Platform Zero

This really should be in my “things I didn’t know” series. I was on a train from Whitstable to London St Pancras and approaching Gravesend. The train announcer calls “passengers for ....[I don’t remember where] should proceed to platform zero”. I assumed I had mis-heard but 30 seconds later it was repeated and now I assumed it was a joke. Apparently not; such a thing exists. Here it is in action:

The station was upgraded in 2013 and an extra platform added. It's not a through platform, just a termination bay. The powers that be didn't want to upset existing passengers who were "used to" the current platform announcements: "the train at platform 2 is the 3:45 for Ramsgate...". Could you actually find me one passenger who cares about the numbering of platforms? In any case, why not call it platform 3? or X? Or Malcolm? And what happens when they need another one; will it be Platform Minus 1?

There are another eight platform zeroes in the UK; I'm not going to bore you with a full list, although I find it interesting that King's Cross has one; I've never seen it but then I haven't travelled through King's Cross since the 19th century. Isn't that where Harry Potter's platform is?

We Brits are so unimaginative. I bet there's no other country in the world that does this.

Wait... ChatGPT to the rescue; there are a few (Australia has two, one in Newcastle where my Son#1 lives and through which I have often travelled without noticing). She says "most countries just renumber the platforms when they build a new one. The UK, however, often avoids that because Brits will riot if you move their platform without warning." I like a bot with a sense of humour.