Mark

This would only work with LED lighting, and then only if the lights are specified as being dimmable.
Sodium or metal halide lamps cant realistically be dimmed, fluorescent and compact fluorescent lamps can only be dimmed at considerable cost and complication. Incandescent lamps are readily dimmable but little used on account of energy wasted.

[Electric train]

About 20 years or so ago, when travelling on the Night Riviera most stations had their lights switched off when passing through in the early hours of the morning but recently I noticed that all stations now seen to be lit (although many towns now switch off street lights overnight).  Is everywhere now lit through the night or is lighting triggered by the approach of trains?

For a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to switch all the platform lights off they need to close  the station with locked gates, the TOC has a legal responsibility regarding safety and security of station users (fare paying or not). 

The issue with dimmed platform lights which are motion activated is a passing train triggers the full power mode

[Zoe]

For a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to switch all the platform lights off they need to close  the station with locked gates, the TOC has a legal responsibility regarding safety and security of station users (fare paying or not). 

Has this always been a requirement?  When I did an overnight trip in 2002, the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) (only intercity back then) stations were lit, Wessex were dark and Thames were lit.  This was before councils started switching off street lights overnight though so although I could not see the Wessex stations we passed through, I was still able to work out where we were.

[Mark A]

This thread reminded me of this photo of Avoncliff from 2022. Well lit, well directed light, could still perhaps have specified 3000 or 2500K, it'd be interesting to know if warmer light makes LED lighting less of a magnet for the insects we increasingly do not have. Perhaps a ramped dimming on a motion sensor for the many hours of darkness when no one is present on the platforms - or perhaps just rather less intensity overall as that light level is... generous.

Mark

https://i.postimg.cc/K8hH7Js7/avoncliff-august-22-1600.jpg

[Western Pathfinder]

That's a very well composed picture Mark.

[Mark A]

Thanks! I was helped by the subject being so cooperative...

Mark

[Electric train]

For a TOC^▸ (Train Operating Company) to switch all the platform lights off they need to close  the station with locked gates, the TOC has a legal responsibility regarding safety and security of station users (fare paying or not). 

Has this always been a requirement?  When I did an overnight trip in 2002, the FGW^▸ (First Great Western) (only intercity back then) stations were lit, Wessex were dark and Thames were lit.  This was before councils started switching off street lights overnight though so although I could not see the Wessex stations we passed through, I was still able to work out where we were.

There have been a number of assaults, accidents and general vandalism which has placed this on TOC, its not so much a mandated requirement as on based on risk assessment