Wikipedia:Naming conventions (US stations)
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This guideline documents an English Wikipedia naming convention. It is a generally accepted standard that editors should attempt to follow, though it is best treated with common sense, and occasional exceptions may apply. Any substantive edit to this page should reflect consensus. When in doubt, discuss first on the talk page. |
This is a standard naming convention for active rail stations in the United States, including intercity, commuter, subway, and light rail.
The guideline is related to naming conventions for British stations found at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (UK stations) and Polish stations found at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (stations in Poland); disused historical guidelines can be found at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (stations).
The guidelines eliminate some features of the previous unwritten conventions: they eliminate preemptive parenthetical disambiguation and encourage the inclusion of the term "station" when it is part of the common name.
Naming convention[edit]
Generally, U.S. station articles should be titled by their common name, followed by "station" if not already part of the name.
In cases where the word "Station" is part of the proper name, it should be capitalized. This often occurs when the station is named after the railroad company or is a named transit center. Examples:
- Union Station (Jackson, Mississippi)
- Pennsylvania Station (New York City)
- Rosa Parks Transit Station
In cases where "station" is not part of the proper name, or is not usually capitalized in sources, it should be in written in lower case. Examples:
In some cases, a station has a common name that does not include the word "station". In those cases, default to the common name per the Use common names policy. Examples:
- Kalamazoo Transportation Center
- Rosa Parks Hempstead Transit Center
- William F. Walsh Regional Transportation Center
- Hoboken Terminal
- Grand Canyon Depot
Official names[edit]
The main naming conventions discourage the use of official names when other names are more common and available. In cases where the official name differs from the common name, the official name should be included in the lead, but not the article title. In some cases, an official name may serve as appropriate natural disambiguation to distinguish from other articles if the common name is ambiguous. Regardless, any alternative names for a station should redirect to the station article.
Slashes[edit]
Where a station includes a slash in its name, such as Delta Park/Vanport (MAX station), do not include spaces around the slash. Thus Delta Park/Vanport station is preferable to Delta Park / Vanport station.
Disambiguation[edit]
In cases where stations have ambiguous names, disambiguate them according to the disambiguation policy and guideline. Use natural disambiguation if available (e.g. Chicago Union Station, which uses a common alternative name to distinguish Chicago's "Union Station"). Otherwise add a distinguishing term in parentheses. Context will determine the most suitable distinguishing term. Examples:
- Disambiguation by state: This option may be appropriate for stations serving Amtrak and other intercity rail, especially when there are stations in multiple cities that have the same name. For example, the Amtrak stations in Birmingham, Alabama and Birmingham, Michigan are distinguished as Birmingham station (Alabama) and Birmingham station (Michigan).
- Disambiguation by city: This option is especially appropriate for stations that serve more than one system or mode of transit. For example, Union Station (Jackson, Mississippi) distinguishes the subject from other articles called Union Station. Generally, the disambiguating term should be the same as the title of the city's Wikipedia article. This is usually in the format of "City, State", such as Jackson, Mississippi, but should follow the guidelines at Wikipedia:Naming conventions (geographic names) § United States.
- Disambiguation by system: This option is appropriate when there are ambiguously named stations serving different systems, especially those located in the same state or city. For example, Passaic station (NJ Transit) distinguishes the article from Passaic station (Erie Railroad), both located in Passaic, New Jersey. This may also be a good option when the system is likely to be more recognizable for readers than the city, for instance when a major metropolitan area's transit system has stops in outlying suburban communities.
- Disambiguation by line: This option distinguishes stations with ambiguous names in the same system. For instance, Church Avenue station (IND Culver Line), Church Avenue station (BMT Brighton Line), and Church Avenue station (IRT Nostrand Avenue Line) are all stations of the New York City Subway.
In determining the distinguishing term in the parentheses, it is necessary to keep in mind what the article must be distinguished from. The decision may be affected by ambiguously titled stations in other countries, former stations, and unrelated items that happen to share a name. Wherever necessary, make sure that all ambiguous articles are included on a disambiguation page. For example, Newark station should disambiguate between Newark Penn Station, Newark Broad Street station and Newark station (Delaware) and other articles of this title.
Examples[edit]
Conversion table of legacy parenthetical titles to standardized titles with disambiguation as needed:
Note: ^ Burlington Stations in Nebraska are capitalized, as they are named for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad; whereas Burlington stations in Iowa and North Carolina are not capitalized, as they are named after the town the train stops in.
